Auburn gymnastics went to Fort Worth, Texas to compete as a team, a goal set by senior Derrian Gobourne who had formerly attended the national championship meet as an individual competitor. This year, it was a team trip to the title meet.
The Tigers finished the meet in fourth with a 197.3500, behind national champions Oklahoma, Florida and Utah.
"The fact that we got fourth is super exciting," said fifth-year senior Drew Watson. "Now that everybody understands the name of the game, it will help guide the freshman. Now we have experienced veterans."
Before today, Auburn’s highest finish was sixth in the nation, so the Tigers had set a program standard before the competition even began.
"Even that we made its this far, is so special. I couldn't ask for anything more from these girls," Watson said.
Auburn will leave Fort Worth with the program’s second ever individual champion in Suni Lee and a season’s worth of shattered records.
"We started a new record book," said head coach Jeff Graba.
Auburn began the meet on bars, where it had a rough start, but still a better showing than the other three teams. The Tigers performance throughout the meet went on to improve every rotation, but ultimately not at the level that the other teams did.
Bars:
Adeline Sabados: 9.825
Sophia Groth: 9.8875
Cassie Stevens: 9.85
Aria Brusch: 9.8375
Derrian Gobourne: 9.9375
Suni Lee: 9.9125
Going into the second rotation, Auburn sat in second place with a 49.425 behind Utah. Top seeded Oklahoma had two different girls step out on their floor routines, so the Sooners sat firmly in fourth place.
Beam:
Olivia Hollingsworth: 9.8375
Brusch: 9.7875
Stevens: 9.8375
Groth: 9.8
Gabby McLaughlin: 9.8250
Lee: 9.9
Auburn had no major mistakes on beam, but it also had no exceptional scores. The team finished the first half with a 98.6250, good for fourth place. Oklahoma recovered after floor and took the lead over Florida and Utah.
Floor:
Brusch: 9.8
Watson: 9.8125
Stevens: 9.825
Groth: 9.8625
Lee: 9.9500
Gobourne: 9.937
Always the star on of the floor, Goburne closed out her Auburn career on a high note. Serving as a strong closing pair, she and Lee gave the Tigers a boost of momentum going to the vault.
Even Barbie- yes, Barbie- had to applaud the senior Gobourne on her routine.
Auburn finished the third rotation with 148.0125, in fourth place and half a point behind leader Oklahoma. The Tigers were unable to overcome the deficit in the fourth rotation.
Vault:
Groth: 9.7875
Hubbard: 9.8625
Stevens: 9.9375
Gobourne: 9.8875
Watson: 9.7750
Lee: 9.8625
Auburn finishes its season with a new program high team score, two individuals on its list of 10.0s, an individual national championship on beam and concluded with a program high postseason finish. It was certainly one for the history books.
"We are going to build off this year," said freshman Sophia Groth. "Getting to this stage has been amazing, but next year that trophy for us is going to say number one."
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Callie Stanford, junior in communications, is the sports editor at the Auburn Plainsman. Currently a junior, she has been with The Plainsman since January 2021.
Twitter: @Stanford1Callie
