Huff wins all-around, No. 18 Auburn gymnastics scores 197.250

AUBURN, Ala. – All-around winner Julianne Huff helped No. 18 Auburn score a season-high of 197.250 while posting its best bars score of the year Friday at Neville Arena.

No. 3 Alabama earned its first rivalry win on the Plains since 2018 by scoring a 197.950.

“Really happy that we’re starting to put it together,” Auburn coach Jeff Graba said. “They’ve been through a grind. This is not an easy run. To get out of that gauntlet and start putting it together, this looked a little bit more normal.”

Huff’s 39.525 in the all-around was a career best for the Hoover, Alabama product.

Leading off on vault, Huff scored a 9.9 to lead Auburn to a team score of 49.35. Marissa Neal and Brynn Torry earned 9.875s while Mia Leverton and Paige Zancan added 9.85s.

Bars has been a challenge for the Tigers through the season’s first two months, but Auburn equaled the task against its in-state rival.

Alex Irvine anchored with a 9.925 to pace her team to a 49.225, its best showing so far in 2026.

“When you have people like that it calms you down,” Graba said. “That’s what we needed to see from each other. Alex has always been that for us. This was a nice night to see that everybody looked normal.”

Emma Grace Boyd earned Auburn’s second-best bars score, a 9.875. Huff and Olivia Greaves each contributed 9.825s while Charlotte Booth added a 9.775.

“We finally went six routines,” Huff said. “I think we’re getting better each meet. We’re finally making strides and building our confidence back.”

Moving to beam for the third rotation, Olivia Ahern led off impressively with a 9.9, tying her career high.

“I love being the leadoff role,” Ahern said. “I love helping my team start off strong. This whole season, my goal has been to get 9.9. It was amazing. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. The stuck dismount always helps at the end."

Huff, Hannah Hagle and Neal scored 9.875s and Irvine added a 9.825 to give the Tigers a 49.35 beam score.

Alabama added to its lead by scoring four 9.9s and a 9.925 for a 49.525 team floor score.

Finishing on floor for the final rotation, Bryn Bartman earned a 9.85 in the leadoff spot. Huff locked up her all-around win by scoring a team-best 9.925 to earn a share of the event title. Ahern and Neal each added 9.875s while Irvine and Greaves scored 9.8s to help Auburn close the meet with a 49.325.

“We wanted to put a full meet together,” Huff said. “We finally took steps toward that. It still wasn’t perfect but we took major steps forward and we built momentum. We had close to a full meet. We had a lot of emotions toward our rivals so I think that helped us.”

The visitors handled the pressure of ending on beam, scoring a pair of 9.925s and two 9.9s to post a 49.525 and come close to a198.

Auburn visits top-ranked Oklahoma next Friday at 6:45 p.m. CT on SEC Network before returning to the Plains to host Michigan State Friday, March 6, at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer