Special to the News

02/21 at 11:39 PM

The third-ranked Auburn women’s golf team will open its 2010 spring season this week as the Tigers travel to Tucson, Ariz., to compete in the Wildcat Invitational.

The Wildcat Invitational is hosted by the University of Arizona and will be played at the par-71, 6,146 yard Arizona National Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz.

The Arizona National Golf Club is a familiar course for the Tigers, as they competed in the Wildcat Invitational in 2008, taking a ninth-place finish after the three-day event.

“I like the course,” Auburn head coach Kim Evans noted. “It’s a really good golf course that requires you to stay to a game plan and I think we have a very mature team to do that.”

In last year’s Wildcat Invitational, which took place in Mexico, UCLA took top honors with an 5-over-par 869, while Lizette Salas (Southern California) and Jodi Edwart (New Mexico) shared the individual honors with their 213 (-3) finishes.

After a nearly two-month break from competition, Auburn is ready to get back to the links.

“We’re excited to go. It’s been a long two months getting ready for this,” Evans said. “We are just excited to go and to compete and to play a few rounds.”

The Tigers finished the fall in impressive form, taking top-three finishes in all four of the fall events. Evans and the rest of the squad, however, are keeping their eyes forward and focused.

“I know how well they did and they know how well they did. But, for us, it’s all about this tournament and this tournament only,” Evans said. “We are not looking back and we are not looking ahead, we are looking toward this Monday and Tuesday.”

Competing for Auburn will be senior Candace Schepperle, redshirt junior Karlin Beck, junior Cydney Clanton, and sophomores Patricia Sanz and Haley Wilson. freshman Carlie Yadloczky will also be competing as an individual.

The Tigers will be led by Clanton, who took top-five finishes in all fall events, including two overall victories at the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Qualifying and the NCAA Fall Preview. Schepperle is another strong competitor for the team, as she earned top-10 honors in three of the four fall tournaments.

The third-ranked squad will have its hands full with a difficult field that features six top-10 teams and 11 top-25 teams in the most recent Golf World/NGCA Golf Coaches’ Poll.

“We are playing against a great field,” Evans said. “Some of the best teams in the country will be there including several top-10 and top-25 teams. But, it is fun to go out west and compete against those types of teams as well as several teams from the east.”

The first and second rounds will take place today with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. The final round will be played on Tuesday with another early morning start.

Other teams competing in the 2010 Wildcat Invitational are Arizona (19), Arizona State (1), California (16), Denver (15), Duke (5), New Mexico, Oklahoma State (22), Oregon, Pepperdine (10), Stanford (25), Tennessee (8), Tulane, UNLV, Southern California (6) and Washington.

Thompson strikes out 15 as softball wins
Auburn pitcher Anna Thompson tossed a one-hit shutout and recorded 15 strikeouts to lead the Tigers to a 7-0 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Sunday afternoon in softball action at Jane B. Moore Field.

Auburn improved to 7-3 with the win and posted a 4-0 record in the Tiger Invitational tournament. Auburn will next play Wednesday night at 5 p.m. at home against Jacksonville State.

“Obviously I am very happy that we got the win and went undefeated in our tournament,” Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. “Anna threw very well and did a great job against their hitters. Offensively, we broke out a little bit in the sixth inning and put up some runs.”

The 15 strikeouts for Thompson marked a season high and was three off her career best and school record of 18 strikeouts set in 2009 against Middle Tennessee.

Thompson (3-2) allowed just one hit, an infield single down the third base line, and walked four. Only one runner advanced to second base in the game and only once did Southern Illinois-Edwardsville put more than one base runner on in an inning.

Thompson tossed her second complete game of the season, going seven innings, and posted a 2-0 record with a save in the Tiger Invitational.

Erika Taylor (2-3) took the loss for SIUE (2-7) after allowing seven runs, only two earned, on 10 hits in six IP.

The Tigers jumped on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning. Kyndall White opened the frame with a double to right-center and moved to third on a bunt single by Caitlin Stangl.

Caitlin Schultze, making her first start of the season, then laced a double to the gap in right-center to bring White home and give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

Auburn broke the game open in the sixth inning. Kelley Smiley reached on an error and moved to second on a single by Kelsey Cartwright. White then doubled to right-center to score Smiley and make it a 2-0 game.

Amber Harrison brought Cartwright home with a single to push the lead to 3-0 for the Tigers. Schultze picked up her second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to left that scored White and made it a 4-0 lead.

After a walk to Lindsey Harrelson and a single by Lauren Guzman loaded the bases, Alicia Hunolt doubled to right-center to clear the bases and give the Tigers the final 7-0 victory.

Equestrian gets past No. 4 Oklahoma State
The No. 2 Auburn equestrian team defeated No. 4 Oklahoma State, 12-8, on Sunday at the Auburn Equestrian Center. The Tigers improved to 9-2, while the Cowgirls fell to 4-4.

“Being tied at the half was a little bit unnerving,” said Auburn head coach Greg Williams. “Our reiners really bailed out the Western end today and that was kind of nice to see. Our Horsemanship has been almost unbeatable, and it was kind of fun to see the reiners step up the way they did today. They were the bright spot today.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Coach (Lindsay) Neubarth and Coach (Lisa) Helfer. The way they’ve led this team through now, they’re in perfect position to keep the momentum all the way through April.“

Auburn won Hunt Seat Equitation on the Flat, 3-2, as MVP Dottie Grubb defeated Alice White, 84-71, Chelsea Anheuser defeated Jordan White, 78-77, and Lindsey Portela defeated Sarah Brown, 76-73. Oklahoma State winners were Ally Blais over Ali Loprete, 82-77, and Jen McLaughlin over Katie Breedlove, 80-79.

The Tigers defeated the Cowgirls in Hunt Seat Equitation over Fences, 3-2, as Portela defeated Erin Prutow, 83-79, Grubb defeated White, 77-76, and Anna Schierholz defeated Hannah Beresford, 78-73. Oklahoma State winners were MVP Blais over Loprete, 85-82, and White over Grace Socha, 80-79.

Oklahoma State won Western Horsemanship, 3-2, behind MVP Marissa Dalton. Dalton defeated Auburn’s Indy Roper, 75.5-74. Other Cowgirl winners were Suzanne Randolph over Bailey Dymond, 72-70, and Courtney Whitacre over Kristin Hansen, 73.5-70. Tiger winners were Kylie Miller over Nichole Chirico, 74-71, and Jessica Jones over Mamie Tomlin, 72.5-71.5.

The Tigers’ Western Reining pulled through to give Auburn the victory, defeating Oklahoma State, 4-1, behind MVP Jillian Fuller. Fuller defeated Oklahoma State’s Leah Kruehn 74.5-73.5. Other Auburn winners were Lyndsey Jordan over Christy McElreath, 71-68, Paige Monfore over Caroline Daniels, 72-68.5, and Kim Pope over Molly Tipton, 74-71.5. Oklahoma State’s Rachell Shobe defeated Jones, 71.5-68.5.

Auburn returns to action against No. 7 Baylor on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Auburn Equestrian Center.