Auburn gymnastics has earned the No. 15 seed and will compete at the Tuscaloosa Regionals, announced by the NCAA on Monday.
“It’s very exciting to be able to go to regionals,” said junior Derrian Gobourne. “We didn’t get that chance last year and this is a very talented team so I’m very excited. You never know what could happen.”
Auburn now has a National Qualifying Score of 196.875 putting it at fourth in the Tuscaloosa Regional.
This year the NCAA has four regional competitions spanning from Georgia to Utah to West Virginia and Alabama. The Tigers see competing in Tuscaloosa as an advantage due to it being in-state and on turf they’ve seen this season.
“[We’re] excited to go to a place we’ve already competed,” said head coach Jeff Graba. “It’s a manageable away meet for us. I think, this young team, it will be good that we’ve been there before and that it’s not a brutal travel schedule for us. However, it is the toughest regional in the country.”
Auburn will potentially be competing against two current champions. No. 2 Oklahoma, reigning National Champions, is in the rotation on day two directly against Auburn. If the Tigers advance to day three, they might be competing alongside current Southeastern Conference Champions, No. 7 Alabama.
The Tigers begin competition on day two against Oklahoma and Missouri. They will also face the winner of the day one competition between Eastern Michigan and Maryland.
From there the top two scoring teams will advance to day three. Day three potential competition includes two teams between Alabama, No. 10 Arkansas, Iowa or Iowa State.
“Our girls are just excited for the opportunity,” Graba said. “In a year that we didn’t know if we’d have another practice or another meet, it’s pretty amazing that we got to this point and that we’re going to be able to compete for the chance to move on in a sudden death tournament.”
Auburn will make its regional debut on April 2 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
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Mattison Allen is a senior from Springville, Ala. She's majoring in public relations communications with the goal of becoming a sports information director one day.
