The No. 15 Auburn Gymnastics team (0-3, 0-2 SEC) traveled to Baton Rouge to take on No. 16 Louisiana State University (3-2, 1-1 SEC) Friday.
Auburn came away with its third straight loss of the season 195.650-193.900.
Head coach Jeff Thompson said part of the reason for the losses is the high level of competition.
"This week, Alabama and Oklahoma are No. 1 and No. 2 in the country," Thompson said. "So, yeah we lost, but we lost to the two best teams in the nation."
Senior Krissy Voss recorded career highs in both the bars (9.825) and the all-around competition (39.200) to place second. Voss said she just wanted to anchor her struggling team and recording her personal best was just a bonus.
"I felt it was my role to be the steady, consistent person, so I felt that was my job for the day," Voss said.
The first rotation showed Auburn on the uneven bars, which has been a strength for the team.
Both Voss and fellow senior Carmen Nelms scored 9.825 in the event.
Auburn came away with 48.325 in the first rotation. LSU started the night on vault with 2009 NCAA vault runner-up Susan Jackson scoring a 9.875. Kayla Rogers also hit a high note for her team, recording a 9.825.
LSU led after the first rotation at 48.975.
The third rotation showed Auburn on the floor exercise and its lowest scoring event of the night.
First up was sophomore Kylie Shields who received the second highest score for the team in the event, with a 9.75.
Voss once again led the team with a 9.8, but a series of falls resulted in a 47.750 on floor.
LSU entered the fourth rotation leading 146.375-145.150. The home team was on floor to end the night and recorded two 9.9's via Rogers and Jackson. LSU came away from the event with a 49.275.
The last event for Auburn was the beam. Junior Rachel Inniss won the event for the first time in her career with a score of 9.875.
Thompson said his team will focus on the floor exercise this week.
"We had the most uncharacteristic mistakes on floor last week," Thompson said. "I can't remember the last time we scored in the 47's on floor." Shields said getting the nerves out early will help the Tigers.
"That's usually where the mistakes come in is when we lose focus and you get nervous," Shields said. "It is our first three meets so it will build as the season continues."Auburn returns to competition tomorrow night at home against No. 8 Georgia. The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back road losses against Alabama and Utah. The event will be held in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum and is an "All Auburn, All Orange" event. Verizon Wireless will be handing out 500 flashlight key chains. Thompson said the girls had a meeting Sunday to discuss their feelings after the LSU meet and some of the things they are afraid of.
"You know, going around the room and admitting your fears to your teammates is empowering," Thompson said. "After that meeting, they went out into the gym, they had the best practice and the best floor workout they've ever had."
Shields said the determining factor tomorrow night would be the small things that can ake the team to the next level. "We know our routines, we can do all the skills, and it's just perfecting them, hitting those handstands, sticking our dismounts," Shields said. Thompson said his team has
no control over its opponents and he expects the girls to hit all of their routines this weekend. "All we can do is focus on our side of things," Thompson said. "If that's good enough to beat Georgia for the first time in school history, that's great, but that's not our focus."
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