AUBURN, Ala. – In their Neville Arena finales, No. 14 Auburn’s seniors went out in style Friday night, while the Tigers’ underclassmen earned big scores to help the team reach a 197.550 in a loss to No. 2 LSU.
“This team is just resilient,” head coach Jeff Graba said. “We’ve been through so much and nothing seems to phase them. I feel like we’re back to where we can be competitive and we proved that tonight.”
The visiting Tigers won the meet with a 198.200 and clinched a share of the SEC regular season championship.
Auburn (10-6, 3-5 SEC) saw eight career highs from seven gymnasts, including six freshmen and sophomores.
“The future is bright,” Graba said. “I’ve told everybody this freshman and sophomore class reminds of the seniors that are leaving when they were freshmen.”
One of those athletes was sophomore Paige Zancan, who reached a career high in two of her three events.
“I think a good week’s worth of practice helped me out a lot,” Zancan said. “I decided before I got here today that I was going to do what I knew I was capable of doing. That’s been a huge thing this year. Just staying calm and remaining intense at the same time, but mostly just having fun.”
“That’s just her,” Graba said of Zancan. “This is what she thought she could offer. This is who she is in the gym and in competition. Just rock solid.”
With the final score, the Tigers sealed their spot at the 2025 SEC Championship next week in Birmingham. Auburn will be in the afternoon session on March 22 at the BJCC.
“I’m excited to go to SECs,” freshman Olivia Ahern said. “I’m just really excited to go put on a show and show people we’re capable of so much more.”
“We knew that if we hit a 197.475, we were in,” Graba said. “You can’t control the scoring, but you can control your performance. I love the fact that this team came out and hit the score like there was no doubt.”
Auburn led off the meet with a 49.425 on vault, earning its second highest score of the year in the event.
Highlighting the rotation was Zancan’s 9.975 in the fifth spot, picking up a 10.0 from one judge to set a career high.
Senior Sara Hubbard added a 9.9 to tie a career high, while fifth year Sydney Schumaker chipped in a 9.875. Senior Sarah Zois anchored with a 9.85 and freshman Sophia Bell added a 9.825.
The team followed with another big score in the second rotation, earning a 49.4 on bars and having four of six athletes reach career bests in the event. The team score was also the second highest for the team in the event this season.
Leading the way was another 9.975 for the squad, this time from sophomore Olivia Greaves. The anchor earned a 10.0 from one judge to set a career high, earning a share of the event title.
Sophomore Emma Grace Boyd led off with a 9.85 to set a career score, while senior Caroline Leonard followed with a career-best 9.875. Freshman Marissa Neal followed with another career high, earning a 9.825. Sophomore Alex Irvine added to the team total with a 9.875.
The Tigers moved on to beam, putting together a 49.150. Zancan led the way with a 9.9 for the team, while Ahern led off with a 9.85. Seniors Sophia Groth and Gabby McLaughlin chipped in 9.825s and Greaves rounded out scoring with a 9.75.
The team came alive on floor, setting a season best with a 49.575 and seeing four Tigers earn a 9.925.
Ahern led off once again with a career-best 9.875 and was followed by back-to-back 9.925s from Zancan and Bell. That was a career high for Zancan and tied a career score for Bell.
McLaughlin, in her final performance in Neville, added a season-best 9.925 in the fifth spot and Groth anchored with a 9.925 in her final Neville routine.