AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn gymnastics team enters the week at No. 8 per RoadToNationals.com. The weekly rankings are based on an average score of all meets competed.
The Tigers kicked off their home schedule with a 197.350-195.575 victory over Iowa State last Friday in Auburn Arena. That score was the second-highest score in program history.
"We're coming off a fantastic meet in front of a record sellout crowd," head coach Jeff Graba said. "You could say we're a little excited. However, we have a huge meet this Friday as we host the Iron Bowl of gymnastics in a Top 10 showdown. We are going to have to be focused all week and support each other as we try to continue this growth as a program."
No. 8 Auburn hosts No. 9 Alabama Friday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m. CT in Auburn Arena. The meet will be televised on ESPN2. The last top 10 match up in Auburn Arena came in 2016 when the then-No. 8 Tigers topped then-No. 4 Alabama to snap a 37-year losing skid to the Tide.
Michigan and Utah remain on top of the rankings at spots No. 1 and 2. Oklahoma is third, while Florida and Denver rank fourth and fifth, respectively. LSU is sixth, while Missouri (10), Kentucky (12) and Arkansas (13) are all in the top 15.
Auburn moved up on beam and stands sixth with a 49.233 average. The team ranks tied for sixth on vault (49.250) and continues to climb the other lists as well, coming in 12th on bars (49.200) and 13th on floor (49.200).
Senior Derrian Gobourne moved up to a tie for 11th on floor following a 9.975 last week against Iowa State. Freshman Sophia Groth is tied for 14th on beam and fifth year Drew Watson is 19th on vault.
