Rachelle Thompson begins her ninth season as part of the Auburn coaching staff, but third as the Tigers' associate head coach. She was a full-time assistant for three years and a volunteer assistant coach for three years. Thompson's primary responsibilities include coaching the balance beam, floor and handling the beam and floor exercise choreography. Last season, Thompson coached Julie Dwyer into the Auburn record books again. Dwyer landed a spot in second-place on the all-time AU floor scores with a 9.950 as well as third on the beam with a 9.950. Also under the direction of Thompson, A.J. Mills is now in the Auburn record books for beam with a 9.925 and Lindsey Puckett with a 9.925 on floor. In 2006, Thompson guided Julie Dwyer to the sixth-highest individual beam score in AU history, a mark she duplicated two weeks later. With Thompson's leadership, Dwyer's beam and floor routines at the regional meet helped lead the way for her to represent Auburn at Nationals in the all around. As a team, the Tigers were consistently ranked as one of the top-12 beam teams in the country, coming in as high as fifth. On floor, Auburn was rated as high as 10th and finished the season with a No. 11 national ranking. In 2005, she helped the Tigers qualify a school-record four individuals for the NCAA Championships. The Tigers produced the champion and runner-up of the Central Regional, as Rachael Tarantino topped Julie Dwyer. For the second year in a row, Tarantino tied her career high on the floor with a score of 9.950 against Texas Women's Univ. Her scores of 9.950 rank second for the highest score in Auburn history. During Thompson's tenure, the Tigers have set new school records on the beam and the floor. Both marks occurred during the 2004 season when the Tigers scored a 49.600 on the beam at Centenary and a 49.600 on the floor against Florida. In 2004, Thompson coached Rachel Tarantino to the team's first 10.0 in two seasons when Tarantino was awarded the perfect score on beam versus Centenary. Thompson brings a wealth of competitive and coaching experience to the Tigers' staff. Her knowledge of the sport and reputation as a choreographer have been a great addition to the Auburn gymnastics program. As a gymnast at LSU, Thompson won the Southeastern Conference All-Around Championship in 1991. Thompson was a three-time NCAA All-American, the 1991 NCAA Regional vault and floor exercise champion, finished fourth in the all-around at the 1990 NCAA Championships and was a finalist for the Honda-Broderick Award. Thompson completed her college degree at Auburn University, graduating suma cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Education. Thompson's vast experience in meet management helped enhance the image of Auburn gymnastics' home events. In 2003, 2004 and 2006, the Tigers ranked fifth nationally for highest home meet attendance. Thompson is the wife of head coach Jeff Thompson and the mother of two boys, Parker and Griffin. |
 
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