AUreo

There was some drama between her parents and Riley McCusker’s parents (some major dispute regarding a former elite coach). The Gators are also stacked with numerous 5-star elites coming in (even UCLA can hardly keep up with Florida recruiting).

Yes, 5-star Olivia Greaves is a Fall 2022 commit. She might compete for Team USA at the World championships later this year (if she is healthy and makes the team). Suni and Olivia are both sr international elites and 5star recruits. The gymnastics star-rating system is still relatively new though (started just a few years ago). Olivia Greaves bio https://wagymnastics.fandom.com/wiki/Main:Olivia_Greaves 2018 Greaves made her televised debut at the Nastia Liukin Cup in early March, where she placed eighth in the all-around. She qualified elite later that year, making her elite debut at the American Classic in early July, where she placed fourth in the all-around. Later that month, she competed at the U.S. Classic, where she won bronze on floor exercise, and placed sixth on beam, ninth in the all-around, twelfth on vault, and twenty-fourth on bars. She qualified to her first National Championships, where she placed fourth on floor, sixth in the all-around and on uneven bars, tenth on vault, and twelfth on beam. She was subsequently named to the National Team. 2019 Greaves made her international debut at the International Gymnix in Canada in March. She won team gold, all-around, vault, and floor exercise silver, and placed fifth on bars and beam. In July, she competed at the U.S. Classic, winning gold on uneven bars, bronze in the all-around, and placing fourth on beam, ninth on floor, and tenth on vault. In August, she competed at the National Championships, winning gold on bars, bronze in the all-around, and placing fourth on floor, fifth on vault, and tenth on beam.

2023 recruiting Not sure who could be our top 2023 target now. Graba recently mentioned that some high profile recruits are currently showing strong interest in Auburn. The top 2023 elites are Sky Blakely (her sister is a Gator), Addison Fatta (leaning LSU, Florida), the Gadirova twins (both are British Olympians and won team Bronze in Tokyo, Jennifer is a 5-star recruit and sister Jessica a 4-star recruit. However, other top British gymnasts recently signed with California and Utah), Morgan Price, Jamison Sears + Sydney Barros and Katelyn Rosen (both UCLA commits). Konnor McClain was the only top 5star elite who would frequently mention Auburn and 4-star elite Lyden Saltness (another Graba/Graba gymnast) is already committed to Auburn. Maybe Suni can still flip Konnor in the coming months. Some Top 5-star L10s are Elizabeth Gantner (UGA commit), Kylie Coen, and Lily Smith. I would love to land a 5-star L10 as many of them are perfectly trained to compete in NCAA right away (rules are very similar). Elites are great for media hype and PR but sometimes need some adjustment periods.

Looks like she announced her commitment to LSU earlier today. UPDATE Five-Star Konnor McClain Commits to LSU for 2024 Season http://collegegymnews.com/2021/08/14/five-star-konnor-mcclain-commits-to-lsu-for-2024-season/

Apparently, Konnor McClain is going to announce her college decision tomorrow (most likely LSU).

Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee addresses the media for the first time as an Auburn gymnast

Fortunately, SEC is famous for "overscoring". Many non-SEC fans complain about it most of the time. Suni will probably score many Perfect10s during her college career... I hope she will go for the 2024 Olympics though. Even though this means she won't be on the team in 2024. Olivia Greaves would have to lead the team then. Btw, Olivia is slowly coming back from her injury and there is a chance she will compete for the Team USA spot for the 2021 World Championships later this year. If she is healthy, she should have a decent chance making the team.

I think season tickets are already sold out? I heard the athletic dept received app 1,000 requests (within 24hrs) when Suni won gold (not sure if that's true). Auburn&Suni are going to sell out many SEC arenas in the coming years.

Welcome home!

Scoring is probably the biggest difference (Perfect 10 in College vs open-end scoring system in elite and its added difficulty scores). College gymnasts are mostly top Level-10 gymnasts and some former elite gymnasts. Therefore, high difficulty is somewhat less important vs clean consistent routines. Other differences: Lower difficulty and shortened routines in college (the influx of top senior elites currently requires teams to upgrades their skills though). Floor: Elite floor routines have more artistic value while college floor routines also have some dance elements built-in (elite gymnasts need to learn this and tend to struggle here in the beginning) Culture: Elite level gymnastics is mostly an individual sport while college gymnastics is a team sport (this is is another major adjustment for elite gymnasts who are used to compete individually) This upcoming college season could be the most exciting in history with so many Olympians and World Champions currently flocking to NCAA (including British and Canadian gymnasts): https://collegegymnews.com/2021/08/07/why-elite-gymnastics-fans-should-watch-ncaa-gym/

Currently, there is so much focus on Suni but Auburn also signed a top 4-star gymnast this year: Sophia Groth College: Auburn Current CGN Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Groth is a five-time level 10 nationals qualifier (2015-19). She won multiple medals there over the years, including a bronze in the all around in 2016 and gold on beam in 2015. Why She’s Worth Noticing: We feel a bit for Groth because she is joining Auburn the same year as Sunisa Lee, and as a result it is likely that she will not get all the attention she deserves. She should, though, because her gymnastics is difficult and her form is exceptional on all four pieces. Her bar and beam work is particularly exquisite, but she could become a top all arounder, too. https://collegegymnews.com/2020/11/08/underrated-gymnasts-in-the-class-of-2021/

Final SEC medal count source: https://www.secrant.com/ G S B. Total Florida. 9 5 3 17 Kentucky. 7 3 0 10 LSU. 6 2 3 11 Texas 5 3 1 9 Texas aTm. 4 1 2 7 Georgia. 3 2 6 11 Auburn. 3 1 2 6 South Carolina 3 0 0 3 Tennessee. 1 2 1 4 Arkansas. 1 0 0 1 Alabama 0 3 2 5 Ole Miss. 0 2 0 2 Vanderbilt. 0 0 1 1

NIL to the rescue!

