AU gymnasts prepare for Regional

By Collin Mickle

Published: April 11, 2008

In the end, college gymnastics comes down to numbers.

And for the first time, those numbers are on the side of the Auburn gymnastics team.

For the first time in school history, the 12th-ranked Tigers are a No. 2 seed in an NCAA Regional, which begins today at Penn State. The top two finishers from each regional will advance to the NCAA Championships at Athens, Ga.

In previous years, Auburn has been a third seed or lower. That has put the odds against the Tigers: They’ve had to hope for an upset as their only chance to advance.

It has happened; in 2003, third-seeded AU took advantage of a stumble by No. 2 seed Oklahoma, finished second and went on to nationals.

But for the most part, when it comes to college gymnastics, the chalk rules.

It’s a widely acknowledged fact that judges can be influenced by teams’ seeding or ranking.

In the past, that fact worked against Auburn. This year, AU head coach Jeff Thompson hopes it works to his team’s advantage.

If Auburn can avoid making mistakes, the Tigers have the inside track for a top-two finish and a trip to nationals.

“This is a sport that’s judged by other people, and the judges generally expect the No. 1 seed to be the best team and the No. 2 team to be the next-best team, and the No. 3 seed isn’t as good,” Thompson said.

“It’s not that they’ll be pre-judging us, but we’ve certainly seen it in years past, where the No. 1 and the No. 2 may seem to get the benefit of the doubt.”

Auburn junior Lindsey Puckett, the co-SEC Gymnast of the Year, says she and her teammates aren’t worried about the team’s seeding.

AU hasn’t been to nationals since 2003, though individual gymnasts — including Julie Dwyer last season — have qualified for the trip. Puckett is ready to snap the streak

“The No. 2 seed is good, and it’s good for the judges, but it’s not what we’re focusing on,” Puckett said. “Our focus is on our end goal, and that’s nationals. That’s our ultimate goal every year.”

Three-time defending national champion Georgia, the No. 1 team in the national rankings is the No. 1 seed in the State College, Pa., regional. Third-seeded Denver, fourth-seeded Penn State, No. 5 seed BYU and sixth seed Iowa State round out the regional.

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