AUBURN, Ala. – Friday marks the last home meet of the season, and for the four seniors, it will be their last meet inside Auburn Arena as a member of the Auburn Tigers.
You can go back and look at the individual accolades and accomplishments that Samantha Cerio, Taylor Krippner, Abby Milliet and A'Miracal Phillips have achieved while at Auburn, but it's what this group has done collectively that stands out. They've turned this program around.
"Come here and try to help us build something, and maybe we can do something special with it," Auburn head coach Jeff Graba told each one of them while he was recruiting them.
Now, years later, the Tigers finished with the best SEC regular-season record in program history. They have a chance to cap off an undefeated home slate with a win against Air Force on Friday. And there are aspirations of returning to the NCAA championships.
"There's just a lot of pride to see that they've risen to the occasion and brought this program to a place that we didn't think we could be at when we were recruiting them," Graba said.
"I feel like this senior class has a lot of passion in it," added Cerio. "We've really been pushing. We've improved so much since freshman year with how close we are together, how much we know each other's gymnastics – we know each other inside and out of the gym – and just the way that we communicate with each other I think is so important."
EVENT INFORMATION
It will be the "Hometown Heroes" meet in Auburn Arena on Friday as Auburn gymnastics will honor military and local first responders throughout the evening. The first 800 fans will receive a free Auburn gymnastics Hometown Heroes t-shirt.
Also, if you bring any two non-perishable food items, you will receive a free General Admission ticket. Donations go to the Campus Food Pantry for Auburn University students in need.
PARKING INFORMATION
Fans should park in the Campus Safety Lot off Wire Road and Donahue Drive. The location is a quick walk to the main entrance of Auburn Arena.
INSIDE THE SERIES: AIR FORCE
Auburn and Air Force have only met twice in history, and Auburn has come out victorious both times. In 2014, the Tigers went to Colorado Springs and won, 195.950 – 193.025. The following season, Air Force came to Auburn Arena where the Tigers posted a 196.625 to win the meet.
AUBURN LINEUP
Vault: Junior Katie Becker will once again lead off for Auburn this week, and then there's a chance that Phillips steps into the lineup replace Jada Glenn in the No. 2 spot. The senior has earned a 9.700 or higher in seven of the eight meets she's competed in, including a 9.825 against Georgia. Following those two will be your usual suspects with junior Gracie Day, the two all-arounders Derrian Gobourne and Drew Watson, and then Krippner serving as the anchor.
Bars: As the Tigers look to get healthy before postseason, Milliet could get the week off on bars. In her place will either be Becker or sophomore Kendal Moss, and whomever the coaches choose between those two is expected to lead off for Auburn on the event. Watson, typically first to go, will move back to the No. 2 spot, and then it will be Krippner and Gobourne followed by Cerio and Day as the anchor. As a team, the Tigers are ranked No. 7 nationally on bars.
Beam: Coming off a meet in which Auburn earned the second-highest beam score in program history, the lineup this week will look relatively the same. Watson will continue to lead off for this group, and then it's sophomore Allie Riddle, who earned a new career high with a 9.950 in last week's meet. Next will be Gobourne and junior Skyler Sheppard, who returned to the lineup last week. Sophomore Meredith Sylvia will move up a spot to fifth in the lineup, and the anchor will either be Milliet or Krippner.
Floor: The only change to this week's lineup will be the anchor spot where Cerio will take the place of Day. Cerio scored a 9.825 last week. Junior Emma Slappey, who also posted a 9.825 in the last meet, will lead off for the second straight week. She'll be followed by Sheppard, Watson, Gobourne and Milliet. Three of Auburn's top four floor scores this season have come at home, and the Tigers are hoping to continue that trend this week.
UP NEXT
Auburn will travel to New Orleans next week for this year's SEC gymnastics championship. The two sessions will both take place on Saturday, March 23, from the Smoothie King Center.