Dec. 18, 2007

Auburn, Ala. - The Auburn Gymnastics team was voted as the No. 19 team in the nation according to Monday's preseason coaches poll.

"It's nice to be ranked in the top 20 to start the season, even though I feel like we are much better than what our ranking indicates," said Auburn head coach Jeff Thompson. "I'm not disappointed. It doesn't matter where you start anyway, does it? I think it's more about where you finish. That's our focus."

The Tigers notched 237 votes for 19th place and move up one spot from last year's ranking. Auburn concluded last year's regular season at No. 17, but fell to No. 24 in the final season rankings.

In addition to Auburn, the six other SEC gymnastics teams also landed a spot in the top 25. Georgia was voted the number one team in the nation with 28 first place votes, 866 total, followed by Florida receiving one first place vote and 788 votes total. Alabama was voted in at number six and LSU came in at No. 10. Arkansas received 365 votes for 14th and Kentucky received 104 for 24th.

"The coaches poll shows how everyone feels about the strength of the SEC, placing Georgia and Florida at number one and number two and all seven SEC teams in the top 25 this year," Thompson said.

To view the entire coaches poll, please visit http://www.troester.com/gym.

The Tigers begin regular season action on Jan. 12 in Lexington, Ky., to face the Wildcats on Kentucky's "Excite Night."

"We are excited to get our season underway at Kentucky in a few weeks," Thompson said. "It should be a really good test for us - on the road, in front of 6,000 plus fans - and we will learn a lot about how good we really are."

Auburn will begin home competition on Jan. 18 to face cross-state rival Alabama. Regular season tickets are available at www.auburntigers.com. Adult season passes are $20 and youth passes are $8. Family packages of four season passes are available for $48. Single match tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for children. Admission is free for Auburn students with a valid ID.