On the heels of a close meet against the University of Florida, Auburn gymnastics prepares for Pittsburgh and looks to compete at full strength.
In a season plagued by injuries, coach Jeff Graba is optimistic about this week.
"I feel like (this) week we'll be pretty much as close to full strength as we can get," Graba said.
One athlete who is using this week to recover is senior Rachel Innis, who has become a crowd favorite with her floor routine which features her striking the Heisman pose.
Innis injured her shoulder Feb. 14 in a floor routine.
She tweaked her shoulder again during her routine Friday against Florida and opted out of the beam to avoid the risk of further injury.
Sophomore Toi Garcia said she is a bit nervous about facing a northern team; however, she is going to treat Pittsburgh like any other meet and focus on her individual performance.
Pittsburgh (3-7) will have to handle the same pressures that Auburn did at Florida and Alabama, including loyal, loud fans and other obstacles that come with facing an SEC team.
"It's going to be a breakout week next week," said junior Kylie Shields, "especially with our fans behind us."
Shields said she expects big things next week, and the team is maintaining its normal goal to get better at one more thing throughout the week.
A younger team, Pittsburgh offers surprising talent in freshmen Maya Ketner, Kori Macdonald and Katie O'Rourke. Pittsburgh has a total of nine freshmen and sophomores and only three seniors.
Other strong competitors include sophomore Alyssa Adrian on the bars and senior Mallory Brewer on floor.
With Auburn hopefully competing at full strength for the first time this semester, fans can anticipate great routines and better scores Friday.
Last week, Auburn came up shy against No. 1 University of Florida in Gainesville with a final score of 196.850-194.950.
Auburn trailed throughout the meet, falling short in the vault, bars and beam.
"We did a really good job," Graba said. "We had some unfortunate things happen, but we were handling the pressure and the adversity well."
More than 6,000 were in attendance for Florida's last home meet.
"After Alabama, no fans could be as intimidating," Shields said.
Florida's Marissa King won the vault with a score of 9.95, followed by Garcia with a 9.850 and junior Justine Foster with a score of 9.800. Team totals were 49.375 versus Auburn's 48.650.
Shields tied for first on the beam against Florida's Caquatto with a score of 9.875. Florida scored 49.200 against Auburn's 48.400.
Garcia shined in Gainesville, leading the Tigers on vault with a score of 9.850 and in floor with a score of 9.875, as well as winning the all-around with a score of 38.800.
Despite injury, Innis scored a 9.850 on the floor. Auburn won floor with a score of 49.000 versus Florida's 48.975.
With such a strong showing against No. 1 Florida, Auburn is excited for this week's meet against Pittsburgh.
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