LEXINGTON, Ky. - The No. 17 Auburn Tigers (8-1, 1-0) will have their first true road test in SEC gymnastics against the No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats (3-2, 1-1) to close out January.
The Tigers are coming off a huge win against Oregon State, defeating the Beavers 197.025-196.975. The Wildcats are looking for a rebound win after losing to the Missouri Tigers last Sunday 196.800-197.200. Both Auburn and Kentucky are looking for their second conference win on Friday, and both teams have lineups that could make it happen.
Auburn has two strong freshmen Katelyn Jong and Marissa Neal who have stepped up to the plate this season in scores and reliability. Jong has competed in the all-around competition for the Tigers and averages 39.412, with 39.500 as her high score, achieving that mark twice now.
Neal has continued to dominate on the beam with a 9.900 average on the apparatus, and a high score of 9.975 which she achieved last week against the Beavers. Neal also competes on the floor for the Tigers and has continued to improve as the season progresses on that apparatus.
Fifth-year senior Olivia Hollingsworth has competed in the all-around once for the Tigers this season, scoring 39.250. Hollingsworth had a minor injury in practice before Auburn faced Arkansas but returned last week on bars and beam against the Beavers, and it’s not out of the question that Hollingsworth might compete in the all-around on Friday.
On the other side, Kentucky is one of the best teams in the nation on vault, currently in fifth place as a team. Three of the top ten scoring gymnasts on vault compete for Kentucky. The Wildcats average 49.300 on the apparatus, with a high score of 49.425.
Kentucky’s top three vaulters all have a high score of 9.950, with Anna Cashion, the highest-scoring gymnast on vault currently averaging a 9.950 on the event.
Auburn’s best event this season has been beam, where they average 49.256 and currently rank sixth in the nation on the apparatus. They scored their season-high on the apparatus last week with a 49.450 against Oregon State.
Due to how NCAA gymnastics meets are structured, Kentucky being the home team will open on their best event (vault) and finish on their second-best event (floor). Auburn, being the visiting team, will get to finish on their best event (beam), which may put pressure on the Tigers to close out the meet with strong scores on beam, especially if the overall scores are close.
It’s set to be a high-flying night of gymnastics inside the Memorial Coliseum when the top-15 matchup begins. The first rotation is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. CT and will be on the SEC Network+.
