The Auburn gymnastics team suffered their third consecutive loss last weekend in an away meet against the Florida Gators, with a final score of 197.650 - 196.025.
The Tigers are staying positive, however, given that the team achieved its second season high.
"It was our best meet so far in the season, though going into it and during it we probably didn't think it was, just because we're that hard on ourselves. You can't be perfect, but we always want to be," said Bri Guy, sophomore.
Guy scored second highest all around on the team with a score of 39.250, and led on the vaulting event with a score of 9.850.
Being on the road for two weekends straight, with a third away meet coming up this Friday in Missouri presents a different set of challenges for the players.
"Probably the most difficult thing is that it's the third road meet in a row, so we're all just kind of tired of traveling, but once we get to the meet I think we'll be fine. We're going to tune it out and do what we normally do," said Caitlin Atkinson, freshman.
Atkinson led the team overall, scoring 39.250. She also led on floor events, scoring 9.825, which is where the team posted a season high.
The Tigers are still working through certain growing pains with competing, considering half of the competitive line up is brand new. This was a struggle head coach Jeff Graba foresaw, and knew would have to be worked through.
"We don't need any one person to step up as a leader, we need every one to step into their role. For the freshman, a lot of that was just figuring out what that is for them," said Graba.
Because of the amount of new players on the team, performance dynamics are still being based on trial and error, leaving room for improvements with each meet.
"I don't think we're even close to what we're capable of. We had a good meet at Florida, and we hit 24 routines, but we're still trying to figure out our line ups. We're looking for who scores best in what area, and in what position in the line up. We've done some routine changes, and changed some skills around to see who is going to score better where," Graba said.
After each meet, the team requests inquiries from the judges on the scores that four different routines received. The inquiries show where points were deducted, and help the team pin point what needs to be corrected.
"Hopefully for the next two or three meets, we're going to be able to implement some of that," said Graba.
Despite the losses that The Tigers have faced, personal bests and seasonal highs continue to occur, showing great potential in the young team.
"I believe if we're on top of our game," Graba said. "We're a top ten program."
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