AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 14 Auburn gymnastics team heads back to Baton Rouge this Friday, competing in the Podium Challenge at the Raising Cane's River Center. The meet will kick off at 6 p.m. CT and the Tigers will face No. 3 LSU, George Washington and Texas Woman's University.
"This is a great opportunity for us to get a taste of the postseason," head coach Jeff Graba said. "The meet is on the podium, which means its elevated just like SECs and nationals. We're going against great competition, so this is another chance for our team to improve their NQS."
POTENTIAL LINEUP
The Tigers will start on bars Friday night and follow with beam, floor and vault.
Auburn's top eight on bars remains the same, featuring a wealth of experience.
Fifth years Aria Brusch and Cassie Stevens lead the charge with seniors Olivia Hollingsworth and Gabby McLaughlin also in the top eight. Junior Sophia Groth joins the four in experience. Stevens, Hollingsworth and Groth have three scores of 9.9 or better on the year.
Sophomore Hannah Hagle, redshirt freshman Olivia Greaves and freshman Emma Grace Boyd are also among the top eight. Greaves is coming off back-to-back 9.9s, while Boyd earned a career-best 9.825 on the road at Georgia last week.
The Tigers move on to beam in rotation two and are among the nation's best in the event, ranking ninth with a 49.345 NQS.
Another group of upperclassmen lead the way in Brusch, Stevens, Hollingsworth, McLaughlin and Groth. McLaughlin and Groth each earned 9.925s last Friday on the road, while Stevens has a 9.975 to her credit. McLaughlin ranks 20th nationally with a 9.910 NQS.
Joining them in the top eight is freshman Paige Zancan, redshirt freshman Hailey John and Hagle. Zancan has held a spot in the lead off for the Tigers, having a career-high 9.9 to her credit.
Floor will be rotation three for the team and the squad holds a 49.395 to rank 16th nationally.
Brusch, Groth, McLaughlin, Stevens and Hollingsworth once again lead the way in the top eight as Hollingsworth ranks tied for 29th with a 9.915 NQS.
Hagle along with junior Sara Hubbard and freshman Julianne Huff are all in the top eight for the squad. Hagle has had a lot of success lately for the squad, having a pair of 9.9s to her name.
Auburn will finish the night on vault in the final rotation.
Stevens leads the way with a 9.9 NQS and is ranked tied for 15th. Hollingsworth, Groth, Hubbard and Huff have all been consistent vaulters with senior Sydney Schumaker. Zancan and Greaves are also among the top eight for the squad.
Zancan recently earned a spot in the lineup at Georgia, scoring a 9.9.
UP NEXT
The final meet of the regular season will have Auburn in Nashville next week at the inaugural Kidney Care Women's Gymnastics Championship. The Tigers will take on Kentucky, Ohio State and Fisk on March 16 at 7:15 p.m. CT in the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.