AU ROUNDUP: Member of ‘57 team passes away

Special to the News

Published: April 11, 2008

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Robert George “Bobby” Hoppe, a halfback on Auburn University’s 1957 national championship team, has died. He was 73.

He died at his home Monday, Heritage Funeral Home and Cremation Services announced.

The three-year letterman at Auburn was a former teacher and coach in Georgia and was also a coach in Tennessee.

A memorial service is set at 2:30 p.m. today at Grace Episcopal Church, with a visitation beginning at 1 p.m.

—Associated Press

Three more AU swimmers set records in England
MANCHESTER, England — Three current and former Auburn swimmers set World records Friday as the 9th FINA Short Course World Championships completed its third day of competition. The event is a five-day meet held at the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England.

Former Tiger and Olympic gold medalist Kirsty Coventry set the first World record of the finals session, shattering the old mark in the 200m backstroke with a time of 2:00.91. Her time breaks the record help by Reiko Nakamura (2:03.24) of Japan by more than two seconds.

Former Auburn swimmer and Olympian Margaret Hoelzer would take part in a World record of her own as she and current Auburn senior Kara Denby swam on the World record-setting American 400m medley relay team.

Track & Field heads to Sun Angel Classic
The Auburn men’s and women’s track and field teams head to Tempe, Ariz., to compete at the 29th Sun Angel Classic hosted by Arizona State today.

Field events begin at noon, with the first running event scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. The meet will conclude at approximately midnight.

Auburn will also have a few field event competitors at the Tiger Invitational hosted by LSU.

Men’s tennis wraps up regular season at Bama
The Auburn men’s tennis team wraps up its regular season today as the team travels to Tuscaloosa to face in-state rival Alabama. The match is a pivotal one in deciding the seeds for next weekend’s SEC Tournament.

The 27th-ranked Tigers look to come away with a winning record as they go into the match an even 10-10 on the season and 4-6 in the SEC. The only thing standing in the way of that winning record is the No. 22-ranked Crimson Tide (18-8, 6-4 SEC). The Tide is on a four-game winning streak that includes a big win over No. 8 Florida on April 6.

Women’s tennis hosts rival Alabama
The No. 28 Auburn women’s tennis team (14-6, 4-6) will host the Alabama Crimson Tide (6-13, 2-8) today at the Yarbrough Tennis Center at noon for its final home match of the season.

The Tigers look to earn their fifth conference win of the season. Auburn will look to sophomore Fani Chifchieva, who is 9-1 in SEC action, to extend her win streak in singles play.

Volleyball to take part in beach tournament
The Auburn volleyball team will take the court as part of its spring training schedule this weekend as the team travels to Gainesville, Fla. for the first-ever SEC Coaches Beach Volleyball Championship. The tournament is the first ever collegiate beach volleyball championship held by members of a NCAA Division I Conference. The tournament begins today at 8:30 a.m.