Jan. 9, 2009
AUBURN - In the closest ever finish between Auburn and Alabama gymnastics, the Tigers came up .025 short, as sixth-ranked Alabama (1-0) escaped Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum with a 195.675-195.650 win over No. 15 Auburn (1-1) Friday night. Auburn hit 22-of-24 routines and crowned two individual champions and the all-around champion in the loss.
Tabbed as the season's pink meet to create breast cancer awareness, 6,874 fans in attendance were dressed in pink and both teams set aside their traditional colors and competed in pink leotards to support the cause.
"We had a great night," head gymnastics coach Jeff Thompson said. "We're excited about these scores that we've put up. We get to see Alabama again in February up in Tuscaloosa and it's going to be another exciting meet. Everyone knows how close this one was. There was very little separating these two teams tonight."
Senior A.J. Mills tied for the floor title with a career-high 9.9, tied for first on the uneven bars with a 9.8 and was first in the all-around with a 39.375. Senior counterpart Lindsey Puckett tied for first on bars with a score of 9.8 and floor with a 9.9. Each has won three event titles and have captured an all-around title this season.
"We were as prepared as we could have been tonight," Puckett said. "This was the best we've ever done against Alabama. Everyone did their job and was focused. Alabama is a great team and this is a confidence builder for us because we now know that we can beat Alabama and any other team we come up against this season."
Auburn opened on vault, hitting all six routines and scoring a 48.925. Puckett led the way for the Tigers with a 9.9 and was followed by Mills' 9.850. Freshman Allyson Sandusky made her vault debut, scoring a 9.675. Exhibitioning for Auburn was rookie Laura Lane. Auburn wrapped up the first rotation and moved to uneven bars holding a slight lead over the Tide. Alabama opened the meet by posting a 48.875 on bars.
Junior Krissy Voss led Auburn off on the second rotation, recording a 9.75. A pair of freshmen in Sandusky and Kendall Swartz notched 9.75 and 9.775, respectively, before Puckett and Mills were awarded back-to-back 9.8s. Kylie Shields, a freshman from Mahopac, N.Y., exhibitoned for the first time on bars. The Tide moved ahead in the team score, 97.950-97.800, on a 49.050 vault rotation.
The third rotation saw Auburn regain the team lead after scoring a 48.675 on the balance beam. Sophomores Lauren Brzotstowski and Katie Hurley provided strong opening scores of 9.75 and 9.8, respectively. In the No. 5 spot, Mills posted the Tigers high score of 9.825. Voss was the exhibitionist, scoring a 9.725.
Heading into the fourth and final event of the night, floor exercise, Auburn held a .025 advantage over the Tide. Alabama registered a 48.5 on floor exercise before heading to beam.
The Tigers hit five-of-six floor routines to close out the meet and was highlighted by back-to-back scores of 9.9 by Mills, a career high, and Puckett. Sophomore Rachel Inniss was strong again on floor with a 9.850 and junior Carmen Nelms opened the event with a 9.775.
Auburn will hit the road next week to take on third-ranked Florida in Gainesville, Fla. The meet will start at 6 p.m. CT and is available on GatorVision.tv
Vault
Allyson Sandusky 9.675
Lauren Brzostowski 9.650
Kylie Shields 9.725
Krissy Voss 9.775
A.J. Mills 9.850
Lindsey Puckett 9.9
Uneven Bars
Krissy Voss 9.750
Carmen Nelms 9.650
Allyson Sandusky 9.750
Kendall Swartz 9.775
Lindsey Puckett 9.8
A.J. Mills 9.8
Beam
Lauren Brzostowski 9.750
Katie Hurley 9.8
Rachel Inniss 9.650
Kylie Shields 9.650
A.J. Mills 9.825
Lindsey Puckett 9.3
Floor Exercise
Carmen Nelms 9.775
Katie Hurley 9.225
Claire Seiffert 9.750
Rachel Inniss 9.850
A.J. Mills 9.9
Lindsey Puckett 9.9
All-Around
A.J. Mills 39.375
Lindsey Puckett 38.9