No. 11 Auburn gymnastics looks to get its first in-conference victory of the season as the Tigers travel to Athens, Georgia, on Sunday to face No. 8 Georgia.
The Tigers currently sit at 1-2 (0-2 SEC) and are averaging 196.642 per meet, ranking 8th nationally on vault, 19th on bars, 11th on beam, and 7th on floor.
Auburn is coming off a hard-fought loss against the No. 1 Florida Gators in Neville Arena, where they lost 196.700 - 197.100, closely competing until the final rotation. Auburn was led by the meet’s highest scoring gymnast in sophomore Marissa Neal, who ended with an impressive total score of 39.375.
“I want to do everything I can for the team,” Neal said. “It was good to go up there and hit like normal.”
Auburn bounced back from a 1.175-point defeat five days prior against the No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville to show great promise against the dominant Florida Gators, keeping the score to within half a point. This improvement was particularly evident in bars, which saw a 0.375 point increase between the two meets.
“It looks like we’ve started to figure out our potential and we’re struggling to realize it,” said Auburn coach Jeff Graba. “I was happy they tried to reach their potential tonight. We gave it a shot. A young team has to learn somehow, and I thought we did a pretty good job tonight.”
Auburn has found consistent success in both the vault and its floor routines, ranking 8th and 7th, respectively, in the nation. They’ve averaged 49.225 on the vault and 49.333 on the floor. However, a major point of improvement for the Tigers will be finding consistency on the bars, where they’ve struggled to string together elite performances – ranking 19th nationally through three games – despite a significant step in the right direction against the Gators.
The Tigers will also look to maintain a morale boost prompted by the return of freshman Katelyn Jong, who made her 2026 debut against Florida less than a year after an Achilles tear. Jong tied for the team high on bars with a 9.850 against Florida and will be relied upon to further the team’s improvement in this event.
“It was so fun,” Jong said. “A lot of gratitude, and I’m happy to be back out there. Everything I do is for the team. It felt fulfilling, and the recovery wasn’t super easy. I’m here now and so excited to be back.”
Georgia is coming off a 198.4250 - 196.8750 loss against the newly ranked No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners and currently sits at 2-1 (1-1 SEC). The Bulldogs rank 11th nationally on vault, 12th on beam, 7th on bars, and 1st on floor, averaging 197.025 a meet.
Georgia is headlined by star junior Ady Wahl, who leads the Dawgs in total points scored with 98.225, averaging 32.742 points per meet through three meets so far this year. Wahl is also coming off a 2025 campaign that ended in a First Team All-America selection for the vault.
Junior Lily Smith – a 2025 First Team All-America selection for the floor – averages 29.608 total points per meet and 9.950 points per floor routine, propelling Georgia to the No. 1 ranking nationally for the floor.
The Tigers will have their hands full competing against a slew of talented, nationally recognized gym dawgs. Their primary objective will be to redeem their SEC road loss against the Arkansas Razorbacks and prove this is a team that can produce a consistent output away from Neville Arena in a conference loaded with incredible talent. Thankfully, the Tigers have a prime opportunity to do so.
No. 11 Auburn will travel to No. 8 Georgia on Sunday, Feb. 1. The meet begins at 5 p.m. CST and will be televised on the SEC Network.
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Noah is a senior majoring in business administration. He joined the Plainsman in spring 2026.
