Aug. 29, 2007

AUBURN -

The Auburn women's golf team was voted No. 5 in the GolfWorld/Nike Golf Preseason Coaches' Poll that is included in the annual College Preview edition of GolfWorld available online now at www.golfworld.com.

Three-time defending champion Duke headed up the list, receiving 26 of 29 first-place votes as it returns two-time national player of the Year, Amanda Blumenherst, and fellow junior All-American Jennie Lee. Arizona State follows Duke in the No. 2 spot and received two first-place votes. UCLA, the only other team to get a first-place vote, is No. 3, followed by Southern California and Auburn.

Tiger sophomore Candace Schepperle and senior Margaret Shirley were included on the "Top 50 Female Players to Watch" list. Schepperle, the SEC Freshman of the Year a year ago, averaged 74.55 and posted two top 10 finishes in 2006-07. Shirley, a two-time All-SEC selection, has 11 career top-20 finishes.

The Tigers completed the 2005-06 season with a 157-42 record including three tournament victories. Auburn won The Derby Invitational, Lady Puerto Rico Classic and Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. Mariana Macias was the only individual winner as the then-sophomore took the Lady Puerto Rico Classic title.

Auburn begins the 2007-08 season at the Mason Rudolph Championship Sept. 14-16, hosted by Vanderbilt at the Vanderbilt Legends Club. The Tigers follow that up with a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the Fall Preview. The University of New Mexico Golf Course will be the host of the 2008 NCAA Championship on May 20-23.

 A complete list of the men and women's poll, as well as the, top 50 lists for men and women are available at www.golfworld.com.