AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 5 Auburn gymnastics team kicks off the 2023 season at the inaugural Super 16 in Las Vegas Saturday night. The Tigers will face No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Michigan and No. 10 UCLA in a quad meet in the Orleans Arena at 8 p.m. CT.
"This is full speed for us to start the season," head coach Jeff Graba said. "We're hitting the ground running against three former national champions. We're looking forward to being a part of the big match up on Saturday. It just says a lot about how far this program has come and showcases all the hard work this team has put in."
Auburn's opponents on Saturday night have won the last four national titles. The Sooners took the crown in 2019 and 2022, while Michigan won it all in 2021 and the Bruins finished first in 2018.
"The last three teams to win the national champion will be on the floor with us," Graba said. "However, it's still our first meet. We want to win and score high, but there are still things that need to happen in the first meet that we don't want to forget about. We're excited to be a part of this and to see where we line up against these historic programs."
The Tigers will compete in the fourth of four sessions spread over two days and the meet will be televised on Big Ten Network.
POTENTIAL LINEUP
The 2023 Auburn gymnastics squad brings a wealth of experience to the table this season as the team lost just two routines from 2022. The tentative lineup features one fifth year, five seniors, two juniors and four sophomores.
Auburn will start the Super 16 final session on bars in the first rotation. The Tigers return all routines from a 2022 team that finished fifth in the regular season with an NQS of 49.490.
All-Americans Derrian Gobourne and Sunisa Lee will bring a wealth of talent to the lineup as Gobourne was national runner-up in the event and Lee was the SEC bars champion. Seniors Adeline Sabados and Cassie Stevens have been mainstays on bars throughout their careers and are among the top eight.
Juniors Olivia Hollingsworth and Gabby McLaughlin have also worked their way into the potential bars lineup, while sophomore Sophia Groth and senior Anna Sumner are also vying for a spot.
The Tigers will move to beam for rotation two and also return all routines from last year. Auburn finished fourth nationally with an NQS of 49.485.
The squad will be led by All-Americans Lee and Groth. Lee is the NCAA champion in the event, while Groth is a two-time All-American and All-SEC performer on beam. McLaughlin, Hollingsworth, Stevens and senior Aria Brusch all return from last year's lineup with big scoring potential, while senior Morgan Leigh Oldham and sophomore Sara Hubbard have earned a spot in the top eight.
Auburn heads to floor for the third rotation and return all but one routine from the previous season. Gobourne headlines the floor lineup after finishing second nationally and earning two All-America honors in the event last year.
Brusch, Lee and Stevens also return from the lineup that was sixth nationally with a 49.500 NQS. Hollingsworth, Hubbard, McLaughlin and Oldham have earned a spot in the top eight as well for the squad.
The Tigers finish the meet on vault – an event that had them finish fifth in the nation with a 49.400. Looking to bring solid 10.0 vaults this year will be All-American Gobourne and Hubbard as well as Lee and Stevens. Joining them in the top eight is sophomore Ananda Brown as well as Groth, Hollingsworth and Sabados.
UP NEXT
The Tigers kick off Southeastern Conference competition next week, traveling to conference champion and No. 2 Florida. Auburn and the Gators square off at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2 in Gainesville.
No. 5 Tigers open season at Super 16 in Las Vegas
