AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn gymnastics team enters the week at No. 8 per RoadToNationals.com. The weekly rankings are based on the overall team score from the season-opening weekend.
Auburn opened the season with a 196.050 at the North Carolina Tri-Meet this past Friday, besting the host Tar Heels (195.700) and Bowling Green (192.600).
"Being ranked eighth this week is just a sign that we are on the right track," head coach Jeff Graba said. "We don't focus too much on the rankings until we get closer to the end of the season but being ranked in the top 10 is obviously a great starting point for this team. We still have a lot of work left to do and a tough schedule ahead of us."
This week's top five has Michigan (No. 1) and Florida (No. 2) separated by .075. Oklahoma is third and Utah is fourth with Denver coming in fifth. LSU, Missouri and Auburn are in spots 6-8, while Alabama is tied for 11th. Arkansas is 15th and Georgia comes in at No. 21.
Auburn ranked third nationally on vault with a 49.300. The squad is 15th on both floor and beam and are 16th on bars.
Individually, the Tigers are led by fifth-year senior Drew Watson. She ranks tied for third on vault with a 9.95. Freshman Sara Hubbard and senior Derrian Gobourne are tied for 16th at 9.875. Gobourne is also 23rd on floor (9.875), while freshman Sunisa Lee is 20th on beam (9.875).
Auburn travels to No. 15 Arkansas this Friday, taking on the Razorbacks at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.