It will be a battle of the Tigers for Friday Night Heights as No. 5 Auburn hosts No. 9 LSU. Neville Arena is the place to be for this heavyweight SEC matchup between two top 10 teams.
LSU comes to Auburn holding a 2-4 record and looks to kick off a winning streak following a 197.700 - 196.925 victory against No. 18 Georgia last week. The Bayou Bengals outscored the Bulldogs on vault, bars and floor, and matched Georgia with 49.250 on beam to post their highest all-around score of the season. Sophomore Aleah Finnegan recorded the lone perfect 10 score of the meet with her floor routine.
Both Auburn and LSU posted 197.700 last week — a season high score for both teams — giving the upcoming meet an even more competitive atmosphere.
“Coming off last week, we ended up having the same score so I think that just creates a heightened level of intensity and excitement. We know our potential and we know LSU has potential so it’s going to be a battle to the end,” said sophomore Sophia Groth. “I think it’s a really good opportunity to get another really good SEC school."
LSU has shown their top-10 potential throughout the season. Of their four gymnasts with all-around averages, not one averages less than 39.300 per meet. If they hope to defend The Jungle, Auburn will need to come out strong as a team and show why their team average is 197.385 to LSU’s 197.150.
For Auburn, being average is still better than most other programs, and it’s something that head coach Jeff Graba impresses on his team.
“Like Jeff always says to me before I go, be your normal, be your average because your average is good enough,” said sophomore Suni Lee. “Whatever you do in the gym is what you’re gonna get in the meet. So if you put in all the work in the gym, like we all do, then the results are going to show.”
Auburn has a strong fanbase at gymnastics meets, and it should be no different in front of a sold out crowd of 9,121 in Neville Arena. With fans as passionate as Auburn’s, it can create as much pressure as excitement for the Tigers.
“We’re expecting a great environment,” Graba said. “We show up and crazy stuff happens in every meet. I still think we’ve had a record crowd in every meet that we’ve competed in since last year. So our team is under pressure every weekend and chaos happens every weekend. In the end, it makes us stronger and makes us better if we can stay focused.”
The meet between Auburn and LSU begins at 7:30 p.m. CST in Neville Arena and will be broadcast on SEC Network with streaming available on SEC Network+
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Jack Fawcett is a sports production major from San Diego, California. He started with The Plainsman in January 2023.
