In their final home, regular season meet, the Auburn seniors were sent off with a 197.100-194.025 win over North Carolina on Friday night, March 13, in Auburn Arena.
Seniors Bri Guy, Caryn Kadous, Kelsey Thomasson, Megan Walker and Brittany Webster were honored before the meet.
As a part of coach Jeff Graba’s first recruiting class, the seniors helped build the program from the ground up, which Graba appreciates.
“I remember talking to them early on about, ‘Hey, if you guys buy into the program and help us lead, we’ll get somewhere really special’,” Graba said. “It’s just nice to see that they all did buy in and that they all did push really hard and fought through all the tough times. They’ve helped bring this program to a really special place.”
Once the ceremony was over, Kadous said the team tried not to focus on the occasion and just treat it like every other meet.
“We make it seem like a whole big deal at the beginning of it, which is nice and all, but in the end it’s still just a normal meet,” Kadous said.
Auburn was able to cruise to victory while resting a few of its top gymnasts, but Graba says the team is confident no matter who competes each night, a tribute to the depth that has been built.
“We rested MJ (Rott), and we rested Caitlin (Atkinson), not so much to give the seniors an opportunity, we didn’t utilize Senior Night that way,” Graba said. “We knew we were going to take our lumps. We knew we might be a little bit rusty out there, but I thought the girls handled that well, and my hope is that the girls that we rested have more pop when we start bringing them back.
Up first for Auburn was vault, where the Tigers scored a 49.425, its second-highest total of the season. Guy, Atkinson and Rott each scored 9.900 to lead Auburn.
“I’ve been working in the gym to try and get it to where it was before last year, and I think I’m finally starting to figure it out, and that showed tonight,” Guy said. “I couldn’t be any happier, and I just keep moving forward.”
The Tigers then moved to bars, where it scored a 49.100, its lowest total of the season. Walker posted a 9.900 to lead Auburn.
On beam, Auburn scored a 49.250 and were led by Walker’s 9.900.
The Tigers finished on floor with a 49.300, led by Kullen Hlawek’s career-high 9.925.
“We’ve been waiting for her to show up,” Graba said. “She’s been fighting a little bit of a ding all last year and into the beginning of this year. But she’s a dynamic performer, she’s a lot of fun to watch.”
Auburn moves to 6-5 overall and 3-5 in the SEC. Next up for the Tigers is the SEC Championship in Duluth, Georgia, on March 21.
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