AU ATHLETICS: Bevy of programs made important strides in 2009-10

Members of Auburn’s facilities department didn’t exactly have to clear up much room in the trophy case this past season, as just one of the school’s teams (men’s swimming and diving) took home an SEC title in the past academic year.

Yet the Tigers athletic program continued to display that it’s one of the SEC’s premier institutions, ranking fifth in this year’s SEC’s all-sports rankings.

The following Opelika-Auburn News analysis shows a number of programs that reached new heights in 2009-10, a number that continued to live up to the lofty expectations its previous successes have set and a number that took a step back.

Most importantly, though, it shows a bevy of programs that have promising outlooks for 2010-11 and beyond.

HEADS OF THE CLASS

MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Final line: First at SECs, sixth at NCAAs
- You know your program is strong when a sixth-place finish at the NCAA championships is considered a step in the wrong direction. In fairness, there was nowhere to go but down in 2009-10 after claiming the national championship the year before. The coaching transition from the late Richard Quick to Brett Hawke has gone seamlessly and Hawke appears to have a number of young, talented swimmers poised for another run at the title in 2011.

EQUESTRIAN
Final line: Southern Equestrian Champions, second place at national championships
- This is perhaps the most overlooked dynasty in the recent history of Auburn athletics. The Tigers finished off yet another strong season, placing second behind Georgia at the Varsity Equestrian National Championships. They were largely flawless throughout their run through the regular season, too, picking up 14 victories in 17 opportunities.

BASEBALL
Final line: 43-21 (20-10 SEC), won SEC West, advanced to NCAA Regionals
- The most improved program at Auburn this year, the baseball team not only reached benchmarks it hadn’t hit in years, it also set records that will be tough to break for future clubs. The 43 wins were the most since 1999 and the seventh-most in program history. The offense put up video-game numbers, leading the best hitting conference in nearly every category. And playoff baseball returned to Plainsman Park for the first time since 2003, making for one of the most fun atmospheres Auburn sports had all season.

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
Final line: Fourth at SECs, 12th at NCAAs
- Loaded with a number of sprinters, this team saved its best for last, putting up a strong showing at the NCAA Championships to round out a solid season. The team boasted seven All-Americans and featured the SEC’s Female Runner of the Year, Sheniqua Ferguson, and the SEC Freshman of the Year, Maya Pressley. The future is bright, too, as six of those seven All-Americans will be back for next season.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Final line: Third at SECs, eighth at NCAAs
- Like it’s male counterparts, the women’s swimming and diving team was the victim of ridiculously high standards. Even though it put forth one of the best seasons by any Auburn sports program, the members of this team will consider it a major disappointment. The Tigers brought just three seniors to the NCAA Championships, so the cabinet appears stocked for another big run in the coming years.

HOLDING STEADY

WOMEN’S GOLF
Final line: Fifth at SECs, third at Regionals, 11th at NCAAs
- Boasting one of the best collegiate golfers in the country in junior Cydney Clanton, the women’s golf team didn’t fare as well as it did last year when it won the SEC title, but was still one of the best in the country. The roster is balanced with talent from all classes, as freshman Carlie Yadloczky will try to emerge in the seasons to come and fill the void left by departing senior Candace Schepperle.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Final line: Third at SEC championships, third at NCAA Regionals, 25th at NCAAs
- Coming off a brilliant 2008 campaign, this senior-heavy group overcame a coaching change and had yet another respectable performance at the NCAA championships. Three of Auburn’s four representatives at the championships will not be back in 2010, but sophomore Ben Cheruiyot has two more years to build off his 16th-place finish at NCAAs.

MEN’S TENNIS
Final line: Advanced to SEC semifinals, advanced to second round of NCAA Tournament, Tim Puetz advanced to NCAA singles semifinals
- The Tigers have yet to emerge as an elite program in arguably the best tennis conference in the nation, but 2009-10 may have been a sneak preview of great things to come. Tim Puetz and Alex Stamchev were both named to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I All-America Team and both have at least one more season at Auburn.

