Soccer nets four signees

The Auburn soccer team signed four players to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, the first day of the spring signing period.

Auburn, which is coming off its sixth NCAA Tournament in its last seven seasons, signed two midfielders, a defender and a goalkeeper.

“This class, although small, improves our team and makes us better in every position,” Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said.

“They are an extremely talented group with a wealth of athleticism, experience and soccer knowledge that all come from teams with winning traditions.”

Katy Frierson is a midfielder from Homewood where she plays for the Birmingham United 90, coached by Eric Dade.

“Katy is clearly one of the top 2008 recruits in the country, having played on the youth national teams for several years,” Hoppa said. “The international experience she brings to the Plains will impact our midfield immediately. She is an incredibly technical player that can control the tempo of the attack, play a perfect final ball, and is a goal-scoring threat in the run of play as well as from free-kicks.”

Aimee Golightly is a goalkeeper from Northport, N.Y., where she plays for the East Meadow Dynamite and coach Chris Smith.

“We are thrilled to add this New Yorker to our team,” Hoppa said.

“Aimee will give us tremendous depth in our goalkeeper position. She is an athletic, quick keeper that is extremely competitive. She has great range to cover the goal and is very proficient with her feet.”

Julie King is a midfielder from St. Louis and the younger sister of current Auburn star Caitlin King. A wing-midfielder for Gary Miller’s St. Louis Soccer Club, she has been named First Team All-Metro, First Team All-Conference and First Team All-State in 2007 as well as an All-Midwest honorable mention.

“We are so excited that Julie decided to join her sister Caitlin at Auburn. Julie has tremendous athletic ability to go along with her great possession skills. She will be able to play a variety of positions for us and brings a winning mentality as evidenced by her significant role in her club team’s national championship. With a vertical jump of over 30 inches, she is also a goal-scoring threat in the air,” Hoppa said.

Mary Nicholson comes to Auburn as a centerback from Eric Dade’s Birmingham United 90 that was the Alabama State Champion this past year and the 2007 Region 3 Central Premier League Champion.

“Mary is a strong, skillful center back who will impact our defense right away,” Hoppa said. “She is also a great scoring threat on corners and set plays due to an unbelievable heading ability. A natural lefty, she is great in possession and can serve a tremendous long ball with both feet. She has won with every team she has played for and we expect that to continue at Auburn.”

Tennis opens new facility with win over Troy

Playing their first dual match in their new facility, the Auburn men’s tennis team swept visiting Troy, 7-0, topping the Trojans in all nine matches.

The Tigers improved to 1-0 with the season-opening win, while Troy fell to 1-3 on the season. Auburn is now 14-2 all-time against the Trojans and continues its streak of 24-straight season-opening wins.

Head coach Eric Shore was pleased with his team’s performance, especially with the way the Tigers battled back in some tight situations.

“It was a good start to the season and I thought we came out and really competed well,” said Shore.

“We got down 4-1 at No. 3 doubles and battled our way back in. In singles, I thought you could see that two-week layoff that we had a little bit with some loose points, but the guys battled back into it.”

The win over Troy opens a three-match homestand that continues this weekend with Southern Mississippi on Friday and Arizona State on Sunday.

“Overall, I thought we competed well and that is exactly what we need to get ready for Friday and Sunday,” said Shore.

Action begins at 1:30 p.m., Friday against Southern Miss and continues with a noon matchup against Arizona State on Sunday.

Both matches will take place at the City of Auburn/Auburn University Yarbrough Tennis Center.