AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 12 Auburn gymnastics team heads to No. 3 LSU for a Friday night match up on February 16. The two Tiger teams will face off at 8 p.m. CT in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge and the meet will be televised on SEC Network.
"This is a really good road test for us this week," head coach Jeff Graba said. "We're looking forward to getting on the road. LSU has the most talent on paper in my opinion. They are competing at a high level, so Friday is going to be a challenge for us."
The contest will be a good test for the Auburn squad, competing in a hostile environment.
"This is a high-energy environment that we're walking into this week," Graba said. "As we know, the postseason is on the road, so we need to take advantage of these opportunities to be away from Neville Arena to prepare ourselves for what's coming up next."
The match up will be Auburn's eighth against a top 10 opponent already this year.
"It never gets easier for us in the SEC," said Graba. "Every time we get comfortable, we face a higher-ranked team. What we have to do this Friday is start strong like we did last week. We don't need to overperform and just need to do our average as we build off each other. If we do that, I think we can push LSU this Friday."
POTENTIAL LINEUP
Auburn will be the visiting Tigers this Friday and will start on bars followed by vault, floor and beam.
The team's top eight on bars remains the same this week heading to Baton Rouge.
Leading the way are graduates Cassie Stevens and Aria Brusch, while seniors Olivia Hollingsworth and Gabby McLaughlin and junior Sophia Groth are all among the top eight.
Stevens and Hollingsworth each earned 9.9s against Alabama last week to lead the squad.
Both McLaughlin and Groth each have a 9.9 on the season, while Brusch has been a consistent contributor her entire career on the Plains.
Joining the upperclassmen in top eight will be sophomore Hannah Hagle, redshirt freshman Olivia Greaves and freshman Emma Grace Boyd.
Greaves has two starts to her name with a career-high 9.875. Boyd and Hagle have both competed in the event this season for the Tigers.
Auburn will head to vault for rotation two and is coming off a 49.500 last week, which tied a program record in the event.
Stevens and freshman Julianne Huff each recorded 9.925s last week against the Crimson Tide. It was a season best for Stevens and a career high for Huff.
Joining the pair with 10.0 start values are Hollingsworth, senior Sydney Schumaker and junior Sara Hubbard.
Groth along with junior transfer Anna Hill and freshman Jersie Woolsey all have a spot in the top eight for the squad.
The Tigers will go to floor for the third rotation and have been a solid team this season in the event, averaging a 49.408.
The top eight includes Stevens, Brusch, Hollingsworth, McLaughlin and Groth. Hollingsworth won the event title last week with a season-best 9.925, while Stevens, McLaughlin and Groth all had 9.9s.
Hagle has competed in back-to-back meets on floor for Auburn and scored a career-best 9.9 against the Crimson Tide.
Also in the top eight is Hubbard and freshman Paige Zancan. It's the first time Zancan has cracked the team's top eight.
The Tigers will end the night on beam where the team ranks fifth nationally with a 49.250.
Stevens set a career best last week with a 9.975, earning the event title. Zancan and Groth each chipped in a 9.9 for the squad with that score being a career high for Zancan.
Joining the three in the top eight will be McLaughlin, Hollingsworth, Brusch, Hagle and Boyd.
McLaughlin is among the nation's best on beam, having a 9.892 average.
UP NEXT
Auburn returns to the Plains for one last meet in Neville Arena in 2024. The Tigers will host nationally-ranked Missouri on February 23 at 6 p.m. CT and the meet will be televised on SEC Network.
No. 12 Auburn travels to No. 3 LSU for Friday Night Heights
