With another confident performance, Auburn gymnastics moved to 5-0 (4-0 SEC) with a road win over No. 17 Kentucky, 196.125-196.00
Drew Watson had a huge night in the all-around, landing stick after stick. She stuck a huge Yurchenko 1.5 on the vault with a score of 9.925. She had three scores of 9.800 or higher on the night. She also had her career-high performance on beam with a 9.825.
Auburn did have some changes in the lineup, starting Katie Becker on bars and Ashley Smith on the floor. Becker added a 9.800 on bars and Smith added a 9.800 on floor.
They also rested three-event star Abby Milliet, as well as Taylor Krippner, pulling the seniors from several normal events.
“We had some changes in those lineups, but those were pretty predictable changes” said Auburn head coach Jeff Graba. “We sort of expected those lineups to look like that, and we needed them to settle down.”
Senior Samantha Cerio carried the team on bars with a score of 9.925, tying her career-high.
“We fought for every landing” Cerio said. “We fought for every handstand. We fought for every single detail that we could. And it wasn’t our best night. It wasn’t exactly what we wanted. But we kept the energy up. We just kept trusting each other and staying as a team, and it ended up in our favor."
Watson and Derrian Gobourne continued their excellent showings in the all-around competition by sharing the title with scores of 39.350. At least one of them has won or tied for the title in every meet of the season.
“Honestly I was ecstatic about the meet” Graba said. “There were a lot of changes, a lot of adversity, a lot of sickness, a lot of kids dinged up right now, and I’m just absolutely proud of the team."
The win is Auburn's first in Lexington since 2010.
The Tigers will next face the No. 2 Florida Gators, who lost this week to No. 1 Oklahoma. The SEC showdown will be televised on SEC Network at 6 p.m. CST next Friday.
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