No. 18 Auburn faces rival No. 3 Alabama Friday night

AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 18 Auburn gymnastics team will welcome its rival No. 3 Alabama to Neville Arena Friday night as the two teams will go head-to-head at 7:45 p.m. CT. The meet will be televised on SEC Network.

“Alabama is ranked as high as it is for a reason,” head coach Jeff Graba said. “They are more seasoned than we are so I’m not surprised that they are hitting on all cylinders. This match up typically brings out the best in both teams and if we’re on our game, we’re capable of big things. It’s a great challenge for us and we know how big of a deal this meet is.“

The Tigers are looking to build off the big start at Metroplex last week in Fort Worth where the team put together a 49.525 on beam in the first rotation of the quad meet.

“Beam has been a good event for us and we needed it to be a good event that day,” Graba said. “We’re starting to solidify who is where and how we compete in certain situations. It was good to see us start fast on beam because that is where we could start in the postseason and knowing we are capable of getting it going right away, that will be great.”

Auburn will need to look to its depth once again this week as injuries and other changes have provided opportunities for others to rise to the occasion.

“The good thing is that we have people that we can put in that have had experience and we’ve used this week to really solidify lineups and help the team get settled with the change,” Graba said.

FAN INFORMATION
It’s the annual All Auburn, All Orange meet Friday night and fans are encouraged to wear their best orange gear!

There will be orange Auburn gymnastics t-shirts and Auburn University students will receive Chick-fil-A sandwiches, while supplies last.

Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. CT and fans are encouraged to arrive early to participate in pre-meet activities.

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
With Auburn being at home Friday night, the team will go in Olympic order - vault, bars, beam and floor.

Junior Julianne Huff and freshman Marissa Neal are in the top eight on all four events as Huff has been in the all-around five times this season and Neal has competed in all four events four times.

Freshman Charlotte Booth and juniors Alex Irvine and Emma Wehry have worked their way into the top eight in three events. Booth and Irvine are among the top eight on bars, beam and floor, while Wehry is looking to compete on vault, beam and floor.

The Tigers will kick off the meet on vault and are ranked No. 13 nationally with a 49.145 average.

Leading the charge will be Huff, Neal, freshman Mia Leverton and junior Paige Zancan.

Leverton is in the nation’s top 25 with a 9.845 NQS. Huff isn’t far behind with a 9.840 NQS. Neal and Zancan each stand at 9.835.

Zancan has a team-best 9.975 to her credit this season, while Leverton hasn’t scored below a 9.825 all year.

Joining the four in the top eight are juniors Olivia Greaves, Jersie Woolsey and Wehry as well as freshman Brynn Torry. Woolsey made her first collegiate start last week at LSU and led off with a 9.8.

Bars will be next for the squad and the team will be led by Neal, Huff, Irvine and junior Emma Grace Boyd. Irvine has anchored the team all year and has scored a 9.825 or better in all but one meet.

Boyd has reached a career-best 9.85 this season, while Huff earned a 9.925 in Auburn’s last home meet.

Also among the top eight is Greaves, Booth, sophomore Katelyn Jong and senior Hannah Hagle.

The team moves onto beam in the third rotation and are coming off a season-high 49.525 at Metroplex this past Sunday.

All six competitors at Metroplex reached a career or season high, including 9.925s from Irvine and Neal. Wehry and Hagle had 9.9s, while sophomore Olivia Ahern and Huff added 9.875s.

Joining the six in the top eight is Booth and freshman Adriana Consoli. Booth competed in exhibition at Metroplex, scoring a 9.825, while Consoli makes her debut in the top eight.

Auburn will close out the night on floor and looks to rebound from a tough performance in Fort Worth.

Sophomore Bryn Bartman highlights the floor top eight as she has successfully led off the lineup in every meet this season, scoring a 9.8 or higher in six out of seven meets. Her floor score has counted in every meet this season.

Neal (9.925), Greaves (9.95) and Huff (9.9) have all recorded career highs this year in the event, while Irvine and Ahern have been consistent competitors for the squad.

Wehry and Booth are also among the top eight and are looking to make their first starts in the event.

UP NEXT
Auburn takes to the road once again, traveling to defending national champion and No. 1 Oklahoma. The Tigers and the Sooners will go head-to-head at 7 p.m. CT in Norman, Oklahoma and the meet will be televised live on SEC Network.