AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - It was a historic match as No. 6 Auburn Gymnastics traveled to take on the No. 8 LSU Tigers on Saturday. Auburn tied their all-time record with a final score of 197.750, it would be LSU who would take the win with an impressive score of 197.975.
"I really proud of the group tonight," head coach Jeff Graba said. "This is a really tough environment at LSU, and they handled it wonderfully. We tied a program record in score and got our first 10 in 20 years. It was great to see the team fight and come away with big routines."
The score ties the program record set by the 2015 Auburn squad on Feb. 27th in Auburn Arena.
“We still have so much to improve on and it’s really helpful to see the end scores because then we know that we have so much more potential,” said Suni Lee on the historic night “This week we were just focused on leveling up and I think that’s exactly what we did.”
Lee captured her first-ever collegiate 10. The score came on the bars and was the first 10 by an Auburn Gymnist since 2004.
"Her bars have been like that the last couple weeks," Graba said. "That score shouldn't surprise us because she has been so consistent in this event."
The freshman took away her second all-around title in as many meets. Her score of 39.825 is an Auburn record and ties the high score nationally for this season.
In addition to her 10 on bars, Lee set career highs on both vault and floor scoring a 9.9 and a 9.95 on each event respectively. Her last score was a 9.975 on beam which was good enough to give her the beam title.
Freshman Sophia Groth scored career highs in every event she competed in, scoring a 9.9 in vault and on the floor and a 9.950 on the beam.
Derrian Gobourne led the team on the beam, scoring a 9.95 which tied her career-best. The senior earned her fourth straight 9.925 or better on the floor.
The Tigers return to Auburn Arena on Friday as they take on Missouri. The two teams will face off at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network, Feb. 11.
BARS:
Auburn started off the meet with a 49.350 on bars in the first rotation. Lee led the way for the Tigers with her 10, the first perfect score on bars since 2000. Gobourne followed with a 9.875, while juniors Aria Brusch and Cassie Stevens chipped in a pair of 9.85s. Junior Adeline Sabados closed out scoring with a 9.775.
VAULT:
The Tigers showed out on the vault recording a 49.475, the third-best score for the Tigers in the event. Gobourne led the way with her career-high 9.95. Lee, Groth and Drew Watson all recorded a 9.9 while freshman Sara Hubbard and sophomore Tara Walsh earned 9.825s. Walsh’s 9.825 was a career-high.
FLOOR:
Auburn scored a 49.375 on the floor in the third rotation. The Tigers battled against the uncontrollable with the music cutting out on three different Tigers’ routines. Lee led the team with a 9.95l and Gobourne followed with a 9.925. Groth scored a career-best 9.9 and Stevens scored a 9.875 for a season-best
BEAM:
The Tigers finished the meet off strong, scoring a 49.550 on the beam, a score which was good for second-best in program history. Lee won the beam title with a score of 9.975. Groth finished with a 9.95 and Olivia Hollingsworth with Brusch and Stevens all earned 9.875s all of which were season bests.
