March 26, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬"The No. 16 Auburn gymnastics team earned a berth into the NCAA postseason and will be the No. 3 seed at the Salt Lake City Regional held April 7 in the Huntsman Center.
"Utah runs a great meet and has a great venue with a big crowd," head coach Jeff Graba said. "The only drawback is the elevation so we have to train the team for that. It will benefit the teams that are in shape and healthy. The season always comes down to one meet and we just have to go out there and hit."
The Tigers will be joined by No. 1 seed and host Utah (No. 4 overall), while No. 9 California secured the No. 2 seed. This will be the second-consecutive season Auburn will face the Utes and the Bears in the regional meet. Also competing will be BYU, Stanford, and Southern Utah.
The top two teams from each of the six regionals will advance to the NCAA Championships, April 20-21, in St. Louis at Chaifetz Arena.
Auburn ranks No. 16 nationally with an RQS of 196.595. The Tigers are tied for 15th on vault (49.155) and beam (49.200), 20th on bars (49.205), and 25th on floor (49.215).
All-SEC performers Gracie Day and Drew Watson are among the SEC's best on vault. Day, a sophomore from San Antonio, is tied for seventh in the league with a 9.89 RQS, while Watson is tied for ninth at 9.885. Watson and Day finished tied for second overall at the 2018 SEC Championship in the event with a 9.925 each. The placement earned Watson SEC All-Freshman accolades.
Junior Samantha Cerio also picked up All-SEC honors on bars and is tied for 35th nationally with a 9.89 RQS. Redshirt junior Abby Milliet is among the nation's best on beam, standing tied for 25th overall with a 9.9 RQS.
Tickets for the Salt Lake City Regional range from $6 to $16 for the general public. All seating is lower bowl (the upper bowl will be draped) and ticket prices are $8 for adults/$6 for kids in rows 21-31 and $16 for seats in rows 1-20. Tickets can be purchased at www.UtahTickets.com and 801-581-UTIX (8849).
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