The #1 Florida Gators will hit the road this weekend to visit the #8 Auburn Tigers in Auburn Arena on Friday, January 22, 2016. The teams will take to the floor at 7:30pm CST, prepared for a competitive night of gymnastics. The Tigers are coming off of a series of three meets in eight days, with the highlight being an SEC win against Kentucky. The Gators hosted UCLA and posted the highest score of the NCAA season so far.

AUBURN

The first meet of the season for the Tigers was away at Oregon State. They had a strong start, posting a 196.175, which was the second highest season opener is school history. There were solid performances from veterans Caitlin Atkinson, Lexus Demers, Abby Milliet and Kullen Hlawek. Auburn boasts a large freshman class that is full of talent. In the first meet, five of the six athletes made their collegiate debut.

Just five days later, the Tigers hosted the University of Kentucky, and had another good performance. Auburn had a positive beginning to the meet, successfully sticking landings and showing off their hard work on vault, bars, and beam. However, Floor gave the team some difficulties, where the Tigers only posted a 48.75. Despite the adversity, Auburn still managed to score above a 196. Finally, only two days later, the team traveled to Birmingham, AL to compete in the Elevate the Stage meet. The problems that started to show on Friday became more evident on Sunday as the fatigue set in. Auburn posted scores below a 49 on both beam and floor, but finished the meet with a 196.075.

Photo: CBS Interactive/Anthony Hall/Auburn Athletics

Now that the first three meets are out of the way, the Tigers have had the opportunity to get back to the gym and address the issues they had been experiencing. Although Auburn has experienced minor struggles in the start of season, these struggles have not kept them from achieving an overall total of 196 at any meet so far. The team has shown incredible performances so far - Atkinson and Demers have proven their strength on vault, Milliet is showing beautiful execution and confidence on bars and beam, and MJ Rott still wows the crowd with her power and sass on floor. The young members of the team cannot be forgotten, as we have seen great routines from the freshman class already, particularly from Taylor Krippner and Emma Engler.

FLORIDA

Florida has competed twice so far this season and has already reminded the gymnastics world why they are the three-time defending National Champions. After their home opener against UCLA, the Florida Gators took over the top spot in the rankings. Against UCLA, Florida had not one, not two, but three incredible All-Around performances. Kennedy Baker, Alicia Boren, and Bridget Sloan all competed in the All-Around. Baker and Boren both scored a 39.575, while Sloan scored a 39.65. Boren and Sloan are currently tied in the rankings for the number one spot in the All-Around, while their teammate, Baker, is in fourth. Boren was named SEC Freshman of the Week and Sloan was named SEC Gymnast of the Week for the second week in a row.

Photo: Dinah Jean Whistler

In addition to having all-star all-arounders, the Gators have others who know exactly how to hit a routine out of the park. Sophomore Alex McMurtry is atop the vault rankings with a nearly flawless layout full and is currently ranked second on beam. Freshman Peyton Ernst has started her collegiate career off as a specialist on beam and scored a 9.875 at their first meet at TWU and a 9.85 against UCLA. It seems fair to say that Florida does not lack talent or the ability to perform high quality routines, even this early in the season.

Watch Ernst in the Gators season opener at TWU


The interesting factor at this meet is the coaching crossover. This will be Jenny Rowland’s first time back in Auburn Arena since helping the Auburn Tigers qualify to NCAA’s last April. Though there will surely be fond memories and time to reminisce, both the coaches for Auburn and Florida are known to be competitive at heart. In a recent interview, Coach Graba said, “I want the very best for her. It says something about our program that they take one of the assistants and move them to the three-time National Champion. It means we’re doing something special here. We’re taking pride with that, but I would also like to be just a little bit better than her every time we meet.”


Related:
Videos: Florida at TWU
Videos: Elevate the Stage