Auburn Gymnastics Wednesday Update - AuburnTigers.com - Auburn University Official Athletic Site

Auburn Gymnastics Wednesday Update Home Meet

Rachel Inniss

Feb. 23, 2011

AUBURN - The No. 18 Auburn gymnastics team (2-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) is wrapping up preparations for this Friday's meet against Pittsburgh (3-7, 0-6 East Atlantic Gymnastics League). After two weeks of being on a road practice schedule, the Tigers welcome an extra day of preparation at home.

"We just went back to our normal home week schedule where we practice on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday," Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said. "There are a few exceptions just with some of the girls coming back from injuries. We might need to change that up a little bit, but that's one of the things that has been beneficial is that it gives us an extra day of practice.

"Other than that, the focus has been more about trying to fine-tune the details. Now that we have a few more people working into the mix on events, we've had a little more discussion with lineups."

Auburn will make changes in the lineup again this week as the Tigers continue to look for a complete meet. Abbey Hibicht will enter the bars routine competing in the No. 3 spot and Petrina Yokay will lead off on floor as Lauren Brzostowski moves to the second spot in the lineup.

"We're trying to give Abbey a shot (on bars)," Graba said. "That's one of the events she has done a good job for us in the exhibition roles, so we want to give her a shot because she has a good routine. We also feel like Kendall (Swartz) is still out there, so it's still wide open on who we put in at this point. That's part of the benefit now that we have more people. We're going to try to do some changing up.

"As far as floor goes, we just started looking at the trend on scoring, and we feel like Petrina would possibly be a good leadoff for us. In the long run, you're trying to find somebody who will hit and stand on their feet that first one up. We feel like maybe Petrina can do that for us."

The Tigers will face Pittsburgh on Friday at the Auburn Arena at 7 p.m. CT. The meet has been designated as "Short People Appreciation Night" and fans will receive free admission if they are shorter than Lauren Brzostowski, the shortest gymnast on the Tigers' team at 5-0.

Fans will have the opportunity to get their picture taken with the BCS National Championship Trophy by a professional photographer. The trophy will be displayed inside Jonathan B. Lovelace Hall of Honor starting 90 minutes prior to the meet. There will also be an autograph session with the gymnasts immediately following the meet.

Auburn's projected lineups for the Pittsburgh meet are:

Vault: Petrina Yokay, Allyson Sandusky, Lauren Brzostowski, Kylie Shields, Justine Foster and Toi Garcia

Uneven Bars: Kareen Kaveh, Toi Garcia, Abbey Habicht, Petrina Yokay, Allyson Sandusky and Kylie Shields

Balance Beam: Lauren Brzostowski, Petrina Yokay, Abbey Habicht, Allyson Sandusky Kylie Shields and Rachel Inniss

Floor Exercise: Petrina Yokay, Lauren Brzostowski, Laura Lane, Justine Foster, Toi Garcia and Rachel Inniss