No. 11 Auburn gymnastics started out strong and held firm, scoring a season-high 197.750 on Friday night to outpace No. 17 Alabama (197.350) and earn the program’s first victory at Coleman Coliseum.
“It’s just fun,” said Auburn head coach Jeff Graba. “We felt like we haven’t been ourselves yet this year and knew that this was a great place to get a run started. I’m just really proud of our effort this week. They had a great week of working out and great practices.”
“We still have a lot of room for improvement, but this was a completely different meet than what we had at the beginning of the year,” Graba said. “I feel like they are growing up in front of our eyes. I love the fight in this team and they are starting to believe. This is just a fun team to coach and we are really capable of anything.”
The overall team score of 197.750 tied the program best road score and was the Tigers’ highest score of the 2025 season. Additionally, it holds a tie for the fifth overall in program history.
“This means the world and is indescribable,” said senior Sophia Groth. “We had to leave no doubt or room for error and we did that. This team is capable of that every single meet and the mindset this week was to do our average because our average is good enough.”
Beyond that, the team tied a program record on vault with a 49.500. The Tigers set a season high on bars with a 49.425 to kick off the meet.
The Tigers (10-3, 3-2 SEC) secured at least a share of four out of five possible individual titles. Freshman Katelyn Jong won vault, while Jong and sophomore Alex Irvine shared the win on bars. Sophomore Paige Zancan obtained the first beam title of her career and Groth achieved her fourth floor crown of the season.
Auburn started off on fire, setting a season high on bars with a 49.425. Jong and Irvine paved the way with a pair of 9.925s. The score tied a career best for Jong and gave the duo a share of the event title.
Groth tied her season best with a 9.9 for the team and was followed by a 9.85 from senior Caroline Leonard, making her collegiate debut on the apparatus. Sophomore Emma Grace Boyd wrapped up scoring in the first rotation with a 9.825, tying a career high.
“We came out strong and bars hit,” Groth said. “We built off each other and we did what we just look like in practice.”
“We had a good conversation about coming out aggressive,” Graba said. “Come out with intention and they did. That mentality sharpens you and that showed.”
Auburn finished the first rotation with a .500 lead, 49.425-48.925.
The Tigers moved on to vault and continued to break new ground. Setting the pace was Jong, setting a career best with a 9.95 on her Yurchenko 1.5. Zancan and senior Sydney Schumaker each followed with 9.9s, tying career records in the process. Seniors Sara Hubbard and Sarah Zois added a pair of 9.875s to the overall team score, reaching the program best vault score.
Auburn pushed its lead to .550 after the second rotation, 98.925-98.375.
Rotation three had the Tigers on floor and the team finished with a 49.450. Groth rooted the event with a 9.95, tying a season high and winning a share of the floor title.
The team spearheaded the event with three-straight 9.875s, coming from Zancan, freshman Sophia Bell and sophomore Olivia Greaves. Senior Gabby McLaughlin contributed another 9.875 in the fifth spot, tying a season best.
Auburn held a 148.375-147.750 advantage heading into the final rotation, which had the Tigers on their best event – beam.
Freshman Olivia Ahern got the team moving in the right direction, setting a career best with a 9.9 in the lead off spot. Greaves chipped in a 9.85 and was followed by a remarkable performance from Zancan. She set a career high 9.925 to win the first beam title of her career.
Groth added a 9.85 and McLaughlin sealed the Auburn win with a 9.85 in the anchor spot.
“We haven’t been to beam with this much pressure yet this year,” Graba said. “We have a lot of confidence on beam and we are a really good beam team. But when it’s this close and it’s an historic moment, I could see us get tight. They persevered and they just pushed through.”
The Tigers return to Neville Arena to take on No. 1 Oklahoma Feb. 28. Auburn and the Sooners will go head-to-head at 7 p.m. CST and the meet will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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Samantha is a freshman majoring in public relations. She started with The Plainsman in the spring of 2025.
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