March 31, 2007
Final Results | Photo Gallery 1 
| Photo Gallery 2
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -
Junior Julie Dwyer took home the Southeastern Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year for gymnastics on Saturday. With the award, Dwyer became the first gymnast in SEC history to be named the Freshman of the Year, Gymnast of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
"I was surprised when I heard my name," Dwyer said. "It is such a great honor to be recognized for the hard work both inside and outside of the gym."
"It's an incredible honor," head coach Jeff Thompson said. "She was in the running with six other incredible student-athletes, and I guess a 3.62 gpa combined with the number three all around in the country is why the other SEC coaches selected her for this honor."
As a team, the Tigers placed sixth with a 194.475, which was just .075 behind Arkansas.
"I thought the team did a great job," Thompson said. "They surprised everyone that I talked to tonight with their ability to stay focused and hit routines regardless of what has happened prior to this meet. They had a lot to block out and came within .075 of beating the No. 12 team in the nation."
The Tigers competed with just nine gymnasts, including freshman Krissy Voss and junior Karmen Pinckney who each returned tonight from injuries. Voss was competing for the first time since Feb. 23 at Georgia, while Pinckney last competed at Illinois-Chicago on March 11. Auburn lost sophomore all-arounder A.J. Mills earlier this week with a hand injury, bringing the total number of gymnasts lost for the season to four.
Individually, Dwyer recorded an all-around score of 39.375 to giver her a ninth place finish. Her beam score of 9.875 was good enough to place her in a tie for fourth.
Sophomore Lindsey Puckett finished 12th in the all around with a score of 39.200.
Florida won its sixth conference championship and first since 1989 with a score of 197.325. Georgia finished second (197.175), followed by Alabama (197.000). Finishing fourth was LSU (196.250), while Arkansas took fifth (194.550), Auburn sixth (194.475) and Kentucky seventh (194.000)
In the first of seven rotations, Auburn had a bye before going to bars.
In the second rotation, the Tigers recorded a 48.675. Dwyer led the way with a 9.800, followed by Lindsey Puckett and Jackie Smith who each scored a 9.750. Smith's score tied her second highest of the season. Aimee Goheen came through with a 9.725, while Alicia Lenkiewicz and Karmen Pinckney each registered a 9.650.
After all the teams had completed its first event, Auburn's score of 48.675 on bars was seventh.
In the third rotation, Auburn was forced to count a fall on beam and scored a 48.175. Dwyer once again led the Tigers with a 9.875. Shanna Somero collected a 9.800, which is her second highest score of the season behind a pair of 9.825's. Puckett's beam effort gave her a 9.725, while Goheen recorded a 9.600. Voss, who fell on her mount of the beam, came away with a 9.175.
Following the third rotation, Auburn's score of 96.850 after two events ranked seventh, .175 behind Kentucky.
In the fourth rotation, Auburn had a bye before going to floor.
In the fifth rotation on floor, the Tigers scored a 48.725, while competing just five gymnasts due to injuries. Dwyer and Puckett each registered a 9.850, while Claire Seiffert tied her second highest score of the year with a 9.800. Somero, who led off, totaled a 9.675 and Karmen Pinckney, who was not 100 percent, scored a 9.550.
After the fifth rotation, Auburn (145.575) moved into fifth, ahead of Kentucky (145.475) by .100, and trailed Arkansas (145.675) by just .100.
Auburn had a bye in the sixth rotation, as they waited for their final event of vault.
In the final event of the evening, the Tigers posted a 48.900 on vault. Puckett took charge and scored a 9.875, followed by Dwyer's 9.850. Seiffert secured a solid score with a 9.800. Voss came through with a 9.725, and Pinckney managed a 9.650. The score was good enough to finish in sixth, beating Kentucky by .475.
"We should gain a lot of confidence going into regionals and the kids have known for weeks that regionals will be the most important day of the season."
The SEC Championships will air on April 7 at 6 p.m. on Fox Sports South.
Next up for Auburn is a trip to NCAA Regionals on April 14. Auburn's regional site location and start time will be announced on Monday by the NCAA.