The No. 20 Auburn gymnastics team stepped up big time on Friday night in Auburn Arena, defeating Pittsburgh on senior night, 196.300-194.200.
“We still obviously have a little work left to do, but definitely a step in the right direction,” head coach Jeff Graba said. “I’m a little relieved for the seniors because you never know what you’re going to get on Senior Night. I was actually pleased with their performance. They rose to the occasion. They did what they could do and it’s nice to go out in style that way.”
Auburn honored their four seniors – Kullen Hlawek, Kelsey Kopec, MJ Rott, Lucia Scaglione - prior to the evening’s events.
The Tigers swept the event titles on the night with Rott taking the vault and floor titles. Gracie Day picked up a bars victory, while redshirt freshman Emma Slappey and sophomore Samantha Cerio were winners on the beam. Katie Becker took the all-around title with a 38.925.
Auburn was brilliant in the final rotation, setting a season-best score on floor with a 49.325. That came after the Tigers started the evening on vault and came away with a 48.875 as a team. Auburn went to beam in rotation three and was led by Cerio’s and Slappey’s 9.825s. Hlawek had a 9.775 in the leadoff slot, while Engler and Becker followed at 9.75 and 9.7, respectively.
Auburn will now prepare for the SEC Championships on March 18, in Jacksonville, Fla. The conference event will be split into two sessions.
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