Auburn gymnastics beats Alabama in Coleman Coliseum for first time in school history

The Auburn gymnastics program made history Friday night, beating Alabama in Coleman Coliseum for the first time ever.

Auburn won Friday’s meet 197.750-197.350, improving the Tigers to 10-3 on the season. It’s also the second consecutive season Auburn gymnastics has beaten its biggest rivals in the regular season, scoring a win over the Crimson Tide in Neville Arena last season.

The big road win comes less than a week after Auburn men’s basketball beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa, drawing plenty of excited reactions on social media.

“Thank you @AuburnMBB for laying the foundation!!! We just made history!!! We just beat Bama! So so proud of this team,” said senior Auburn gymnast Sophia Groth.

Auburn women’s basketball will be the next Auburn athletic program to compete in Coleman Coliseum, taking on the Crimson Tide Sunday at 4 p.m.

The Tigers’ best score of Friday’s meet came on vault, scoring a 49.500, tying a program-best vault score. Freshman Katelyn Jong led the way in that event, scoring a 9.950, a new career high.

Jong’s 9.950 tied Auburn’s highest individual score of the night, with Groth tying her season-best on floor with a 9.950 of her own. The Tigers held a lead of just over six tenths of a point going into the final event, but held on to win despite a strong finish from Alabama.

Auburn is currently ranked No. 11 in the country and will have three more meets to close out the regular season. The Tigers will be next be in action Feb. 28 for a home meet against Oklahoma. That meet is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streaming on SEC Network+.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at prauterkus@al.com