AU ROUNDUP: Bonner named All-America finalist

Special to the News

Published: March 20, 2008

ATLANTA — The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, in cooperation with State Farm, announced the 52 regional finalists on Wednesday for the 2008 State Farm Coaches’ All-America Basketball Team for Division I.

The selection committee will review the 52 candidates and cut the list down to 40 finalists on March 20. The 40 finalists will all be in the running for selection to the 10-member All-America team. 

Auburn’s DeWanna Bonner was named a regional finalist.

Softball travels to face LSU in SEC series
The Auburn softball team will take on division-leading and 10th-ranked LSU in a three-game series beginning today at 1 p.m. in Baton Rouge, La.

Auburn enters the series with a 27-4 overall record and a 7-1 record in the Southeastern Conference. LSU is 24-4 overall and 3-0 in the SEC.

Auburn has won seven straight entering the weekend, while LSU has won its last 12 games. Radio coverage in Auburn can be found on WZMG 910 AM and on the web at http://www.auburntigers.com.

“LSU is an excellent team,” Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. “They are playing very well and this is going to be tremendous challenge for our team. We hit the ball extremely well against Arkansas and that was good see. Hopefully we will be able to carry that into this weekend.”

Gymnastics closes regular season at Alabama
The No. 12 Auburn Gymnastics team (7-7, 0-6 SEC) will conclude its regular season on the road in Tuscaloosa today. The Tigers will take on the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide for the second time this season.

The Tigers visit the Tide coming off a win over No. 14 Michigan State. The Tigers topped the Spartans, 195.325-194.050, on Senior Night in Auburn. Senior Julie Dwyer placed first on two events and claimed the all-around title.

Auburn has been ranked in the nation’s top 15 for five consecutive weeks. Auburn is ranked as the No. 3 beam team in the nation. Auburn is ranked at No. 11 on vault, No. 12 on floor and No. 17 on bars.

Women’s golf travels to Liz Murphey Collegiate
The No. 8 Auburn women’s golf team returns to the links this weekend at the 36th annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. 

The three-day tournament begins today at the par 72, 6,335-yard UGA Golf Course.  The Tigers are the reigning champions, as they took the team title last year with a score of 881.

The 18-team field features 11 of the nation’s top 25 teams, according to the latest Golf World/NGCA poll. Top-ranked Duke headlines the field, following by No. 7 Purdue, No. 8 Auburn and No. 10 Arkansas. Other ranked teams competing are No. 11 Georgia, No. 13 Wake Forest, No. 17 Tennessee, No. 18 Kent State, No. 22 Vanderbilt and No. 23 LSU.

Men’s tennis faces two matches on weekend
The No. 22 Auburn men’s tennis team returns to Southeastern Conference action this weekend as the Tigers (8-6, 2-2 SEC) host No. 34 Vanderbilt (9-4, 1-3 SEC) and travel to No. 63 Kentucky (6-8, 1-3 SEC).

Action against the Commodores begins at 1:30 p.m. today at the City of Auburn/Auburn University Yarbrough Tennis Center. Following the match, Auburn will travel to Lexington, Ky., for a noon match against the Wildcats.

Auburn is coming off a semi-final appearance last week at the Blue-Gray Tennis Classic in Montgomery. The Tigers defeated Brown and Oklahoma State before falling to Texas Tech.

Women’s tennis travels to face Vanderbilt
The No. 30 Auburn women’s tennis team (12-3, 3-1 SEC) travels to Nashville, Tenn., to take on the No. 11 Vanderbilt Commodores today at 2:30 p.m.

The Commodores are 11-3 this season and 1-3 in the SEC. Vanderbilt has key wins over Michigan, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. Their single conference win came over LSU.

Vandy has three singles players ranked in the top 100. Amanda Taylor is ranked No. 22, followed by Catherine Newman at No. 34. Courtney Ulery is ranked No. 58 and Taka Bertrand is ranked at No. 94.