AU ROUNDUP: Softball striking out cancer

The Auburn softball team closes out the regular season with a three game series against the Kentucky Wildcats this weekend at Jane B. Moore Field.

Today’s doubleheader will be part of the National Cancer Society’s Strike Out Cancer campaign. The first 250 fans attending today’s game will receive free Auburn mini bats for supporting Strike Out Cancer.

Game 1 of the series is slated for a 1 p.m. start.

Sunday’s series finale will also begin at 1 p.m.

Auburn’s five seniors will be recognized prior to the start of Sunday’s series finale.

The Tigers have already clinched a spot in the Southeastern Conference Tournament next weekend in Baton Rouge, La. Auburn’s seeding will be determined after this weekend’s games. The Tigers can finish as high as the fifth seed and as low as the eighth seed. Auburn is currently the seventh seed.

Auburn is 34-19 overall and 10-14 in the SEC. Kentucky is 17-34 overall and 3-22 in the SEC this season.

As part of Strike Out Cancer, the Tigers are participating in the Strike Out Attack.  This program invites fans to pledge a specific dollar amount for every strike out in the both games of the doubleheader against Kentucky. Money raised from the Strike Out Attack funds the American Cancer Society’s research initiatives, patient services and educational campaigns that encourage healthy lifestyle choices, like avoiding tobacco, staying active and eating a healthy diet.

To make a Strike Out pledge or for more information, contact the American Cancer Society at 334-502-5115 or visit http://www.cancer.org.

Send your donation to Strike Out Cancer, ATTN:  Morgan Clark, P.O. Box 351, Auburn AL 36831.

Three Tigers selected to NCAA championships
Three Auburn women’s tennis players were selected as one of the 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams who will compete in the NCAA Individual Women’s Tennis Championship.

Sophomore Fani Chifcheiva received a bid as a singles competitor. She is seeded 9-16. Junior Alex Haney and sophomore Melissa Koning will represent Auburn in the doubles competition.

Competition will begin on May 21, and will run through May 26, at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.

“We are very excited for three of our players to make the tournament,” said Auburn head coach Tim Gray. “Their hard work has really paid off. We hope they can come in prepared and make a good run. We’d love it if the whole team can be there, but we’ll see how we do in Florida.”

Women’s basketball tabs Simons as assistant
Auburn women’s basketball coach Nell Fortner announced the hiring of Mark Simons as an assistant coach on Friday.  Simons, who comes to Auburn after serving in a similar capacity the past two seasons at Georgia Tech, replaces Seth Kushkin. 

“We are excited to have Mark Simons back at Auburn,” Fortner said.  “We worked with Mark for three months back in 2006 and he was a wonderful coach for us.  We are glad to have him back in the Auburn family.  Not only is he a wonderful person, but he is a tremendous X’s and O’s coach and developer of players.”

Last season at Georgia Tech, Simons helped the Yellow Jackets to a program best 22 wins, the most since joining the ACC before the 1979-80 season, and their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.  It marked the first time in Tech history the program advanced to the tournament in back-to-back seasons. 

Under Simon’s tutelage, Yellow Jacket Jacqua Williams broke the women’s and men’s school record in steals with 95 her sophomore campaign and bettered that last season with 118 steals. 

In Simons’ first season at Georgia Tech, he aided the program to a 21-12 record, and the program’s first NCAA Tournament win, a 55-54 victory over DePaul.  In that same year, Tech earned its first winning record in ACC play as the team was 9-5. 

Before his stint at Georgia Tech, Simons served as an assistant coach at Auburn during the second half of the 2005-06 season, helping the Tigers to a 14-15 record.