AU ROUNDUP: Women’s golf earns NCAA East Region bid

Special to the News

The No. 10-ranked Auburn women’s golf team received a bid to the NCAA East Region, which will be held at the University of Georgia Golf Course on May 8-10.

The Tigers are coming off a fourth-place finish at the SEC Championship two weeks ago in Louden, Tenn. The Tigers finished off the three-day tournament with a final round 3-over 291.

Senior Margaret Shirley fired a season best 2-under 70 on the final day to tie for fourth, en route to earning her third straight Second-Team All-SEC honor.

Freshman Cydney Clanton was voted SEC Freshman of the Year and earned First-Team All-SEC honors, while sophomore Candace Schepperle earned second team honors.

“We are happy to go wherever the NCAA places us,” Auburn head coach Kim Evans said. “We are in a very strong East Region, but we are ready to go. We are familiar with the course having played there a few weeks ago and we hope to build off our performance on the last day at SECs. We are excited about continuing play in the postseason and look forward to finishing up strong in the last two tournaments.”

Auburn will face six of the top 20 teams, including top seed and No. 2-ranked Duke, No. 4 Florida, No. 8 Georgia, No. 14 Wake Forest, No. 18 Tennessee and No. 20 New Mexico. Georgia will serve as host for the tournament. Auburn is 39-18-1 versus the 20-team field this season and will meet eight teams for the first time.

The top eight teams in each of the three regions will advance to the NCAA Championship in Albuquerque, N.M., at the University of New Mexico Golf Club, May 20-23.

Men’s golfer Moseley named to first-team
Auburn men’s senior golfer Jay Moseley was named to the All-SEC first-team with a 71.18 stroke average on the season, the Southeastern Conference announced Monday.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be named to this team with this prestige,” said Moseley. “There are some really great players on this team and to be mentioned in that company is an honor. I am really proud of what I have done this year. It has been awesome and a lot of fun.”

The Bainbridge, Ga., native currently has the second-lowest, single-season stroke average in Auburn history, trailing only Buddy Gardner’s 70.90 average in 1976. Moseley’s 16 sub-par rounds this year are three shy of Kevin Haefner’s record of 19 in 2002.

Moseley has also been named to the SEC Good Works Team the last three years.

“I am very proud of Jay,” said Auburn head coach Mike Griffin. “He deserves to be named to the first team. I am thankful to the coaches in the SEC for their vote for him. I feel that he has had a SEC first-team type year. I am happy for him and hope he builds on it in the tournaments
we have coming up.”

Moseley has had three top-five finishes this year, including a runner-up finish in the Seminole Intercollegiate with a 7-under 209.

The 16th-ranked Auburn men’s golf team learns its NCAA Regional fate as the field is announced May 5.

Soccer hands out end-of-year awards
Celebrating its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa and her staff honored the Auburn soccer team and handed out its annual postseason awards.

Sophomore Rebecca Howell was named the Most Valuable Offensive Player after leading the team six goals on the year, while junior Jenn Johnson was named the Most Valuable Defensive Player as she played every minute of the 2008 season on Auburn’s backline.

Sophomore Jenni Prescott was awarded the Barbara Camp Unsung Hero Award, which goes to the player who consistently makes a difference on the field but rarely gets the recognition that she deserves. The award goes to a player who does her job and who the team knows they can count on. This past year she scored one goal and assisted on two others from her midfield position, starting 19 out of 20 games. She has previously won the Coaches’ Award.

Sophomore Stephanie Fransoso was named the Most Improved Player after scoring three goals and assisting on two others, playing in 20 games after seeing limited action as a freshman.

A pair of freshman defenders shared the Rookie of the Year award as Sammy Towne and Jaime Wheeler were each recognized for their work alongside Johnson, as Auburn’s backline surrendered just over a goal a game.

Senior Summer Ragsdale was awarded the Coaches’ Award based on her attitude and dedication to the team.