The Auburn gymnastics team is prepared to compete against the Kentucky Wildcats at the Auburn Arena Friday at 7 p.m.
The meet will feature the theme "All Auburn, All Orange" for the duration of the evening, where all attendees are encouraged to wear orange.
Auburn faculty and staff members, as well as elementary school students who possess a voucher, will receive free admission with a valid ID.
The Auburn Tigers enter Friday's meet with one victory and three losses for the beginning of the season.
"I think it will be really good," said sophomore Petrina Yokay of her team's upcoming event.
The gymnasts hope this competition will be the one to get them back on an ideal performance routine.
"Kentucky is an SEC team, which means it will be a high-energy meet," Yokay said. "We keep progressing, so I think with the home crowd we'll do really well."
Currently, Auburn is represented in the Women's Gymnastics National Top-25 Rankings for individual performances.
Kylie Shields ranks sixth in the nation with a 9.850 for balance beam, and Rachel Inniss ranks 13th with a 9.838 for the same category as well as 16th with a 9.856 for floor.
Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC) also holds two positions in the floor category--Andrea Mitchell with an average of 9.844 at No. 22 and Jasmine Minion with an average of 9.844 at No. 23.
Whitney Rose secures a position in the vault category at No. 13 with an average of 9.869.
Auburn holds the No. 22 position for the total season team average rankings with a score of 194.419.
Kentucky is not represented on the list.
However, based on the averages for uneven bars, Kentucky ranks one position ahead of Auburn (48.706) at No. 21 with a mean of 48.731.
The Wildcats also hold the No. 5 position for floor, with a team average of 48.963.
Auburn is not ranked for floor, but does hold the No. 6 position for balance beam, with a team average of 48.825.
Kentucky has also contended with both Arkansas and Georgia this season, teams to which Auburn lost.
Against Georgia, Auburn suffered a loss, with a final score of 194.975 compared to Kentucky's loss, with 195.000.
Against Arkansas, Kentucky lost with a score of 193.525, a 1.625-point difference compared to Auburn's losing total of 195.150.
Though many of the girls on the team are new this year, coach Jeff Graba said he is certain they have the determination and capability to fulfill the Tiger's hopes of a successful season.
"I think it's a consistency issue, but we'll get it figured out," Graba said. "Right now, since we have another (meet) at home, and we're not on the road, the nice thing is we get to mimic our last performance and focus on tweaking it."
Although Auburn gymnastics suffered another loss last week to Arkansas, the team hopes to improve on their routines.
"I build off of each meet," said sophomore Toi Garcia.
Friday, Auburn will be facing a team similar to its own, so the event will surely be a stressful one for the girls.
"I just try and have fun and stay calm," Garcia said. "That's really all it takes."
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