Entering her first season as the volunteer assistant coach, Rachelle Fruge Thompson brings a wealth of competition and coaching experience to the Tigers' coaching staff. Her knowledge of the sport and reputation as a great choreographer will be a great addition to an already enthusiastic group of coaches.

Thompson is a former LSU gymnast whose accomplishments include winning the 1991 SEC All-Around Championship. She was a three-time NCAA All-American, the 1991 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 also has experience in meet management. She helped organize every home meet at LSU over the past five years, including two NCAA Regional meets and the SEC Championship meet in 1998. Her competitive and administrative experiences will be called upon to enhance the image of Auburn Gymnastics home meets.

Thompson is married to head coach Jeff Thompson and the couple has two children, Parker Allen (4) and Grifin Fruge. The two met here at Auburn while whe was a gymnnast at LSU and he was a coach at the University of Wisconsin. They were married a year later.