The Auburn Tigers gymnastics team lost to the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide 196.325-196.250 in front of a record-setting crowd Friday night in the Auburn Arena.
Friday marked the 113th meeting between the squads and the 104th consecutive victory for the Crimson Tide over Auburn.
"I was really proud of our girls," said Auburn coach Jeff Graba. "We pushed the defending national champs probably as tight as you can get in gymnastics, and about 50 percent of our routines were freshman."
Alabama held a .075-point edge after the first rotation, with Ashley Priess leading the Tide with a 9.925 on the bars and Auburn's Toi Garcia, junior in journalism, posting a 9.875 on the vault.
Allyson Sandusky, senior in hotel and restaurant management, led the Tigers on the bars with a 9.925, with the Tide's Ashley Sledge also scoring a 9.925 on the vault. The Tide led by .15 points at the end of the second rotation.
In the third rotation, Sledge once again led Alabama with a 9.85 on the floor, while Auburn's Petrina Yokay, junior in pre-med, scored a team-high 9.825 on the beam.
Two critical falls by Sledge in her beam routine resulted in a score of 8.7, allowing Auburn to cut Alabama's lead to .05 with the help of Brianna Guy, freshman in exercise science, who scored a 9.925 with her floor exercise.
Kylie Shields, senior in hotel and restaurant management, earned her second straight all-around win with a 39.225.
The Tigers are now 0-3 in the SEC.
"We are young, but it looks like the future is pretty bright," Graba said. "It was a great crowd, a great atmosphere, and our girls held up and did a great job. Honestly, you are not going to get any closer than that, and we made them a little nervous I hope."
Auburn returns to competition Friday, traveling to face top-ranked Arkansas. It marks the third consecutive week the Tigers will face a top-10 team.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
