AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 12 Auburn gymnastics team welcomes No. 9 Oregon State to Neville Arena for Friday Night Heights, January 24. The Tigers and the Beavers will face off at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
"It's a great team coming to town," head coach Jeff Graba said. "It's going to be a real battle and a real test. We've got to be on our game, that's for sure."
The meeting will be the first head-to-head contest between the two teams since 2017 when Oregon State came to the Plains. And the team will welcome an Olympian to town in Oregon State's Jade Carey.
"She just got the highest all-around in the country last weekend," Graba said of Carey. "This is a very good team. They are coming into town with a shot at beating an SEC opponent and we have a shot of beating a top 10 team. I expect nothing less than a battle and we're looking forward to it."
FAN INFORMATION
It’s Neon Night in Neville! Glow sticks will be passed out to all in the lower bowl of the arena to help light up Neville and Chick-fil-A sandwiches will be passed out to Auburn University students.
TICKET INFORMATION
Limited standing room only tickets are available for purchase and can be found HERE.
PARKING
A couple of notes on parking as you prepare for Friday’s meet.
- The arena lot is reserved and requires an arena parking pass for access.
- Free and recommended parking is available in the Campus Safety lot located off War Eagle Way. This lot provides easy access to the main entry of Neville Arena. Additional free parking is available in the Stadium Parking Deck, Athletics Complex Parking Deck and the Coliseum Lot.
- Two ADA golf carts will be available starting 90 minutes prior to first vault and one hour post meet. Carts will run from the ADA lot on Wire Road to the Scholarship Entry and North Entry of Neville Arena. An ADA transit will also be available.
- Doors to Neville Arena open 90 minutes prior to each meet. Please plan to arrive early for quick access to parking and entry.
AUBURN LINEUP
The Auburn Tigers will be at home once again, starting the meet on vault with bars, beam and floor following.
The team ranks in the top 15 on vault and enters Friday with six of the eight potential starts with 10.0 start values.
Sophomore Paige Zancan is among the nation's best in the event so far, ranking tied for 16th with a 9.875 average. She is coming off the first event title of her career, winning vault vs. Arkansas with a 9.9 to tie a career high.
Also among the top on the team is senior Sara Hubbard and freshman Katelyn Jong. The pair each have a 9.875 to their credit this season and shared the event title two weeks ago.
Joining the three with 10.0 start values is fifth year Sydney Schumaker, sophomore Julianne Huff and freshman Sophia Bell.
Senior Sarah Zois and sophomore Olivia Greaves each have a nice Yurchenko full in their tool belt and earned a spot in the top eight.
The team moves on the bars and is coming off a season-best 49.175 last week.
Jong leads the top eight with a 9.9 average to be among the nation's top 10 and two event titles.
Also working a spot in the lineup with a wealth of experience is senior Sophia Groth, who has 38 starts in the event. Classmate Caroline Leonard remains in the top eight and has solid performances in exhibition for the squad.
Youth will highlight the rest of potential lineup. That includes redshirt freshman Bryn Bartman and sophomores Alex Irvine, Greaves, Huff and Emma Grace Boyd. Greaves reached a season-best 9.875 last week, while Boyd tied a career-high with a 9.825.
Rotation three has the squad going on beam, where the Tigers are ranked ninth nationally with a 49.192.
Leading the way are freshmen Marissa Neal and Jong. Neal is coming off a career-high 9.925 vs. Arkansas, winning the event.
Fifth year Gabby McLaughlin looks to continue her starting streak as the Aliso Viejo, California product has 53 starts in the event.
Joining the three in the top eight include freshman Olivia Ahern, Zancan, Groth, Zois and Greaves.
Auburn will finish the night on floor and once again, the top eight is a mix of experience and youth.
Three Tigers earned a share of the event title last week in Groth, Neal and Jong. The latter two each had career highs with a 9.85 apiece.
Joining the three in the top eight with starting experience is McLaughlin, Greaves, and Bell. Bell has a 9.925 to her credit this year.
Hoping to crack the lineup for the first time this year will be Zancan and Bartman.
UP NEXT
The Tigers head back on the road, traveling to Lexington, Kentucky for a Southeastern Conference contest. Auburn will face nationally-ranked Kentucky on January 31 at 6 p.m. CT and the meet will be streamed on SEC Network+.