AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 13 Auburn gymnastics team is set to take on No. 7 Missouri in its final road test of the 2025 regular season. The two Tiger teams will face off at 12 p.m. CT on Sunday in Columbia at the Hearnes Center.
"It's extremely tough to compete at Missouri," head coach Jeff Graba said. "Missouri is very senior heavy so they have a lot of experience. We're going to have to go in and keep our head down and do our business. We need to get better at being us this week.
"I like our chances if we can hit. We're not lacking fire power, but lacking experience and we need this Sunday to go well for us to start building our confidence back."
Sunday meets have not been a common occurrence for the Auburn Tigers in recent seasons, so the team is working on being ready for a different feel on meet day.
"It's an early match up for us on a day we don't normally compete," Graba said. "It's a different animal and we're treating it more like it's a normal school day."
AUBURN LINEUP
The Auburn Tigers are once again the road team and will go in the following order - bars, vault, floor, beam.
The Tigers kick off the meet on bars where they rank 15th nationally with a 49.205 NQS.
Highlighting the top eight are sophomores Alex Irvine and Olivia Greaves.
Irvine has an NQS of 9.88 and has scored four 9.9s or better in a row. That included a career-high 9.95.
Greaves is also among the team's best in the event, having reached a career-high 9.925 this season.
Joining the pair in the top eight will be redshirt freshman Bryn Bartman, sophomores Emma Grace Boyd and Julianne Huff, seniors Caroline Leonard and Sophia Groth and freshman Marissa Neal.
Groth has a handful of 9.9s to her credit this season and it will be Neal's first appearance in the top eight on bars this year.
Auburn follows on vault in the second rotation where the team ranks 10th nationally.
Leading the way will be sophomore Paige Zancan and experienced Tigers Sydney Schumaker, Sara Hubbard and Sarah Zois.
Zancan, Schumaker and Zois have each had 9.9s this year, while Hubbard has a season-best 9.875 this year.
Also among the top eight is freshman Sophia Bell, sophomores Julianne Huff and Alex Irvine and senior Anna Hill.
Huff has seven starts this year on the event, while Bell has five. Bell scored a career-high 9.9 last week for the Tigers.
Floor is next as the team continues to improve in the event.
Leading the charge are seniors Groth and Gabby McLaughlin. Groth has won four titles this season, including a pair of 9.95s against rivals Georgia and Alabama.
Zancan and Greaves each have 9.9s to their credit, while Bell tied her career high against Georgia, scoring a 9.925.
Hubbard, freshman Olivia Ahern and Zois are also among the top eight.
The final event is beam where the Tigers have exceled all season. The team ranks sixth nationally with a 49.355 NQS.
Usual suspects like Groth, McLaughlin and Neal highlight the top eight. McLaughlin has 59 starts in the event, while Groth has 48. Neal has a team-best 9.975 in the event this year.
Ahern and Zancan have been consistent contributors for the team. The pair each reached career highs at Alabama, with Ahern earning a 9.9 and Zancan winning the event title with a 9.925.
Greaves has five starts on beam this season and has a 9.875 to her name.
Zois and Schumaker each have solidified spots in the top eight for the team in the event with Zois making her first start last week.
UP NEXT
Auburn closes out the regular season at home, hosting No. 2 LSU in Neville Arena on Friday, March 14. The two Tiger teams will face off at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+ and it will be Auburn's Senior Night and Alumni Night.