AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 12 Auburn gymnastics team returns to Neville Arena for a Friday night meet vs. Kentucky, February 6. The Tigers and the Wildcats will face off at 7 p.m. CT and the meet will be streamed on SEC Network+.
“Kentucky seems to be in the same boat as us right now,“ head coach Jeff Graba said. “They’re talented, but they’re struggling with consistency. They’ll be coming in with a chip on their shoulder so I’m fully prepared for them to want to come in, knock us off and come out with a victory.”
The Tigers are looking forward to utilizing Friday’s meet as a opportunity to give athletes a chance to compete in exhibition.
“We’re a tremendous team once we start trusting each other,” Graba said. “And the best way to do that is to get more people some experience. We might not change our lineups that much but are looking forward to giving people an opportunity to compete by putting them in exhibition and seeing what they can do in a big environment like Neville Arena.
“We’re getting closer to being full speed in our lineup,” Graba added. “We’re trying to utilize what we can with these exhibitions to get everyone up to where we need them to be.”
FAN INFORMATION
Neville Arena is going country as Friday night is Country Night!
Auburn University students will be treated to tiger stripe cowboy hats and Chick-fil-A sandwiches, while supplies last.
Doors will open at 5:30 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
Auburn is set to go in Olympic order Friday night in Neville Arena – vault, bars, beam, floor.
Three Tigers in juniors Olivia Greaves and Julianne Huff as well as sophomore Marissa Neal are once again among the top eight in all four events with the possibility of competing in the all-around for Auburn. Neal leads the trio with two all-around titles this year, while Neal and Huff have each recorded a team-best 39.375 in the category.
Auburn will kick off the meet on vault, having a 49.219 average in the event.
Leading the way for the squad will be Huff as well as freshman Mia Leverton, sophomore Sophia Bell and junior Paige Zancan. Leverton and Bell each have a 9.85 average in the event with Leverton continuing to improve each week. Bell showcases a Yurchenko double and is one of a few gymnasts in the nation to perform the difficult vault.
Zancan was almost perfect in the season opener in January, scoring a 9.975. Huff has been consistent for the squad with her Yurchenko 1.5, having a 9.819 average.
Neal is also among some of the top competitors in the event with a 9.813 average. Greaves tied a career high last week at Georgia, scoring a 9.825.
Joining those in the top eight are freshman Brynn Torry and junior Jersie Woolsey as both are battling to crack the lineup this week.
Bars are next and the Tigers are looking to find some consistency in the event.
Leading the way is junior Alex Irvine, who has been the team’s anchor and top performer so far this year. She has a team-best 9.831 average and has a 9.9 to her credit so far this season.
Also among the top eight is Greaves, Huff and Neal as well as junior Emma Grace Boyd, sophomore Katelyn Jong and freshman Charlotte Booth. Booth, Greaves and Neal have competed in every meet so far with Neal having a 9.875 as a season high. Jong returned to the lineup two weeks ago after a long recovery from an Achilles injury last season.
Sophomore Bryn Bartman has also maintained her spot in the top eight for the team.
Beam will go third and has continued to improve each week, coming off a season-best 49.225 at Georgia on Sunday.
Irvine and Neal have been the team’s top performers and both have a pair of 9.9s. Neal is averaging a 9.875, while Irvine is at 9.867.
Sophomore Olivia Ahern, Greaves, Huff and senior Hannah Hagle have earned spots in the top eight. Ahern has been a rock-solid leadoff for the team since last season, while Hagle has been consistent in the middle of the lineup.
Also in the top eight is Booth and junior Emma Wehry. Wehry earned a spot in the lineup at Georgia this past Sunday, scoring a season-high 9.8.
The floor squad will close out the meet and has a 49.231 average this season.
Huff leads the way with a 9.892 average to be among the nation’s top 30, scoring two 9.9s this year to set career highs. Bell follows with a 9.881 average and has two scores of 9.9 or better this season, including a career-high 9.95.
Neal also has seen success in the event, having a 9.858 average with a 9.9 to her credit.
Joining the trio in the top eight is Bartman, Ahern, Greaves, Irvine and Wehry. Greaves kicked off the season with a career-high 9.95, while Bartman and Ahern have consistently been in the lineup so far this season. Irvine has two starts and Wehry has been battling for a top spot for the team in every meet this year.
UP NEXT
Auburn will have a busy weekend on the road next week, participating in two meets over three days. The squad will first go to No. 3 LSU on February 13 and will take on the defending SEC champion at 7:45 p.m. CT in the Maravich Center in Baton Rouge. The contest will be televised on SEC Network.
The Tigers then head to Fort Worth, Texas for the annual Metroplex Challenge. The team will take on North Carolina, NC State and Boise State in a quad meet on the podium, February 15, inside the Fort Worth Convention Center.