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
Final line: Fourth at SEC championships, tied for 37th at NCAAs
- The Tigers took a surprising step back at this year’s championships, placing out of the top 10 for just the fifth time in the past 12 years. That finish, though, would have likely been much higher if sprinter Marcus Rowland, who injured his hamstring, were able to compete. He should be healthy the next two years, when Auburn will certainly expect big things from one of the nation’s best.

SOFTBALL
Final line: 31-26, (11-17 SEC), lost its first round SEC Tournament game, knocked out at NCAA regionals
- The overall record might indicate that this program is stuck in the mud, but Tina Deese’s club once again qualified for both the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. Pitcher Anna Thompson wrapped up her brilliant Auburn career with one of her best seasons, as she’ll leave a sizable void that will have to be filled if the Tigers hope to return to postseason play in 2011.

SOCCER
Final line: 10-8-3, bowed out in second game of SEC Tournament, lost first-round NCAA Tournament game
- The Tigers continued to be just good enough to sneak into the NCAA Tournament, but weren’t able to do much once they got there, falling in the first round. Both of this year’s team MVPs, midfielder and leading goal-scorer Katy Frierson and defender Sammy Towne will both be back next season, and goalkeeper Amy Howard, a freshman in 2009, will take a valuable year of experience under her belt into 2010.

MAKING STRIDES

FOOTBALL
Final line: 8-5 (3-5 SEC), tied for 4th in the West, beat Northwestern in the Outback Bowl.
- Gene Chizik met and then exceeded expectations in his first season with the Tigers, winning his first five games before coming down to Earth a bit during conference play. The impact from his staff’s amped-up recruiting efforts will be felt in the years to come, but the optimism around this program has reached a hefty level — quite the contrast from where things were at the end of the 2008 season.

MEN’S GOLF
Final line: Seventh at SECs, ninth at NCAA Regional, did not qualify for NCAAs
- The first year under coach Nick Clinard saw major progress in a program that might have been ranked at the bottom in 2008. The Tigers jumped five places, from last to seventh, at this year’s SEC championships, which was good enough to qualify as a team at this year’s Regionals. Four of the five golfers Auburn brought to the Regionals were sophomores.

VOLLEYBALL
Final line: 16-15 (8-12 SEC), finished second in SEC West
- Coming off another disappointing showing in 2008, the Tigers rallied for their best season in 10 years to finish second in the SEC West. Auburn notched a number of landmark victories, including its fourth win over Arkansas in program history, its second over Alabama in the past 10 years and its first over Tennessee since 1998.

STEPPING BACK

GYMNASTICS
Final line: Fifth (of seven) at SECs, sixth of six at NCAA Regionals
- Lofty expectations were set before the season despite losing two key seniors, but the Tigers struggled against the elite competition in the SEC and had a forgettable performance at NCAA Regionals. Mixed in, though, was a program-changing victory at home against perennial power Georgia — the first in Auburn history.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Final line: 15-16 (5-11 SEC), advanced to second round of SEC Tournament
- The loss of an elite senior class was expected to present major hurdles for the Auburn women’s basketball team, and it certainly did. Led by junior Alli Smalley, the Tigers went through a number of highs and lows throughout the 2009-10 season. A convincing victory over Florida at the SEC Tournament served as the season’s top highlight, one that Auburn hopes to build on in 2010-11.

WOMEN’S TENNIS
Final line: Ranked 55th in nation at end of season, lost in first round of SECs, Fani Chifchieva advanced to round of 32 in NCAA singles
- The Tigers failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, one year after sneaking in and exiting after the first round. The women’s tennis team has had no trouble picking up victories in the non-conference portion of its schedule, but has struggled against the always-tough SEC.

