AUBURN Ala. (EETV)- Auburn Gymnastics welcomed new SEC foe and No. 1 program in the nation, Oklahoma, to the Plains on Friday for the All Auburn All Orange meet.
It was just last week the Tigers were able to be successful against Alabama on the road. Faced with another tough competition, Jeff Graba’s lineup was down one member as the All-Around superstar Keko Jong joined the sideline after battling an injury from the previous meet in Tuscaloosa.
“We’ve had to shuffle four new lineups in the last 22 hours, " Coach Graba said. “Just been really difficult for this team. I think it's very emotional for them.”
The first rotation on vault left Auburn with an early game of playing catch-up to the Sooners. Sophia Bell’s stick on the Yurchenko Full became the highest score for the Tiger’s, along with setting her career high on vault. Sara Hubbard also saw a career high for a 9.8, landing Auburn’s 49.200. On bars, Oklahoma led with a 49.575 with all athletes scoring a 9.9 or higher to open the competition.
Continuing her career on bars, senior Caroline Leonard opened for the Tigers with a 9.775. Matching their score on vault, Auburn settled the second rotation with a 49.200 as the lineup anchors Alex Irvine and Olivia Greaves closed with 9.9’s each. On the Sooner side, a successful trip to the vault extended their lead over the home team 99.050-98.400 with two more rotations left.
The beam team gained some momentum for Auburn. The lineup began with a 9.85 from Olivia Ahern. Debuting on beam for Auburn, Sarah Zois stuck the landing for a 9.875. Usually Auburn’s stronger event, Friday’s beam team struggled with finding the high-scores. Anchors Sophia Groth and Gabby McLaughlin closed the rotation with sticks and the two highest scores for the team. Groth received a 9.9 and McLaughlin earned a season high of 9.925. With a 0.75 point gap to close, Auburn relied on the floor lineup for the last rotation.
Sarah Zois opened for the Tigers with her floor debut, earning a 9.825. Continuing this pace, Auburn’s lineup all scored within 9.8’s. The highest scored floor routine for Auburn went to anchors Groth and McLaughlin for 9.875’s each. Strong scores from the Sooners’ beam team, handed Auburn their third conference loss as the Tigers were just shy of the 197.
On the Friday’s performance Graba said, “Just really proud because you can’t teach fight. I’m glad they have that in them.”
Auburn fell to Oklahoma in Neville Arena in a final of 197.925-196.900 with the Sooners claiming event and all-around titles, as well.
Auburn Gymnastics travels to No. Eight Missouri for a Tiger versus Tiger competition on Sunday.
