In its home matchup with Alabama on Friday, Auburn gymnastics secured a 197.525 win over the Crimson Tide’s 197.125. The score for the night was the second-highest in program history, a record they broke just one week ago versus Iowa State.
“It was a fun night," said head coach Jeff Graba. "That’s probably the craziest crowd I’ve been a part of, so it was good to see Auburn Arena like that and it was good to see our girls react the way they did. It’s a tough competition and we’ve worked really hard for this and I think they actually got the payoff tonight.”
Suni Lee, Olympic gold medalist in the all-around competition, competed in her first NCAA all-around tonight and won with a total score of 39.700. On the team side, Auburn won both the balance beam and floor exercise components of the night.
“She just came in with a fire this week and I’m not sure I could’ve not put her in the all-around,” Graba said. “She’s been trying to catch up, where everybody else had five months and she’s had less than five weeks and I think its been hitting her like a ton of bricks and she finally let it come to her this week.”
In attendance were a few Auburn fans of note: athletic director Allen Greene, fresh off confirming a contract extension for head basketball Bruce Pearl, Suni Lee’s former coach Jess Graba, and Bachelor/Dancing With the Stars contestant Matt James and his girlfriend Rachael Kirkconnell.
“Having Jess [Graba] here I think helped me a lot, even just his presence,” Lee said. “Having Matt and Rachel there, too, just made it a lot more exciting.”
The Tigers started the night on vault, with Cassie Stevens, Sophia Groth, Sara Hubbard, Drew Watson, Derrian Gobourne and Lee in the lineup. This was Lee’s debut in NCAA vault, as she prepared to compete in the all-around competition against Alabama.
“I actually started vaulting only like three days ago and I just decided that I wanted to vault,” Lee said. “I felt like I had to prove to myself this meet that I could still do it and that I kind of deserve the all-around medal, because I feel like I’ve just been in denial.”
After the first rotation, Auburn led just 49.175 to an Alabama 49.125., but the lead would increase as the Tigers cleaned up their routines.
Bars rotation two was Watson, Stevens, Piper Smith, Aria Brusch, Gobourne and Lee as the anchor. To get things going for Auburn, Stevens and Smith posted back-to-back 9.825s.
The scores only increased from there, with a 9.85 from Brusch, a season-high 9.925 from Gobourne, and a Suni Lee 9.925.
The second rotation left Auburn up 98.525-98.150, a more comfortable lead as they headed into the beam and floor routines.
The beam lineup was Olivia Hollingsworth, Brusch, Stevens, Groth, Gabby McLaughlin and anchoring again, Lee.
“I think I just have to step back and realize that I’m not at the place I want to be at yet and I think I’m expecting too much out of myself,” Lee said. “This is just the start. We still have the rest of the season and I just needed to realize that.
Stevens’ season-high 9.875 was quickly followed by a career high 9.925 from McLaughlin and a closing 9.975 from Lee.
“I think that going into this, it’s like I expected so much out of myself that I couldn’t even enjoy it and I was putting too much pressure on myself,” Lee said. “
Auburn crept ahead yet again after beam, leading Alabama 147.975-147.475 heading into the final rotation.
“We enjoyed having the moment, and then having the fans, and the crowd, and all of that being included within, so it just felt amazing,” Lee said. “I honestly feel like this is probably up there with the Olympics.”
On their floor routine, Auburn listed Stevens, Brusch, Groth, Watson, Lee and their usual anchor, Gobourne.
A quick swag surf was had by the student section, followd by a pair of 9.875s from Stevens and Brusch. Groth came immediately after with a career-high 9.9.
“They keep saying this is the second highest score, but it’s just crazy how much we look back and how much we could improve on getting a tenth here and getting a tenth here,” Watson said. “It’s hard, because I want to enjoy it but also because I know there’s so much more potential.”
Watson tied her career high, posting yet another 9.9, before Lee followed with a 9.925. Gobourne, an Auburn Arena favorite, closed the night with a 9.95.
“It truly is nothing like I’ve ever been a part of,” Watson said. “I just feel like we all are supportive of each other and we’re all trying to compete with each other and compete for sports.”
Their scores amounted to a season high floor score that the Tide simply could not match.
“It was amazing," Lee said. "I feel like we went out there and did our best. This whole week I feel like the team like trained so differently. We were hungry. We wanted to get in there. We wanted to beat Bama. We felt like we had something to prove and I feel like we did exactly that.”
The Tigers leave friendly territory to next travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where they take on the LSU Tigers on February 5 at 3 p.m. CST. The meet will air on ESPNU.
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Callie Stanford is from Springville, Alabama and is currently a sophomore at Auburn. She has been with The Plainsman since January 2021.
Twitter: @Stanford1Callie
