AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn gymnastics team kicks off the postseason at the 2021 Southeastern Conference Championship, competing afternoon session Saturday, March 20, in Huntsville, Ala., at the Von Braun Center. The Tigers are the sixth seed in the annual conference meet and action starts at 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
"We've been simulating the postseason rotations in practice this last week and are preparing for the speed of the meet," head coach Jeff Graba said. "We only have three athletes that have competed in the postseason before. We've been working on our mental game a lot and the key is to stay focused this Saturday. This meet goes really fast, and you have to come out of the gate strong. If we can stay focused, we should have a good score and leave Huntsville pleased with our performance."
The Tigers will compete in the afternoon session alongside fifth-seeded Kentucky and eighth-seeded Missouri. Auburn will start on bars and follow to beam, floor and vault. Seventh-seeded Georgia will miss the conference meet because of COVID issues within the program.
AUBURN LINEUP
The Auburn tentative lineup features 16 of 24 possible routines coming from sophomores or freshmen. Of the 16, 14 will come from the sophomore class. All but three of Auburn's scheduled competitors are new to the postsesason format on podium.
As the second-seeded team in the afternoon session, the Tigers will start on their best event - bars. Auburn ranks tied for 13th nationally in the event with a 49.313.
Five of six spots will be sophomores with Anna Sumner leading off. The Sumner, Ga., product has competed in the event in all eight meets this season and reached a career-high 9.85 against LSU.
Sophomore Piper Smith will go second and has the second-highest NQS on the squad at 9.881. She has a 9.925 under her belt this season. Sophomores Adeline Sabados and Cassie Stevens will go third and fourth with classmate Aria Brusch in the fifth spot. Brusch earned a career-best 9.925 against Georgia and has been rock solid in the event since.
Junior Derrian Gobourne will close out bars in the anchor slot. She ranks tied for 14th nationally in the event with a 9.913 NQS and has three bars titles this season.
Auburn moves on to beam for rotation two and ranks tied for 13th nationally with a 49.275. Sophomore Morgan Leigh Oldham will lead off following a career-best score vs. Arkansas of 9.85. Gobourne is slated to go second with senior Drew Watson making her championship debut in the third slot.
Senior Meredith Sylvia is down for fourth for the team on beam and is coming off back-to-back 9.9 performances. Freshman Gabby McLaughlin is set for fifth and has a team-best 9.919 NQS. The Irving, Texas, product has earned a 9.925 or better three times, including a 9.95. Stevens will anchor the event for the Tigers.
Auburn moves on to floor in the third rotation. Oldham will lead off again for the squad and has a pair of 9.8s this season. Sabados and Brusch are slated to go second and third and Stevens will go fourth. Brusch is coming off a season-best 9.875 vs. Arkansas.
Watson and Gobourne will close out the event. Gobourne is ranked tied for third on floor nationally with a 9.956 NQS. She has reached a career-high 9.975 twice this year and has won the event title four times.
The final rotation has the Tigers on vault. Auburn has continued to improve in the event and has moved up to 21st nationally with a 49.156 NQS.
Freshman Payton Smith will lead off for the squad, making her championship debut later in the day. Piper Smith is set to go second with Sabados going third.
Watson is slated to go third for the Tigers, being the first in the lineup to perform a Yurchenko 1.5. The Tyler, Texas, product is tied for first on the team with a 9.894 NQS.
Gobourne will go fifth and will compete a Yurchenko 1.5 as well. She is tied with Watson with a 9.894 NQS. Stevens is currently scheduled to anchor with potential of throwing her Yurchenko 1.5.
Stevens and Gobourne are currently on pace to compete in the all-around. Gobourne has a 39.313 NQS in the category, earning a career-high 39.575 at Florida (2/26). Stevens has competed in the all-around in all but two meets competed in her career. She won the all-around title against Georgia with a career total of 39.450.
UP NEXT
Postseason continues with Auburn heading to the 2021 NCAA Regional Championships. The squad will await it's seeding and placement until the NCAA Selection Show Monday, March 22, at 4 p.m. CT.
Tigers open postseason at 2021 SEC Championship
