No. 14 Auburn gymnastics (8-8, 2-5 SEC) travels to Nashville, Tennessee, for the Kidney Care Women’s Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, March 16, to compete against No. 6 Kentucky, No. 15 Ohio State and Fisk for one last road tuneup before the SEC Championships.
Auburn’s last meet came last Saturday at the 2024 Podium Challenge, where the Tigers once again posted a road score over 197. Auburn finished second in the meet behind No. 2 LSU’s 198.425.
The Tigers continued their consistent performances on balance beam and the floor exercise, scoring a 49.425 and a 49.475 on the events respectively. Auburn is currently ranked seventh in the country on balance beam with an NQS of 49.390.
Graduate student Cassie Stevens led the way for Auburn, tying for second in the all-around with a 39.625, which tied her second-highest all-around score of the season. Stevens ended her night scoring 9.900 or better on every event.
Senior Gabby McLaughlin contributed two huge scores for the Tigers, earning a 9.900 on balance beam and a team-best 9.925 on floor.
Graduate student Aria Brusch and junior Sophia Groth also chipped in with 9.900s, with Brusch’s season-high score coming on beam and Groth’s score coming on the floor.
Currently, No. 6 Kentucky (8-4, 4-3 SEC) is sitting third in the SEC behind only No. 2 LSU and No. 4 Florida.
After a record-breaking 2023 season in which the Wildcats made it to the national semifinals before being knocked out of the championships, Kentucky has lived up to the 2024 hype and is poised to once again make a run in the postseason.
Last week, the Wildcats won a nonconference matchup against the North Carolina Tarheels 197.800-196.525.
Senior Raena Worley continued her stellar season with her fourth perfect 10 of the year coming on the floor exercise.
Ranked third in the nation on floor exercise with a 49.615 NQS, the Wildcats’ floor rotation scored a 49.600. This included Worley’s 10, senior Isabella Magnelli’s career-best 9.950 and freshman Creslyn Brose’s 9.925.
No. 15 Ohio State (6-2, 4-1 Big 10) is third in the Big Ten behind No. 8 Michigan State and No. 10 Michigan. Last week, the Buckeyes defeated BYU 197.125-196.450 to earn their eight 197 or better score of the season.
Sophomore Payton Harris claimed the all-around title for the Buckeyes that was capped by a season-high vault score of 9.925. Harris also claimed an identical score of 9.925 on the floor.
During the floor rotation, Ohio State posted a score of 49.550, its second-highest floor total of the season. This rotation was punctuated by graduate student Ella Hodges’ career-best 9.950.
After making history in 2023 by becoming the first HBCU to sponsor women’s gymnastics, the Fisk gymnastics program continues to reach new heights in 2024.
The Lady Bulldogs are no stranger to SEC opponents, previously competing this season against both Auburn and Florida.
Last week, Fisk earned 192.925 at the Michigan State University quad meet. That mark ended up being a new second-highest program score.
Sophomore star Morgan Price tied her career-high score of 9.900 on the uneven bars. Price’s score remains the highest mark reached by an HBCU gymnast in women’s gymnastics.
For Auburn, the focus should be on improving team scores in both the uneven bars and the vault.
The Tigers currently rank next-to-last in the SEC with a vault NQS of 49.215. This has been the lineup for the Tigers with the most turnover due to injuries throughout the season. Auburn has proven capable of a huge score, with the team vault season-high score standing at a 49.500.
Moving to the uneven bars, Auburn is currently last in the SEC in this event, tallying an NQS of 49.230. So far, the Tigers’ highest team mark on this event this season has been a 49.325.
The Kidney Care Women’s Gymnastics Championships will start at 7:15 p.m. CST. The rotation for the Tigers has not yet been released. Both session one and Auburn in session two will be streamed on YouTube.
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Emily Porch is a senior from Sylacauga, Alabama. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @emilycporch
