March 3, 2006
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Despite getting a school-record score of 39.550 in the all-around by Julie Dwyer and outscoring No. 20 Arkansas in three of four events as a team, No. 13 Auburn was unable to overcome its second-lowest score of the year on bars, as the Lady Razorbacks held on to defeat the Tigers, 195.375-194.950 on Friday at Barnhill Arena.
Auburn (7-9, 1-5 SEC) opened the meet with a 47.850 on bars after four falters, and the Tigers were never able to recover, after Arkansas (6-9, 2-4 SEC) opened a .925 lead (48.775-47.850) following its first rotation on vault.
Auburn was able to crawl back within three-tenths (146.350-146.050) entering the fourth rotation on beam, but the Tigers were unable to overtake Arkansas, who posted three of its second-highest scores of the year. Arkansas' team score of 195.375 was its second-highest of the season.
"We just dug ourselves to big of a hole to start the meet," head coach Jeff Thompson said. "We came out looking to win the meet on the first event, and you just can't do that at this level. Our score put us in a hole early and it was just too difficult to come back from. I'm proud of the way we fought back to make a meet out of it at the end. We never gave up."
Trailing by three-tenths on beam, Auburn got a career-high score of 9.825 by Kayla Gies and scored a 48.900 as a team, but Arkansas did not falter as the Lady Razorbacks won their third in a row over the Tigers.
After posting the second-highest score in school history in the all-around in two of the last three meets, Julie Dwyer finally broke through with a school-record performance of 39.550 to win her sixth all-around title of the year. En route to winning the all-around, Dwyer swept all four individual event titles and tied career highs on floor and bars.
"Julie is just incredible," Thompson said. "This has just been building up all year and we all knew that eventually she would get to this point. I'm very proud of her and it couldn't have happened to a better person."
The sweep of all four events was a first four Dwyer this season. Dwyer now has 19 first-place finishes on the year, including six all-around titles. Dwyer's all-around score topped Natica Johnson's school-record 39.525 in 2004.
Lindsey Puckett finished second on vault and floor, while tying for second on beam for the Tigers and finishing third in the all-around with a 38.775.
Opening on bars, Auburn recorded its second-lowest score of the year with a 47.850. Julie Dwyer anchored Auburn's lineup in the sixth spot in the lineup by matching her career high on bars for the second straight meet with a 9.875. A.J. Mills opened on bars for the Tigers, recording a 9.825. It was the fourth time this season Mills had scored a 9.825. Alicia Lenkiewicz performed fourth for the Tigers, recording a 9.550. Performing fifth, Karmen Pinckney notched a score of 9.400. Lindsey Puckett posted a 9.200.
Following the first rotation, Arkansas held a 48.775-47.850 lead over the Tigers after opening on vault.
In the second rotation on vault, Auburn crawled closer to the Lady Razorbacks by scoring a 49.025. Julie Dwyer recorded her second-highest score of the year with a 9.900. Lindsey Puckett scored a 9.875 to post the second-highest mark for the Tigers. Karmen Pinckney posted a 9.825. In the fourth spot in the lineup, Kayla Gies scored a 9.725. Danielle Holtz opened the event for Auburn with a 9.700.
After the second rotation, Arkansas still held a 97.550-96.875 lead over the Tigers. On bars, the Lady Razorbacks scored their second-highest score of the year with a 48.775.
In need of a comeback with solid scores on floor, the Tigers got just that, by scoring their second-highest score of the year with a 49.175. Only the Tigers' score of 49.200 at LSU trumps the score they posted at Arkansas. Julie Dwyer matched her career high with a 9.900 to lead the Tigers. For the second week in a row, Puckett posted the second-highest score of her career with a 9.875. Pinckney tied her career high and set a season high with a 9.825. Pinckney last scored a 9.825 on Feb. 4, 2005 at Alabama. In her lone event of the evening, Nicole Barnett scored a 9.800 on floor. Holtz opened on floor for Auburn by tying her second-highest score of the year with a 9.775. Following Holtz in the No. 2 position, Seiffert scored a 9.675.
The Tigers' floor score of 49.175 narrowed Arkansas' lead to three-tenths at 146.350-146.050. For the second event in a row, Arkansas scored its second-highest score of the year with a 48.800.
Trailing by three-tenths on the final rotation on beam, Auburn was unable to overcome the deficit. The Tigers scored a 48.900 to end the meet and finish with an overall score of 194.950. Julie Dwyer led the Tigers with a 9.875 on beam. Performing second for the Tigers, Gies scored a career-best 9.825. Matching Gies' score on beam was Puckett, who posted a 9.825 in the fifth spot in the lineup. Competing in her only event of the evening, Shanna Somero recorded a 9.750. Lenkiewicz posted a 9.625 for the Tigers in the third spot on the lineup. Performing on beam for the first time since Jan. 13 vs. West Virginia due to a leg injury, A.J. Mills fell on her dismount, which gave her a 9.325.
Up next for the Tigers is their home finale vs. Illinois-Chicago on Friday, March 10 at 7 p.m. Senior Danielle Holtz will be honored during the meet for Senior Night.