AUBURN, Ala. – Recording the second-highest opening score in program history, No. 11 Auburn defeated No. 23 NC State 197.150-196.075 Friday at Neville Arena in the First Meet on the Plains.
“It’s a testament to the hard work,” Auburn coach Jeff Graba said. “We’ve got a team where everybody’s pulling in the same direction. There’s a belief that we are really good.
“A challenging night. It’s been tough. We’ve put in a lot of work. This team is really bought in. This has had a phenomenal fall but it’s been really tough. It’s great to see us start this way because it confirms what they all believe.”
Julianne Huff won the all-around, scoring 9.875 on vault, 9.775 in her collegiate bars debut, and two more career highs, 9.825 on beam and 9.9 on floor to total 39.375.
“It truly means the world,” said Huff, returning from foot surgery at the end of last season. “I feel like my old self again. It reflects all the hard work we put in in preseason. We set expectations for ourselves, we met those and we exceeded them.”
Beginning on vault, freshman Mia Leverton debuted with 9.850, a score Marissa Neal equaled in her collegiate vault debut. Sophia Bell made program history with Auburn’s first Yurchenko double, scoring a 9.925.
“A different type of pressure,” said Bell, who credited a pre-meet conversation with teammate Jersie Woolsey for calming her nerves. “I knew there were going to be a little more eyes on me because I was doing a new vault. It’s not that deep. Just do a normal vault.”
Paige Zancan anchored and scored a 9.975 with her unique vault, helping Auburn open with a 49.475 in the first rotation.
“It’s great to start that way,” Graba said. “They’ve been training a lot better on vault. That’s just scratching the surface. I think we have a lot of potential on that event.”
Moving to bars for the second rotation, Neal led off with a career-best 9.875. Freshman Charlotte Booth made her much-anticipated Auburn debut and scored a 9.8, a score Greaves duplicated in the next spot. Alex Irvine anchored with a 9.75 to give the Tigers a 49.0 in the event.
On beam in the third rotation, Ahern and Neal bookended with 9.85s. Greaves, Huff and Hannah Hagle each scored 9.825s to give Auburn a 49.175 for the event.
In the floor finale, Bartman led off with a career-high 9.85, a score Ahern matched in the third spot.
The Tigers finished with a flourish, getting Huff’s 9.9 and career-high 9.95s from Greaves and Bell to score a meet-high 49.5 in the rotation.
“You get set up by your team,” said Bell, who anchored with a crowd-pleasing routine. “That was a big factor. When everybody hits before you, it’s pretty easy to go up and not have any pressure and hit, and leaning into the energy that Neville gives.”
Auburn begins SEC competition next Sunday, Jan. 18, when the Tigers travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to compete against the No. 10 Razorback at 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network in Bud Walton Arena.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer