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A spirit that is not afraid

Tigers take down Iowa State, earn second-highest team score in program history

<p>Jan. 22, 2022; Aria Brusch performs on beam during a meet against Iowa State from Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.</p>

Jan. 22, 2022; Aria Brusch performs on beam during a meet against Iowa State from Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.

The No. 7 Auburn Tigers defeated the Iowa State Cyclones at Auburn Arena Friday night with a season-high final score of 197.350 to 195.575. The score for the Tigers ended up being second-best in program history. Auburn’s first home meet of the season also broke the program record for attendance with 9,291 fans at the meet. 

“I’m just really proud of the girls tonight," said head coach Jeff Graba. "Made a lot of lineup changes, shuffling a lot, still learning our team. But, at the same time they’re stepping up and doing what we are asking them to do.”

Even with the second-best score in program history, it's just the beginning for this team according to senior Derrian Gobourne.

“I am so happy," Gobourne said. "It’s so exciting to see us do such great things and we aren’t even at our best, and I think that is what I am so excited for. I can’t wait to see all that we have. This is not all that we have in the tank, and I am so excited to go back. We are going to continue to work and just perfect our craft.”

The Tigers started out the meet strong on vault with a rotation score of 49.250. 

Sophia Groth and Drew Watson led the way during this rotation with matching scores of 9.875. Auburn put up a good rotation, with not one score below a 9.800. The Cyclones were not far behind, putting up an uneven bars rotation score of 49.025. 

Auburn next moved to bars, where it put up a rotation score of 49.375. 

Suni Lee and Gobourne led the rotation with matching scores of 9.900. Iowa State recovered well after a fall with a final vault score of 49.150. Makayla Maxwell ended the rotation strong for the Cyclones with a meet-high vault score of 9.900. 

After their beam rotation, with both Sophia Groth and Gabby McLaughin earning a 9.900, the Tigers scored a 49.375 to extend the lead over the Cyclones to .800. Iowa State ended with a floor rotation score of 49.025, with Maddie Diab’s 9.900 leading the Cyclones in scoring. 

“We go to beam," Graba said. "Gabby’s back clicking a little bit on beam finally, and we start to see what Sophia can do on a constant basis. Just a lot of excitement to watch the girls get better and to watch our team get deeper.”

When asked if she felt zoned in when earning her high scores of the night, a 9.875 on beam and bars as well as a 9.900 on floor, junior Aria Brusch gave credit to the energy on her team.

“Yeah, I think that feeding off the energy from the last meet and then coming to this meet and just trying to be consistent and come with the same energy everytime, I think that’s what’s kinda motivated me to keep doing my best and keep trying to get better,” Brusch said.  

The Tigers ended the meet on the floor, where they had a rotation score of 49.350. Gobourne ended the night for the Tigers with a meet-high and tied career-high score of 9.975. Iowa State had a couple of falls on beam to end its night with a beam rotation score of 48.375.

Gobourne said the crowd was a big contributor to her career night.

“I think it’s awesome. I love just feeling the energy of people, and I think it just helps us perform well and it’s super fun,” Gobourne said.

Graba was impressed with how the team performed in its first home meet, but still acknowledged the need for overall improvement. 

 “I mean, we got to get better on some stuff, and I think that’s obvious," Graba said. "I love the depth, but we also have some things that we need to clean up. I would say that the energy got to them a little bit. I mean, they’ve never been in front of a home crowd like this. I do think that it affected them in a positive way, but early on I could tell that there was some anxiety with them.”

The Tigers will take on No. 10 Alabama next Friday, Jan. 28, in Auburn Arena. The meet will start at 8 p.m. CST and will be streamed on ESPN2. 

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Emily Porch | Sports Writer

Emily Porch is a senior from Sylacauga, Alabama. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2021.

Twitter: @emilycporch


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