INSIDE GYMNASTICS MAGAZINE Suni Lee Set to Be a Trailblazer in NCAA at Auburn By Chris Korotky For the first time in history, an Olympic All-Around Champion will be a part of NCAA gymnastics. Just weeks after earning gold in Tokyo, superstar Suni Lee will be on the plains of Auburn University, preparing for her freshman year of college and her first year competing with the Tigers. “I’m looking forward to that so much,” Lee said after winning gold. “I’m so excited! I don’t want to miss that college experience.” […] With an engaging personality, unique gymnastics routines and a journey of perseverance and determination that inspired so many, Lee was clearly one of the most intriguing figures of the Games across all sports. Her social media following grew from a couple hundred thousand to nearly 1.5 million in about a week and shows no signs of slowing down. She’ll be gracing magazine covers. She’ll be invited to red carpet and event appearances. And when the college season starts, she’s sure to be a highlight of those weekly TV broadcasts. It’s also a possibility that she could make appearances at a few of the Gold Over America Tour stops, and Jeff Graba says they’ll have a plan to accommodate that if she so chooses. […] https://www.insidegymnastics.com/news-features/sunileesettobetrailblazerforauburn8621/

I couldn’t find a single post reporting this but it seems noteworthy. - - - - Top European golfer signs with Auburn AUBURN, Ala. – Ruben Lindsay, the top-ranked junior golfer in Europe, has signed his National Letter of Intent with Auburn, head coach Nick Clinardannounced Friday. Lindsay, who hails from Ayr, Scotland, is expected to arrive on The Plains prior to the spring portion of the 2021-22 season. https://auburntigers.com/news/2021/6/18/mens-golf-top-european-junior-golfer-ruben-lindsay-signs-with-auburn.aspx

Probably somewhere in Lee Count(r)y…

College Gymnastics is about to explode. This is an insane incoming freshman class boasting many Olympians, World Champions,etc: https://collegegymnews.com/2021/08/03/most-anticipated-elite-freshmen-on-vault-2/ This is really exiting. I can’t wait to see all the NIL deals happening in the future.

Suni did not medal today. Nevertheless, she is the most decorated Female Gymnast of the Tokyo Games :)

Suni and Simone will compete on beam tomorrow.

Yes, tons of coverage and interviews. ABC mentioned that Suni is headed to Auburn on national tv and NY Times and WSJ have published interviews with her mentioning Auburn + some social media pictures including some Auburn references. Press coverage: NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/sports/olympics/sunisa-lee-gymnastics-auburn.html WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/olympics-sunisa-lee-auburn-gymnastics-11627650399 Social media: https://m.facebook.com/AuburnGym/posts/363869531771523 TokyoTiger: https://www.aufamily.com/forums/topic/177398-auburn-incoming-freshman-earns-spot-on-us-olympic-team/?do=findComment&comment=3404407 NIL: https://www.al.com/auburn/2021/07/lets-talk-7-figures-how-olympic-gold-impacts-suni-lees-nil-earnings-potential-at-auburn.html other: I think season tickets are mostly sold out and 5-star senior elite Olivia Greaves recently announced her commitment to Auburn. Also, Auburn now has a shot landing potential superstar 5-star elite and Paris 2024 hopeful Konnor McClain who currently favors Auburn and LSU.

This! Suni could become the highest paid NIL athlete in America. She now has 1.2M IG followers, adding app 100k followers per day…her “Bronze medal” post from earlier today(!) already has more than 500k likes and nearly 5k comments.

Auburn boasts 18 representatives at Tokyo 2020 Olympics https://auburntigers.com/news/2021/7/22/general-auburn-boasts-18-representatives-at-tokyo-2020-olympics.aspx Meet Auburn's 18 representatives at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/lists/meet-auburns-18-representatives-at-the-tokyo-2020-olympics/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SEC TOKYO 2020 MEDAL COUNT (August 1) Florida - 12 (6x gold, 3x silver, 3x bronze) UGA - 9 (1x gold, 2x silver, 6x bronze) Auburn - 6 (3x gold, 1x silver, 2x bronze) LSU - 3 (1x gold, 0x silver, 2x bronze) Tennessee - 3 (0x gold, 2x silver, 1x bronze) Texas A&M - 3 (0x, 1x silver, 2x bronze) Arkansas - 2 (2x gold, 0x silver, 0x bronze) Kentucky - 2 (1x gold, 1x silver, 0x bronze) Alabama - 2 (0x gold, 2x silver, 0x bronze) South Carolina - 1 (1x gold, 0x silver, 0x bronze) Ole Miss - 1 (0x gold, 1x silver, 0x bronze)