Jan. 9, 2016  |
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AUBURN, Ala. - The 10th-ranked Auburn gymnastics team will open the 2016 season Sunday at No. 12 Oregon State at 4 p.m. CT at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore. The meet will be televised on Pac-12 Oregon.
"I am excited because you get to work all fall to try to figure out who you actually are," head coach Jeff Graba said. "We had a good idea who we were mid-fall. The girls were healthy enough to do gymnastics. We were watching and trying to figure out our lineups, because there are so many new people in here it is hard to tell. Last year, there was maybe one spot in each event and this year there is four in each event. It is good to go through that, but when you get two days away from the meet, it is a different dynamic. I am just excited to get started."
The Tigers are coming off one of the best seasons in program history, in which it broke or tied 52 records and made its first appearance at the NCAA Super Six in 22 years.
Last season, the Tigers squared off with Oregon State at the NCAA Championship Semifinals where Auburn defeated the Beavers, 197.075-195.875. Sunday's meet will be the sixth meeting between the two teams with Oregon State holding a 3-2 advantage and the first meeting in Corvallis.
Oregon State finished the 2015 season ranked No. 12 in the nation after finishing sixth in the evening session of the NCAA Championships Semifinals. Erika Aufiero and Madeline Gardiner earned All-America First Team accolades and qualified to Event Finals with Gardiner scoring a 9.900 on the balance beam to finish third overall for the second year in a row. Aufiero scored 9.825 on the uneven bars to earn 11th place.
Scheduled to compete for the Tigers on vault will be freshmen Emma Engler, Taylor Krippner and A'Miracal Phillips along with junior MJ Rott and seniors Lexus Demers and Caitlin Atkison. On beam, Atkinson, Demers, Engler and Krippner are slated to compete with sophomore Abby Milliet and junior Kullen Hlawek.
On bars, Atkinson, Kripper and Milliet will be joined by freshman Samantha Cerio, redshirt junior Kelsey Kopec and senior Kait Kluz. Atkinson, Demers, Hlawek, Kluz and Rott along with junior Lucia Scaglione will compete on floor.
Live scoring for the meet can be found online at www.osubeavers.com, while live streaming of the meet can be found on www.pac-12.com/live.
For the latest on Auburn gymnastics, follow @Auburn_Gym on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AUGymnastics.
