For the Auburn Tigers, the gymnastics season is just three weeks away. Despite coming off one of their worst seasons ever in 2018 with a 6-9 overall record, including 1-6 in the SEC, the Tigers enter the 2019 season ranked 14th in the country.
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The games begin January 4 against No. 29 Iowa at Auburn Arena and Coach Graba has every right to be excited.
"The preseason poll is always fun because they can give a general feeling of the other coaches in the country," said head coach Jeff Graba. "Being 14th is basically saying that we are expected to take up right where we left off last year. I always look at this poll as the real kickoff to season, so let the games begin."
At the end of last year, Auburn had three gymnasts compete individually in the NCAA Tournament: Drew Watson, Samantha Cerio, and Abby Milliet. All three on are the preseason watch list after their strong performances in 2018.
Drew Watson, Sophomore
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Drew Watson was vault champion before she came to Auburn last season and became an NCAA Regional vault champion as a freshman in 2018.
Samantha Cerio, Senior
Samantha Cerio represented Auburn in 2017 and 2018 on the uneven bars. Last year, she ended up advancing to the NCAA's by becoming a regional champion. Her career high on the uneven bars is 9.925.
Abby Milliet, Senior
Abby Milliet is Auburn's go to on the beam and she rarely disappoints. She won seven even titles last year, including a regional title. Don't sleep on Milliet. If Auburn is to go anywhere this season, a lot will depend on her.
Auburn will have five home meets this season with three in the SEC. If the Tigers are going to make some noise in 2019, they are going to have to knock off teams like Florida, LSU and Alabama.
It will be hard to do, but it's not an impossible task for this talented team.
