No. 9 Alabama Gymnastics Faces No. 8 Auburn Friday in Auburn Arena

AUBURN, Ala. – No. 9-ranked Alabama gymnastics faces off against No. 8 Auburn Friday at 8 p.m. CT in Auburn Arena. The meet will air live on ESPN2 with Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson Clarke and Samantha Peszek calling the action.

It will be the Crimson Tide's third road meet of the season and fourth overall after opening its home slate last Friday with a season-best 197.650 in a win over Kentucky. Auburn, heading into its fourth meet of the season and second-consecutive home contest, is coming off a season-best 197.350 in its win over Iowa State last Friday.

Head Coach Dana Duckworth Said

"Going into the Kentucky meet, we wanted to improve from the week before. We wanted to add some more depth to our line-ups and we wanted them to fight for every tenth of a point. So, in that regard, it was a successful night on all fronts and in terms of what our goals were. What's exciting to me, is to know that there is so much more we can improve on and the ladies are still very focused, fired up and hungry to improve."

Friday's Meet

No. 9 Alabama returns to the road for its third away meet, third Southeastern Conference meet and fourth meet overall, taking on No. 8 Auburn on Jan. 28 at 8 p.m.
The meet will air on ESPN2 with Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson Clarke and Samantha Peszek calling the action
The Crimson Tide is coming off its highest scoring meet of the season after tallying a 197.650 to take down Kentucky at home, while Auburn posted a season-best 197.350 at home against Iowa State in its last meet
Alabama is 129-2 against Auburn since 1980 and 129-11 all-time against the Tigers
Alabama head coach Dana Duckworth is 19-2 against the Tigers as a head coach and was 18-0 vs. Auburn as a gymnast
Alabama and Auburn met twice during the 2021 season, with the Tide winning both meetings, including at 196.925-195.575 regular-season win in Tuscaloosa, and a postseason meeting at the SEC Championships with the Tide taking home the win (197.875) and Auburn finishing fifth (196.275)

Last Time Out

Alabama took home a win against then- No.9 Kentucky 197.650-196.275 in Coleman Coliseum, with the Tide's 197.650 marking the highest total in program history for a home opener
The Crimson Tide's 197.650 was the second highest team total in program history in the month of January, following a 197.925 on Jan. 30, 2004 in Tuscaloosa against Florida
Alabama's 49.625 was its highest floor exercise total since March 10, 2017 when the Crimson Tide went 49.650 against Iowa State
The Tide's 49.625 against Kentucky is the highest floor exercise total in the month of January in program history
The Crimson Tide's attendance of 10,335 is the second highest total for a home opener in the nation this year and the third highest of the season
Lilly Hudson's 39.525 in the all-around total is the highest by a UA freshman since Lexi Graber went 39.575 in the 2018 NCAA Regional Championships
Freshman Jordyn Paradise scored a 9.875 on the vault in her first routine in Coleman Coliseum and just her second for the Crimson Tide
Cameron Machado scored 9.925s on both the uneven bars and floor exercise, with her floor routine coming as just the second of her Tide career
With Lexi Graber's 9.950 on floor exercise, she has scored a 9.9-or-higher in 18 of her last 20 floor routines
In just her fourth routine in the Crimson Tide's vault lineup and third this season, Makarri Doggette posted a career-best 9.925
In addition to being the Tide's home opener, Friday night was also Alumni Night and the Crimson Tide celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 2002 NCAA Championship team and the 10th anniversary of the 2012 NCAA Championship squad
Mati Waligora scored a career-high 9.925 on the floor exercise against the Wildcats

Up Next

After taking on the Tigers in Auburn, Alabama returns home for a tri-meet with North Carolina and Western Michigan
The meet will get underway at 7:30 p.m. CT and will air on the SEC Network
It will be the Crimson Tide's second home meet of the season and second meet against non-conference opponents

For all the latest information on Alabama gymnastics, follow BamaGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.