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Final line: 15-17 (6-10 SEC), finished fifth in West, eliminated in first round of SEC Tournament.
- One year after an unexpected run through the SEC and NIT, the Tigers, loaded with seniors, underperformed enough to get their coach fired. Despite big crowds at games against Kentucky and Mississippi State, the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum finale, excitement in the program hit a number of all-time lows until Tony Barbee was hired to direct the team into the new Auburn Arena.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Final line: Seventh at SECs, sixth at NCAA Regionals, did not qualify for NCAAs
n Holly Knight captured second place at the NCAA Regionals and advanced as an individual to the NCAA Championships in 2008, but the Tigers did not place any runners in the year’s biggest meet. Knight has one more year at Auburn, and so does Stephanie Barnes, who finished 14th at Regionals.

COACH OF THE YEAR
John Pawlowski, Baseball
The skeptics will say Pawlowski won an Auburn program-record 43 games and advanced the team to its first SEC Tournament since 2003 with Tom Slater’s players. That’s largely true, but Pawlowski took over a team in 2008 that was over-swinging and striking out too much and turned it into the most dynamic offense in the nation. His sharp focus on pitching helped turn an abysmal pitching staff into a mildly reliable one, which was more than enough in the slugger-heavy SEC. Simply put, there’s a buzz around Auburn baseball that just wasn’t there two years ago, and Pawlowski is central to its re-emergence.
Honorable mention: Brett Hawke (swimming/diving), Greg Williams (equestrian), Kim Evans (women’s golf), Gene Chizik (football)

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Hunter Morris, Baseball
Morris called his sophomore year “the worst year of baseball” in his entire life. He made up for it in 2010 with one of the best seasons by any player in Auburn history. Morris led the SEC in home runs (23), RBI (76), slugging (.743) and total bases (202) while helping Auburn win the SEC West Division championship for the first time since 1995. His totals for home runs and total bases marked the most in school history and his 105 hits were the third most by an Auburn player during a single season. In three years, Morris, who was named SEC Player of the Year and was named a first-team All-American by multiple outlets, hit 46 career home runs and a .628 slugging percentage, both fifth all-time, and 93 extra-base hits, seventh all-time.
Honorable mention: Ben Tate (football), Marcus Rowland (track/field), Tim Puetz (tennis)

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Sheniqua Ferguson, Track and Field
Ferguson’s debut season was certainly strong enough to receive newcomer recognition, but her performance down the stretch earned her the top female honor. Ferguson took home her first NCAA title earlier this year, winning the 200m at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships. At last month’s SEC Outdoor Championships, she won the Commissioner’s Trophy, awarded to the high female point scorer, after victories in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. That performance all but wrapped up her place as the SEC’s Female Runner of the Year, an award that’s only been won by two other female athletes in Auburn history. She took home All-American honors in three events at the NCAA Championships, finishing sixth in both the 100m and 200m and seventh with the 4x100m team.
Honorable mention: Cydney Clanton (golf), Fani Chifchieva (tennis), Alli Smalley (basketball)

MALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Thad Ellis, Swimming and Diving
Performing in an area that often gets overlooked even within its own sport, Ellis thrived as a freshman on Auburn’s diving team. Ellis was one of four Auburn divers to qualify for all three boards at the SEC championships, as he finished fifth on the 1-meter and platform and eighth on the 3-meter. He set personal-bests on both the 1-meter and platform and combined for 39 total points for the team, which led to him claiming SEC Freshman of the Year.
Honorable mention: Daren Bates (football), Onterio McCalebb (football), Harry Adams (track and field), Justin Fradejas (baseball)

FEMALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Maya Pressley, Track and Field
Pressley was already etching her name in the Auburn record books before a strong performance at the SEC championships, when she notched high-jump leaps of at least 1.78 meters in four meets during the season, one of which ranks seventh in Auburn history. Pressley was the only woman to win an individual event at the SEC championships and became the first Auburn woman to win an outdoor title as a freshman, as she cleared 1.8 meters to claim SEC Freshman of the Year recognition.
Honorable mention: Morgan Toles (basketball), Petrina Yokay (gymnastics), Mary Coffed (soccer)

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