AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 7 Auburn gymnastics team continues on the road, traveling to San Antonio for the Lone Star Collegiate Challenge Saturday, January 11. The Tigers will compete in the Freeman Coliseum at 1 p.m. CT and the meet will be held on the podium.
“We need to build off what we started this week,” head coach Jeff Graba said. “It wasn’t a bad start to the season last week, but we do have a lot things to get accomplished and to learn this weekend. I’m excited to once again compete in a podium, which will set us up well when postseason comes around.”
Auburn will face off with No. 9 Penn State, Arizona State, Maryland and Temple in the five-team meet. Fans will be able to follow the live stream courtesy of Virtius.
AUBURN LINEUP
The Auburn top eight on each event looks very similar to the first week’s lineup with a balanced combination of experience and talented newcomers.
Auburn will once again start on bars and looks to build off the solid start from last week as the team put together a 49.100.
Leading the way is freshman Katelyn Jong, who scored a 9.9 in Nashville to anchor the lineup. Joining her in the top eight is fifth year Olivia Hollingsworth, senior Sophia Groth and sophomores Emma Grace Boyd and Olivia Greaves. The four all competed last week and contributed to the team score.
Also among the team’s top eight on bars is redshirt freshman Bryn Bartman, sophomore Alex Irvine and senior Caroline Leonard.
Auburn moves on to beam in rotation two and finds itself among the nation’s best after week one, scoring a 49.250 on beam in Nashville.
Freshman Marissa Neal had a team-best 9.9 last week, while classmate Olivia Ahern led off the event in Nashville with a 9.825. Joining the pair in the top eight is Hollingsworth, Groth and fifth year Gabby McLaughlin. The trio have over 40 starts on beam each, including 51 starts for McLaughlin.
Joining them in the potential lineup is Jong, sophomore Paige Zancan and senior Sarah Zois. Jong competed last week, scoring a 9.8 for the Tigers.
Rotation three will be floor and the squad looks to improve from last week’s performances.
Hollingsworth, McLaughlin and Groth once again lead the way in experience, while Jong, Greaves and freshman Sophia Bell all got the start last week. Neal and Zancan round out the top eight for Auburn.
The final event will be vault in rotation four. Seven of Auburn’s eight in the potential lineup have a 10.0 start value, including senior Sara Hubbard and sophomore Julianne Huff. Hubbard is an All-American in the event, while Huff was All-SEC last year.
Zois, fifth year Sydney Schumaker, Bell and Jong all competed last week, while Hollingsworth and Zancan are working hard to crack into the lineup.
Auburn will close out the meet on a bye.
UP NEXT
The Tigers kick off their home schedule with the First Meet on the Plains on Friday, January 17. Auburn will host Arkansas at 6 p.m. CT and the meet will be televised on SEC Network.