AUBURN, ALABAMA (EETV)- Senior night inside the newly named Neville Arena saw Auburn Gymnastics fly to new heights. Auburn and Florida tied with a score of 198.575 on Friday night inside Neville Arena. Auburn’s record moves to 6-1-1 on the season.
This was the highest cumulative score between two teams in NCAA history. The scores are also the highest by any team this season.
"It felt like it was a national championship caliber meet and our young team handled it,” Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said. “They didn't let it get to them. That's a recipe for success."
Auburn has hit the 198 mark for the first time in program history and the Tigers absolutely crushed that mark in Friday’s meet. That mark was hit thanks to multiple perfect 10.0s. One by Suni Lee on Beam and another one by Derrian Gobourne on floor.
"That was the best exclamation point on the night,” Cassie Stevens said. “She's been wanting but we wanted it more for her. It was special for her."
Gobourne, in her final floor routine inside Neville Arena, dropped her first 10.0 in her four years on the plains. The only way that Auburn was not going to lose the meet on Friday night was by getting a 10.0. Gobourne has led this team for four years and in her final meet in front of a home crowd puts on her best show.
“Nobody we’d rather have in that moment,” Graba said. “She put the exclamation point on the night.”
Olympic gold medalist Sunisa Lee captured her sixth-straight all-around title with a score of 39.800. Suni Lee dropped her second straight 10.0 on beam and a 9.975 on floor in this meet. The only time Lee did not reach a score of 9.9 was on vault where she debuted another new vault routine.
Florida was able to put up two perfect 10.0s as well. Florida’s Trinity Thomas dropped a 10.0 on vault; while Sloane Blakely dropped a 10.0 on floor for the Gators.
Auburn needed a win to clinch a share of the SEC title with Florida. Since the two teams tied, Florida will be the SEC Champions for the 2022 season.
"I have no doubt in this team. We can do anything,” Derrian Gobourne said.
Auburn will compete again in a quad meet against Arkansas, Georgia and Alabama in Huntsville, Alabama on Sunday at 1 p.m. CST.
