2008 Gymnastics Schedule
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Aug. 9, 2007

AUBURN - Six teams that qualified for the 2007 NCAA Championships - including three at home - highlight the 2008 gymnastics slate as head coach Jeff Thompson announced the schedule on Thursday. The Tigers will host NCAA qualifiers Alabama, Florida and Georgia in their first three home meets.

"We have a great home schedule to offer our fans this coming season," Thompson said. "All our fans will want to purchase season tickets to guarantee their seats for the Alabama and Georgia meets. We have had over 5,000 fans for those meets over the past several meetings and are hoping to top the 6,000 mark this season."

Auburn will open its 34th season of women's gymnastics on the road at Kentucky on Saturday, Jan. 12. The meet in Lexington marks the first time the Tigers will open the season on the road in conference since opening at Alabama in 2001. Last year, the Tigers defeated the UK 196.475-193.800 in Auburn.

The first home meet is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 18, against Alabama. Last year, the Crimson Tide finished ninth in the GymInfo Coaches Poll and won the NCAA Central Regional. The Tigers make the return trip to Tuscaloosa to finish out the regular season on Friday, March 21, marking the third-straight year AU will conclude its regular season against Alabama.

Auburn will have a quick turnaround after its January home meet against the Tide as two days later it will compete in Denver, Colo. against the University of Denver on Sunday, Jan. 20. The Pioneers, who reached the NCAA Championships, finished No. 10 in the polls in 2007. The meet will be the Tigers' first trip to the Mile High City.

Auburn's second home meet of the season is set for Friday, Jan. 25 against the University of Florida, who finished third at the NCAA Championships last season.

"Florida was the number one team in the nation for most of the 2007 season and are returning most of their stars," Thompson said.

The Tigers will begin the month of February with back-to-back road meets, beginning at North Carolina State on Sunday, Feb. 3. Auburn tied the Wolfpack for fourth at the 2007 Southeast Regional and in the final polls at 24th. The last time the Tigers were in Raleigh, N.C. they won the four-team Hearts Invitational in 2006. Texas Women's University will also participate in the meet.

Following the trip to Raleigh, AU will travel to Baton Rouge, La. on Friday, Feb. 8 to face LSU, another NCAA qualifier in 2007. The last time Auburn was in Baton Rouge, it edged LSU by .150 points for a 196.700-196.550 victory. The meet will also include West Virginia, which hosted Auburn at the Southeast Regional last year.

Auburn will return home to its toughest challenge of the season as it hosts three-time defending national champion Georgia on Friday, Feb. 15. Last time the Tigers hosted the Gym Dawgs in 2006, Georgia escaped with the lowest margin of victory in the series at 196.550-196.150.

"Our fans get a chance to help make history when we try to dethrone the reigning national champion Georgia Gym Dawgs in February," said Thompson.

The Tigers will get back on the road for the third time in the month of February when they travel to Fayetteville, Ark. to take on the Gym'Backs on Friday, Feb. 22. AU will be looking to break a two-meet losing streak against Arkansas.

Following the meet at Arkansas, Auburn will venture out of conference for three-straight non-conference meets. The Tigers host a pair of Big Ten schools to finish out its 2008 home slate as Illinois and Michigan State come to the Plains on Friday, Feb. 29 and Friday, March 14, respectively. Auburn will try to regain the series lead against Illinois as a loss last year to the Illini evened the series at four. The meeting against Michigan State will be the first match-up against the two schools since 2005 and 10th in the series. However, this will be just the second meeting between the two schools in Auburn as the other nine match-ups either have been in Lansing, Mich. or at neutral sites.

Friday, March 7th takes Auburn to Big 12 territory as the Tigers face Oklahoma and Arizona State in Norman, Okla. It is the Tigers' first trip to Norman since 1996 and the first time they will face the Sun Devils since the 2004 Central Regional.

The SEC Championships are set for Saturday, March 29 in Duluth, Ga. This season marks the third time Duluth has hosted the conference championships, all coming within the last five years.

NCAA competition gets underway with regional competition on Saturday, April 12. The 2008 NCAA Championships will be held Thursday-Saturday, April 24-26, in Athens, Ga.

All home meets are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.