The No. 15 Auburn gymnastics team is set to face a significant challenge on the road as it travels to compete against No. 1 Oklahoma on Friday, February 27. The meet will take place at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman and will be broadcast on SEC Network at 6:45 p.m. CT.
Head coach Jeff Graba commented on the upcoming match-up, saying, “They’re the No. 1 team for a reason. And when they’re at home, they are very comfortable. They are very seasoned and have a lot of upperclassmen to rely on. We’re starting to click so this will be a great test for our youthful team. We’re going to Norman to get better and get to know ourselves more. And if we do a good job, we can push Oklahoma and challenge them.”
This contest marks Auburn’s third consecutive Friday night facing a Top 3 ranked opponent.
“Within 15 days, we’ll have faced the Nos. 1, 2, 3, 13 and 21 teams,” Graba said. “There’s no better way to get things put together than put yourself up against the best. After a big test at home last week, we have to hop on a plane to take on the nation’s best team and it will only help us in the end.”
Auburn’s rotation order for the meet is bars, vault, floor, then beam.
Among Auburn’s standout gymnasts are juniors Olivia Greaves, Julianne Huff, Alex Irvine and sophomore Marissa Neal—all ranked among the top eight across all four events.
Huff has been leading in all-around performances with six appearances this season and achieved a career-high score of 39.525 last week against Alabama. Greaves and Neal have each competed all-around four times this year; this is Irvine’s second time being among the top eight in every event.
In bars—the first rotation—Irvine leads as anchor with an NQS of 9.870 and recently scored a season-high of 9.925 versus Alabama; Emma Grace Boyd also reached her personal best with a score of 9.875 in that meet.
On vault (rotation two), Auburn holds national rank No.12 with an NQS of 49.179 this season—led by Huff and freshman Mia Leverton (both with NQS scores of 9.850), followed closely by Neal (9.845). Junior Paige Zancan recorded a high mark of 9.975 earlier in the season; Brynn Torry posted her own career-best score anchoring against Alabama last week.
The floor exercise features sophomore Bryn Bartman consistently leading off each meet; she has scored above or at least near her average nearly every time out this year—joined by teammates including Huff (career-high: 9.925 vs Alabama) and Neal (team-leading NQS: 9.875).
On beam—where Auburn ranks twelfth nationally—Neal stands out with five scores over nine-nine points so far this year while anchoring every meet; Irvine also remains among national leaders for beam performance.
Following Friday’s competition against Oklahoma, Auburn returns home March 6 for a non-conference matchup against No.11 Michigan State at Neville Arena before traveling March 8 to Huntsville for Elevate the Stage—a quad meet featuring Georgia (No .6), Clemson (No .13) ,and Pitt at Von Braun Center.
