The No. 6 Tigers are rolling so far this gymnastics season, with LSU being their next opponent to face at 3 p.m. CST this Saturday, Feb. 5, at LSU.
Auburn is coming off a huge win against No. 9 Alabama last Friday, taking down the Tide with a score of 197.525 to 197.125. So far, No. 8 LSU has only competed in one meet due to COVID-19 related issues.
“We’re really focusing on leveling up this week, because we’ve been doing well, we’ve been happy with our performances, but we know we have a lot more in the tank,” said junior Piper Smith. “We’re working to really take it to that next level, focusing on details, small things that are going to get us just a little bit better than we were last week, so that’s the goal.”
With the scores for the Tigers rising with each meet they have, the numbers for Auburn on each apparatus also get better.
Floor was the best rotation for Auburn, scoring a 49.550 to end the meet against Alabama. Beam, bars and vault rotations scored a 49.450, 49.350 and a 49.175, respectively. Vault so far this season has been a weakness for Auburn, one which head coach Jeff Graba has repeatedly mentioned that the team needs to improve on.
“Vault needs to get better,” Graba said. “We have like eight people working 10.0 vaults, and they’ve got to start breaking in. It’s a frustration of mine that we just aren’t clicking on Thursdays and Fridays when we’re training really good on that event on Monday and Tuesday.”
Several gymnasts put up big scores for Auburn throughout the meet to pull off the win against Alabama and will be looking to do so again against LSU.
Freshman Suni Lee earned the win in the all-around after competing in it for the first time in her collegiate career. She scored a 39.700 in the all-around competition as well as individual scores of a 9.875 on vault, a 9.925 on bars, a 9.975 on beam and a 9.925 to end her night on the floor.
Senior Derrian Gobourne kept putting up big numbers for Auburn to anchor rotations. She earned a 9.850 on vault, a 9.925 on bars and a 9.950 on floor to end the meet for the Tigers with a bang.
Sophomore Gabby McLaughlin has been a consistent and clutch beam worker for the Tigers. She put up a 9.925 against Alabama, but her biggest moment came against Arkansas when she posted another 9.925 to help Auburn to its .050-margin victory. McLaughlin is also capable of breaking into other lineups as well, so we may see her appear in other rotations in the future.
“I don’t think I feel pressured at all. I feel very confident in myself and my abilities on beam, so I don’t think it pressures me in any way,” McLaughlin said.
As this will be the third meet for LSU this season, the second after a series of cancellations due to COVID complications, the expectations for the Tigers are a little muddled.
LSU’s last meet came last week against Georgia, beating the Dawgs 196.850 to 196.100 in Athens.
LSU put up its best rotation score on the bars, scoring a 49.350. The Tigers then earned a 49.250 on beam, a 49.150 on vault and a 49.100 on the floor to end the meet.
Several gymnasts for LSU put up solid scores against Georgia to continue the season for the Tigers.
Sophomore Haleigh Bryant earned impressive scores in her second meet of the season, scoring a 9.900 on bars and a 9.850 on vault.
Junior Kiya Johnson's contributions were huge for the LSU squad against Georgia. Johnson posted a 9.875 on vault and a 9.900 on both bars and beam.
Auburn will look to see if it can continue its impressive run and earn its second-ever win in Baton Rouge when it squares off against a LSU squad that is looking to prove themselves on Saturday, Jan 5. The meet is slated to begin at 3 p.m. CST and will be available to stream on ESPNU.
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Emily Porch is a senior from Sylacauga, Alabama. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @emilycporch
