After a season-high score of 197.750 against LSU last Friday, Feb. 10, No. 5 Auburn will travel to take on No. 16 Missouri this Sunday, Feb. 19, for its second straight Tigers vs Tigers meet of the season.
After a tough loss to No. 9 Alabama on Feb. 3, Auburn rebounded well with a home win against LSU, which included sophomore Suni Lee’s first 10 on the uneven bars in front of the home crowd in Neville Arena.
“It was really nice, I’m not going to lie,” said senior Cassie Stevens. “We did well at Bama, but that left like a sour taste in our mouth. So being able to come away with a win was definitely like a morale booster.”
Along with Lee’s stellar all-around performance, Stevens and fellow senior Derrian Gobourne were as steady as ever.
Stevens ended her all-around night with a total of 39.500, which included a 9.875 on vault, a 9.900 on bars, a 9.825 on beam and a 9.900 on floor to finish. Gobourne earned a 9.925 on vault, a 9.850 on bars and a 9.975 on floor.
Last week’s meet also offered some opportunities for redemption. Junior Olivia Hollingsworth, who’s been steady in the lead-off spot and in the all around for Auburn, fell on her beam routine, earning a 9.375. When the Tigers rotated to the floor, Hollingsworth redeemed herself, earning a 9.900.
“The good thing about Olivia right now is that she’s still getting better. She’s still getting to the point where she’s going to help us upgrade,” said head coach Jeff Graba. “She takes any role we put her in whether it’s the leadoff role or the anchor role and just does her job.”
The Missouri Tigers are coming off a road loss against No. 3 Florida last week and are looking for a good bounce-back meet. Missouri earned a 196.625, with sophomore Jocelyn Moore winning the vault title with a 9.925.
In the meet, other Tigers also scored well across the board.
Senior Helen Hu earned a 9.925 on bars, sophomore Amari Celestine scored a 9.900 on the floor and senior Sienna Schreiber tallied a 9.950 on beam, with graduate student Alisa Sheremeta not far behind with a 9.925.
A goal for Missouri on Sunday is to break the 197 mark. The Tigers have come close this season with a 196.975, but to go far in the postseason, Missouri needs to be looking for that 197.
Another goal is to remain steady throughout the meet. Missouri needs to hit all routines and look to improve rotation scores from the Florida meet, where the highest rotation score was a 49.225.
For Auburn, the main goal is to also hit all routines cleanly. Even though the Tigers only had one fall in the last meet, consistent routines are going to be the path to appearing once again in the national championship meet.
“So for us now it’s about fine tuning, getting rid of these little mistakes that we make and getting the details taken care of,” Graba said.
With opportunities to receive qualifying scores and the SEC Championships about a month away, the meet will kick off in Columbia, Mo., at 5 p.m. CST and will be streamed on SEC Network.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Emily Porch is a senior from Sylacauga, Alabama. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @emilycporch
