AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 12 Auburn gymnastics team kicks off the NCAA postseason this week, competing at the 2023 NCAA Los Angeles Regional Championship, March 30-April 1. The three-day meet will be held in Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA.
"We have our work cut out for us this week as we are going against historical programs," head coach Jeff Graba said. "If we do our job, I feel very confident we can move through. Everyone has to be really good from now on because it's an elimination tournament. You can't make mistakes and we're up against some of the best teams in the country."
The afternoon session will begin at 4 p.m. CT and will include the No. 3 seed Tigers, No. 2 seed Utah, Southern Utah and Washington
The evening session of round two will begin at 9 p.m. CT and will feature No. 1 seed UCLA, No. 4 seed Missouri, Stanford and Boise State.
The top two teams from each session will advance to the Sweet Sixteen at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 1. The top two teams from that session will then advance to the NCAA Championships, April 13-15, in Fort Worth, Texas.
PROJECTED LINEUP
The 2023 Auburn gymnastics squad heads into the postseason with a similar lineup from last week, featuring a fifth year, five seniors, two juniors, three sophomores and one freshman.
The Tigers will go floor, vault, bars and beam.
Fifth year Derrian Gobourne is set to headline the event as she is a back-to-back All-American in the event. She holds a 9.940 NQS and was All-SEC in the event.
Seniors Aria Brusch, Morgan Leigh Oldham and Cassie Stevens, juniors Olivia Hollingsworth and Gabby McLaughlin and sophomores Sophia Groth and Sara Hubbard all have earned a spot in the top eight.
Stevens and Hollingsworth were All-SEC in the event for the Tigers. Hollingsworth reached a career-high in the regular season finale with a 9.95.
The Tigers will move on to vault for rotation two. Stevens is coming off a huge performance n the event at SECs, earning a share of the conference crown with a 9.95. She picked up first team All-America on vault with a 9.925 NQS.
Gobourne has also put up big numbers in the event for the Tigers and finished the regular season with a 9.9 NQS.
Joining the pair in the team's top eight will be senior Adeline Sabados, Hollingsworth, Groth, Hubbard, sophomore Caroline Leonard and freshman Hannah Hagle.
Hollingsworth has a handful of 9.875s to her credit, while Leonard competed in the event for the first time in her career at SECs and scored a 9.8.
Auburn will move on to bars for rotation three and had three Tigers earn All-SEC in the event.
Guiding the squad will be Gobourne, Stevens and Brusch. The trio all scored a 9.9 at the conference meet for the squad.
Sabados, Hollingsworth, McLaughlin and Groth along with and senior Anna Sumner are all in the team's top eight.
The squad will head to beam for the last rotation. McLaughlin, Stevens and All-American Groth are set to lead the way for the squad. McLaughlin has a 9.95 under her belt and was All-SEC in the event.
Hollingworth and Brusch have been mainstays in the lineup, while Hagle has earned her way into the top eight.
Oldham and Sumner have also secured a spot in the potential lineup.
