AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 11 Auburn gymnastics team kicks off the 2026 season at home, hosting No. 23 NC State Friday night in Neville Arena in its annual First Meet on the Plains. The Tigers and the Wolfpack will go head-to-head at 7 p.m. CT and the meet will be streamed on SEC Network+.
“What I’m looking to see Friday night is a great start to our process,” head coach Jeff Graba said. “I’m excited about the potential of this team this year. We’re going to try to get out there and start the right way. We’re going to need to see consistency Friday and need to see a team that sticks together and buys into the process. I’m really looking forward to it.”
The Tigers are set to face off with an NC State team that they’ll see multiple times this regular season and are embracing the challenge of going against a preseason top 25 squad.
“This NC State team is really well coached,” Graba said. “They are a tough team to go against. I’m expecting they are going to show up and give us their best shot. But this will be a great test to start. We go against one team this year that is not in the top 25 preseason so this will be a great opportunity for us to kick things off on the right foot.”
Auburn’s 2026 roster is junior and sophomore heavy with great talent in the incoming freshmen squad. And Graba thinks January will be a perfect time to play with lineups and mix these new faces in with the experienced group of upperclassmen.
“We’ve got a lot of new people with a great group of returners,” Graba said. “A lot of change will be happening in our lineup this month, which is pretty exciting. There is an opportunity for these new people to show up and do things and we’re excited to see what happens this Friday.”
This Friday will put the Tigers back in front of the home crowd at Neville Arena. It’s become a place that most visiting teams love but hate to come to and the Auburn team is ready to get things started strong.
“It’s so amazing to see how the local community and the Auburn fanbase has embraced our team and sport,” Graba said. “It does a tremendous amount for our team because it’s probably one of the toughest places to compete in the country. The home field advantage here is significant. What has been created here has been fantastic and we can’t wait to see another packed Neville Arena.”
FAN INFORMATION
Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. CT and fans are encouraged to arrive early to participate in pre-meet activities.
Friday’s meet will be a technology raffle for Auburn University students. A QR code will be available for students as they enter the arena and winning students must be present to secure their prize.
Fans looking for parking are encouraged to park in the Donahue Dr. and War Eagle Way lots as well as the Coliseum lot and the Stadium Parking Deck. The Neville Arena lot is reserved for those with a parking pass. Individuals needing ADA parking that do not have an Arena pass are encouraged to park in the ADA Lot located on the corner of Wire Road and Extension Loop. Accessible shuttles will be available 90 minutes prior to first vault and run until 30 minutes after the game has concluded.
For more meet day information, please visit https://auburntigers.com/gym-gameday.
Limited tickets are available at auburntige.rs/GymTickets.
AUBURN LINEUP
The 2026 Auburn gymnastics team will start the season in Olympic order being the home team, going on vault, bars, beam and floor.
Juniors Olivia Greaves and Julianne Huff are the top eight in all four events with potential to compete in the all-around. Junior transfer Emma Wehry as well as sophomores Sophia Bell and Marissa Neal are in the top eight in three events.
The squad will kick things off on vault and has five juniors, two sophomores and one freshman among the top eight.
Leading the way with experience are juniors Paige Zancan and Huff as well as Bell. Zancan and Huff competed in all but one meet last year in the event with Zancan having a team-best 9.885 NQS. She scored a 9.9 or better five times, including a 9.975.
Joining the trio on vault will be Greaves, Wehry, Neal, junior Jersie Woolsey and freshman Mia Leverton.
Bars will be next in rotation two and the Tiger lineup features four juniors, three sophomores and one freshman.
Highlighting the lineup are juniors Greaves, Alex Irvine and Emma Grace Boyd. Greaves reached the NCAA Championship last season after winning a share of the NCAA Regional Bars title in Seattle last April. She had two 9.95s and one 9.975 to her credit as a sophomore. Irvine closed out the year second on the team with a 9.895 NQS and Boyd competed bars in every meet last season.
Looking to also represent the Orange and Blue Friday in the event will be Huff, Bell, Neal, sophomore Bryn Bartman and freshman Charlotte Booth. Neal and Bartman competed a handful of times last year, while Booth comes to college as an international gold medalist in the event.
Rotation three will have the team on beam and features a wealth of experience. Highlighting the group is Neal, sophomore Olivia Ahern, Greaves and senior Hannah Hagle. Ahern was a rock-solid leadoff for the team in 2025, while Neal has a handful of 9.9s or better to her credit. That includes a career-best 9.975 as a freshman last year.
Joining them in the top eight are Booth, Huff, Wehry and Irvine. Huff has just one start on beam in her collegiate career, while Booth earned bronze in the event at the World Cup in 2024.
The final rotation has the team close things out on floor, bringing another experienced group to the top eight.
Huff (2024) and Bell (2025) are SEC All-Freshman honorees in the event. Bell has a handful of 9.925s to her credit to lead the team in scoring.
Joining the pair in experience is Greaves, who competed in the event in every meet last season. Ahern secured a spot in the floor line up the final five meets of 2025 and is among the top eight, while Hagle and Bartman both secured a place in the potential lineup with some experience under their belt.
Wehry and Irvine have also worked their way into the potential lineup for the Tigers.
UP NEXT
Auburn will hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to No. 10 Arkansas on January 18. The meet will also be the team’s first Southeastern Conference test of the year. The Tigers and the Razorbacks will face off at 5 p.m. CT in Bud Walton Arena and the meet will be televised on SEC Network.
No. 11 Auburn gymnastics hosts No. 23 NC State in season opener
