After two days of anticipation, junior gymnast Rachel Inniss was selected to compete at the National Championship at the University of Florida April 22.
Inniss was in a seven-way tie for first in the floor exercise at regionals with a score of 9.9.
Inniss said she will probably not do much differently to train for nationals.
"We're going to stick with the same routine, I mean, it's what got me there," Inniss said. "As far as practice, the girls are going to have open gym, so it won't feel like I'm practicing alone."
Being a member of a non-qualifying team, along with a few other tiebreaking procedures, Inniss received the news Monday afternoon she would be representing the Tigers at nationals.
"I was happy, and little numb just because it would be nice going with the team, but I don't mind representing Auburn," Inniss said. "This isn't really an opportunity that comes to everybody and might not even come to me next year."
Inniss will be paired with Florida and will perform in the second semifinal and the fifth rotation of floor exercise.
Coach Jeff Thompson said he was very excited for Inniss.
"She got a good draw being in the last rotation and in the evening," Thompson said. "She got lucky to be paired with Florida, the host team, so hopefully she will get a chance to be an All-American."
As a team, Auburn placed sixth competitively, with a score of 194.925.
Florida won the meet with a score of 197.675, Utah followed with a 196.900 and Denver took third with a season best 196.175.
Inniss said the biggest issue for the team was mental blocks.
"We came in third seed, so our chances of actually making it to nationals were pretty slim and we knew that," Inniss said. "You could kind of see the realization that nationals might not happen for us, and I think some people tried harder and others got really nervous."
The Tigers started off on vault. Senior Krissy Voss and freshman Toi Garcia both hit a 9.8 in the event.
At the end of the first rotation, Auburn had a score of 48.875.
After a bye in the second round, Auburn took to the uneven bars.
The team came away from the event with a score of 97.650 and was in fourth place behind Florida, Utah and Denver.
The fourth rotation saw the Tigers on beam.
Leading off for the event, junior Lauren Brzostowki scored a 9.075 after a fall.
Voss hit a 9.3, but sophomore Allison Sandusky hit a 9.8 followed by a 9.85 by Inniss.
"We were really careful all year to not talk about the past and our failure at regionals last year," Thompson said. "Still, the kids on the team were thinking about it and, in the end, that's what made the girls make mistakes was thinking about the wrong thing."
The Tigers had another bye before heading into the floor exercise.
Voss performed her last routine as an Auburn Tiger, earning a 9.825 and an all-around score of 38.725. Inniss finished the competition with a career-best 9.9, Auburn's highest score in the event this season.
"We talked about it after the event, and everyone was trying harder because it was regionals," Thompson said. "We had talked about all year to focus on the process, focus on yourself and your routine, don't worry about the competition. The girls said they knew they had to be perfect to beat Florida and Utah, and that's when we messed up."
Looking ahead, Thompson said it will be tough to lose the leadership of seniors Carmen Nelms and Voss this year, but he is hopeful for the recruits coming in.
"We have a girl from Orlando that was the level 10 national champion last year who is extremely good," Thompson said. "We're actually gaining three routines from scholarship players from what we lose this year. We should be stronger next year than we are right now."
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