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A spirit that is not afraid

Tigers look to avoid Georgia's doghouse

Rachel Inniss performs on the floor, scoring a 9.9 against LSU Friday night.
Rachel Inniss performs on the floor, scoring a 9.9 against LSU Friday night.

The No. 16 Auburn gymnastics team (1-1, 1-0 SEC) is looking for its second win of the season as it travels to fifth-ranked Georgia (2-1, 0-0 SEC) tomorrow night.

The meet begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be aired on ESPNU.

Last year, Auburn's women walked away with its first-ever win over Georgia's "Gym Dogs."

The Bulldogs had beaten Auburn in 64 consecutive meets dating back to 1980 until the Tigers jumped ahead late in the final rotation.

The Tigers are coming off their first win of the 2011 season after beating No. 11 LSU 194.775 -194.450 Friday night in the new Auburn Arena.

Four members on Auburn's team either tied or received a personal high score. Sophomore Petrina Yokay earned the top all-around score.

First-year head coach Jeff Graba said he hopes the team will continue to improve against Georgia.

"Well, Georgia's pretty good," Graba said. "But for us, we just need to keep taking a step forward. We did a good job tonight (against LSU), but we still had some mistakes."

Graba applauded his team for making mid-meet adjustments to overcome mistakes made earlier in the competition.

"I think we're on the right track now," he said. "The next part of the goal is we want to become as good as we can be."

Georgia will be the second of six SEC teams in a row that Auburn must face. Each one of those teams is currently ranked in the top 25.

Graba said he thinks the reason why the SEC is so successful in gymnastics is because the sport is so popular in the South.

"There's a huge fan base down here, and people love gymnastics," Graba said. "It's also the fact that we compete against the best of all the time. I don't think it's a secret that when you compete against the best, you become better."

Cassidy McComb is one of Georgia's strongest gymnasts. The senior earned the top all-around honors in Monday's meet against West Virginia University, receiving a rare 9.925 on the floor. McComb also tied for third last year at NCAA regionals.

"Our original goal was to get to know who they were and have them get to know who we are," Graba said. "Now, we're starting to settle in. We feel like we're starting to get a good system and starting to figure things out. My philosophy is to have them take ownership of their gymnastics. I want them to be in charge and to help."

Auburn's next home meet is Jan. 28 against Arkansas.

All proceeds will benefit breast cancer research.

Fans wearing pink will be given a raffle ticket to be entered into a drawing for a free iPod.

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