AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 14 Auburn gymnastics team kicks off the NCAA portion of the postseason this weekend, traveling to Berkeley, California for the 2024 NCAA Berkeley Regional, April 5-7. The three-day meet will be held in Haas Pavilion on Cal's campus.
"We drew a tough regional with a long travel day, but it's another opportunity for this team to show what we know we're capable of," head coach Jeff Graba said. "We're facing some really good teams that will be comfortable on Cal's campus. We have to hit no matter where we go so our mindset isn't changing this week. We just need to beat two teams to get to the next round and we're looking forward to this opportunity."
The Tigers will compete in the night session, beginning at 9 p.m. CT. It will include No. 4 seed Auburn, No. 1 seed and host California, Stanford and Southern Utah.
The afternoon session of round two will begin at 3 p.m. CT and will feature No. 2 seed Denver, No. 3 seed UCLA, Arizona State and Washington.
The top two teams from each session will advance to the Sweet Sixteen at 7 p.m. CT on Sunday, April 7. The top two teams from that session will then advance to the NCAA Championships, April 18-20, in Fort Worth, Texas.
POTENTIAL LINEUP
Auburn will kick off the meet on floor and will follow with vault, bars and beam.
Auburn has been a consistent team on floor all year, having a 49.470 NQS as a team.
Seniors Olivia Hollingsworth and Gabby McLaughlin are among the nation's best with a 9.915 NQS apiece, having competed on floor in every meet so far. McLaughlin has eight scores of 9.9 or better this year, while Hollingsworth has a 9.95 to her credit.
Freshman Julianne Huff earned All-SEC for her performance on floor two weeks ago, leading the team with a 9.875.
Fifth years Cassie Stevens and Aria Brusch along with junior Sophia Groth have also competed on floor in every meet this season and are among the top eight. Joining them is junior Sara Hubbard and freshman Paige Zancan.
Auburn moves on to vault for the second rotation and is looking to build off of the SEC yearly meet.
The Tigers have six of their top eight with 10.0 start values. Senior Sydney Schumaker along with Hollingsworth, Hubbard, Huff, Stevens and Zancan are all among the top eight with 10.0 vaults.
Stevens and Huff are coming off 9.9s from the SEC meet as each earned All-SEC. Stevens has a season-best 9.95 to her credit, while Huff has earned a pair of 9.925s this season.
Groth and redshirt freshman Olivia Greaves both have a 9.95 start value and are among the possible starters for the squad.
The third rotation has the squad on bars.
Stevens, Brusch, Hollingsworth, McLaughlin, Groth and Greaves have all been consistent competitors for the Tigers, while sophomore Hannah Hagle and freshman Emma Grace Boyd are among the top eight.
Four Tigers in Brusch, Hollingsworth, Stevens and Greaves earned 9.9s in the event at the SEC Championship, helping the Tigers reach a season-best 49.400 in the event.
The Tiger beam squad will close out the meet and hopes to continue exceling in the event.
Leading the way among the top eight is McLaughlin and Stevens. McLaughlin is among the nation's best with a 9.920 NQS and has seven scores of 9.9 or better, including a 9.95.
Stevens has a 9.915 NQS and has a career-best 9.975 to her credit this season.
Joining the pair is Brusch, Hollingsworth and Groth. Brusch and Hollingsworth have been consistent competitors for the squad, while Groth has eight scores of 9.9 or better.
Zancan has been in the lineup for all but two meets this year, while redshirt freshmen Hailey John and Greaves are also among the top eight for the squad.
