AUBURN, Ala, (EETV) – No. 5 Auburn Gymnastics defeated No. 9 LSU in front of a sold-out Neville Arena thanks to five Tiger gymnasts scoring 9.900 or better in the final rotation en route to a season-high score on floor.
“Going to floor in Neville Arena in a tight meet is amazing,” Head Coach Jeff Graba said on the atmosphere. “They were loud, they and involved and it just sort of crescendoed in the last rotation. It was a blast.”
Auburn held a slim .025-point lead going into their final rotation, floor. Sophia Groth, Cassie Stevens and Olivia Hollingsworth all scored a 9.900 while Sunisa Lee and Derrian Gobourne each scored a 9.975. Both Lee and Gobourne received a 10 from a single judge while the other took a .05 deduction from each.
“It’s very frustrating,” said Goubourne when asked about the score. “I’m just going to keep doing what I do and show off. I’m out there to inspire, I know there are other people watching me.”
LSU’s Aleah Finnegan will fly back to Baton Rouge with the all-around title. Her night was highlighted by a perfect 10 given out on vault. The score was enough to give her the vault title while she also earned a share of the beam and floor titles.
Finishing just .025 behind Finnegan in the all-around was Auburn’s own olympian Suni Lee. Lee earned a perfect 10 of her own, coming in the bars event. Lee shared the beam and floor titles with Finnegan.
“The energy was all-around amazing,” Lee said. “I didn’t even know it was my first time getting a 10 here at Neville Arena on bars. A super-amazing feeling.”
Auburn got off to a slow start to the meet with Gobourne earning the only score in the 9.9s with a mark of 9.925. But it was the floor in which Gobourne really shined, earning a share of the floor title.
The Tigers will be back in action on Feb. 19 when the team travels to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Tigers from up north. The meet will begin at 5 p.m and will air on SEC Network.
