AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 15 Auburn gymnastics team kicks off the NCAA portion of the postseason this weekend, traveling to Seattle, Washington for the 2025 NCAA Washington Regional, April 4-. The three-day meet will be held in Alaska Airlines Arena and is hosted by the University of Washington.
“Anything can happen,” head coach Jeff Graba said. “The main thing for us is that we are young. A lot of our team has never been through this before, which is good to have a fresh start. We just need to keep our head on straight and do our thing.”
The Tigers will kick things off in the NCAA Regional Second Round on Friday, April 4 and will compete in the night session at 9 p.m. CT against No. 1 seed Oklahoma, Nebraska and Illinois.
The afternoon session of the second round will feature No. 2 seed Missouri, No. 3 seed Georgia, Arizona and Arizona State.
The top two teams from each of the two sessions on April 4 will advance to the regional final on Sunday, April 6.
The top two squads from the regional final and the top all-around competitor (who is not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the 2025 NCAA Championship, April 17-19, in Fort Worth, Texas. In addition, the top event specialist on each event who is not a part of the advancing team or all-around competitor will advance to the national championship in that event only.
AUBURN LINEUP
Auburn is the second seed in the night session of the NCAA Washington Regional and will start on beam. The Tigers will go in Olympic order - beam, floor, bars and vault.
The Tigers have exceled all season on beam and rank tied for ninth nationally with a 49.385 NQS.
Usual suspects like senior Sophia Groth, fifth year Gabby McLaughlin and freshman Marissa Neal highlight the top eight. McLaughlin has 62 starts in the event, while Groth has 51.
McLaughlin and Neal have a team-best 9.975 in the event this year, while Groth has a 9.95 to her credit.
Freshman Olivia Ahern and sophomore Paige Zancan have been consistent contributors for the team on the apparatus. Ahern earned a career-best 9.9 at Alabama, while Zancan has two scores of 9.925 on the year. Sophomore Olivia Greaves has eight starts on beam this season and has a 9.875 to her name.
Senior Sarah Zois and redshirt freshman Bryn Bartman have each solidified spots in the top eight. Zois earned a 9.875 in her first start in the event as a Tiger vs. Oklahoma.
Floor is next as the team continues to climb the rankings and finished tied for 11th nationally with a 49.430 NQS. The team reached a season-best on floor in the regular season finale vs. LSU, earning a 49.575.
Leading the charge are seniors Groth and McLaughlin. Groth has won four titles this season, including a pair of 9.95s against rivals Georgia and Alabama. McLaughlin scored a 9.925 vs. LSU.
Zancan has a career-best a 9.925, while freshman Sophia Bell has scored a 9.925 three times this season.
Bartman, Greaves, Ahern and Zois are also among the top eight. Ahern led off in the final home meet with a career-best 9.875.
Auburn moves on to vault in the third rotation where the team ranks 10th nationally at 49.290.
Leading the way will be sophomores Julianne Huff and Zancan and experienced Tigers Sydney Schumaker, Hubbard and Zois.
Zancan wowed the crowd and the judges vs. LSU, earning a 9.975 to set a career high in the event. Hubbard added a 9.9 on senior night.
Bell, Huff, Schumaker and Zois all have 9.9s this year for the team. Also among the top eight is Greaves and sophomore Alex Irvine.
The Tigers cap the day on bars in the final rotation. Highlighting the top eight are Irvine and Greaves. Greaves had an outstanding meet vs. LSU, anchoring the team with a career-high 9.975 to win a share of the event title.
Irvine had an NQS of 9.895 and has scored a 9.95 this season with four scores of 9.9 or better this year.
Joining the pair in the top eight will be Bartman, sophomores Emma Grace Boyd and Huff, seniors Caroline Leonard and Groth and freshman Neal.
Groth has a handful of 9.9s to her credit this season and it will be Neal's fourth appearance in the top eight on bars this year.