BATON ROUGE – For the second straight time at home the sixth-ranked LSU gymnastics team will take part in a Top-10 matchup as the Tigers play host to No. 8 Auburn Friday in the Maravich Center.
Show time begins at 7:15 p.m. CT, and first vault is set for 7:30 p.m.
Maravich Center doors will open at 6 p.m., and fans are encouraged to arrive early because LSU is giving away 2016 gymnastics trading cards.
An autograph session with all the LSU gymnasts will take place after the meet up on the Maravich Center concourse.
Tickets are available for purchase starting as low as $2, and tickets can be purchased by visiting LSUtix.net, calling the ticket office at 225-578-2184 or in person on the first floor of the Moran Family Center for Athletic Administration.
LSU (7-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) is looking to build off back-to-back season bests. The Tigers posted a 197.425 two weeks ago at home against Arkansas and followed it up with a season-high road score of 196.800 last week at Georgia.
“It’s about consistency; consistency wins,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “This team is really focused, and week to week they want to get better. We have seen growth both in practice and during meets, but it’s a weekly process.”
Auburn (5-4, 2-3) is riding high after snapping Alabama’s streak of 117 straight wins in the series with a 197.275-197.250 victory over the Tide last week.
LSU will put its own streak on the line against Auburn as LSU enters the meet having collected 19 straight wins at home, a streak dating back to the beginning of the 2014 season.
Both teams are ranked in the Top 25 on all four events with LSU outranking Auburn on all but bars. LSU is No. 2 nationally on vault, No. 7 on floor, No. 9 on bars and No. 13 on beam. Auburn is No. 7 on vault, No. 8 on bars, No. 10 on floor and No. 16 on beam.
LSU continues to be one the nation’s most well-rounded teams with seven gymnasts ranked in the Top 25 in at least one category, led by sophomore Myia Hambrick and junior Ashleigh Gnat who are each ranked in three categories.
Hambrick is eighth in the all-around, 22nd on vault and 24th on floor, while Gnat is first on vault, fifth on floor and 21st in the all-around.
Senior Randii Wyrick ranks 25th on both vault and floor, while sophomore Erin Macadaeg is first on floor, junior Sydney Ewing is seventh on vault, freshman Lexie Priessman is 14th on bars and junior Shae Zamardi is 22nd on bars.
Auburn is led by senior all-arounder Caitlin Atkinson who ranks 13th nationally on vault, 22nd in the all-around and 25th on floor.
The meet will be televised by SEC Network with Bart Conner (play-by-play), Kathy Johnson Clarke (analyst) and Laura Rutledge (reporter) on the call.
Live stats will be available on LSUsports.net, and fans can stay connected with the team on the LSU gymnastics social accounts: Facebook.com/lsugym, @LSUgym on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter and YouTube.com/lsugymnastics.