Jan. 29, 2010
AUBURN, Ala. - The No. 15 Auburn gymnastics team made history Friday night in front of 8,573 ruckus fans at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, as Auburn defeated the five-time defending National Champion No. 8 Georgia Gym Dogs 195.225-194.900 for the first time in program history.
"I think what helped us tonight was that last week we didn't have a good meet," said head coach Jeff Thompson. "We've been preaching `process, process,' and the logic of what you do. We've been talking about the percentages of hit routines during the week, and that's what we did tonight. What a great, great win. Such a huge crowd and everybody stuck around and the cheering was amazing. This is a milestone for us."
Auburn (1-3, 1-2 SEC) opened up on vault, with a pair of Tiger sophomores scoring solid 9.85's in Allyson Sandusky and Justine Foster. The 9.85 was the third time that Foster has hit the score so far this season, while it was a season-high for Sandusky.
The four other Tigers on the event, Kylie Shields, Krissy Voss, Toi Garcia and Maya Wickus all scored 9.75's to start off Auburn's night
The Gym Dogs (1-3, 0-2) were led by Kat Ding's 9.85, and scored a 48.875 on bars. Auburn led 48.950-48.875 after the first rotation.
In rotation two, Auburn took to the bars, and were paced by freshman Petrina Yokay's career-high 9.85. Sandusky turned in a solid 9.8 to give Auburn an apparatus score of 48.750.
Georgia was paced on vault by Ding's 9.85, along with Hilary Mauro's 9.8, as Georgia matched its bars score with a 48.875 to lead going into rotation three with a 97.750-97.700 advantage.
Lauren Brzostowski led off on beam for Auburn in rotation three, scoring a season-high 9.75. Katie Hurley followed with a 9.775 for the Tigers. Sandusky came up big once again Auburn, hitting a 9.825, while junior Rachel Inniss scored a 9.8 to give Auburn a 48.700 on beam.
Georgia scored a 48.825 on floor, as Courtney McCool had a 9.875. A pair of other Gym Dogs, Mauro and Grace Taylor, marked 9.8's as the Gym Dogs carried a .175 lead into the final rotation.
Foster started off the floor exercise with a 9.725 for the Tigers, and was followed by another season-high for Brzostowski who scored a 9.75. Hurley also returned to the floor exercise and tallied a 9.75.
Auburn was assisted by Ding's fall on beam, resulting in a 9.375, and was followed by a 9.675 by Mauro that gave Auburn a ray of hope. It was Grace Taylor's fall in the anchor leg for Georgia that resulted in a 8.7 for Georgia.
It was junior Rachel Inniss' 9.825 that sealed the deal for the Tigers, marking the first time in program history that Auburn has defeated the Gym Dogs, and giving Auburn its first win of the season.
"What we did was outstanding. We came over here and I told you floor was going to be our best event, and floor was our best event," said Thompson. "It sealed the win, and I think we had it locked up before Rachel (Inniss) even went. She had a great floor routine, and it's just a really, really special feeling."
Voss added, "I'm really speechless. I'm so proud to be a part of this team because we just rise to the challenge. My teammates totally had my back. I love it."
Auburn will hit the road for the second time this season on Friday, Feb. 5 as the Tigers travel to Fayetteville, Ark. to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. The meet, slated to begin at 7 p.m. CT, will be held in Arkansas' Barnhill Arena. The meet will be aired on a tape-delayed basis on Feb. 14 at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.
Vault - 48.950
Kylie Shields - 9.750
Krissy Voss - 9.750
Maya Wickus - 9.750
Allyson Sandusky - 9.850
Toi Garcia - 9.750
Justine Foster - 9.850
Uneven Bars - 48.750
Krissy Voss - 9.650
Carmen Nelms - 9.700
Kylie Shields - 9.725
Petrina Yokay - 9.850
Kendall Swartz - 9.675
Allyson Sandusky - 9.800
*Toi Garcia - 9.700
Beam - 48.700
Lauren Brzostowski - 9.750
Katie Hurley - 9.775
Krissy Voss - 9.550
Allyson Sandusky - 9.825
Rachel Inniss - 9.800
Kylie Shields - 9.300
*Kelsie Montgomery - 9.550
Floor Exercise - 48.825
Justine Foster - 9.725
Lauren Brzostowski - 9.750
Katie Hurley - 9.750
Kylie Shields - 9.675
Krissy Voss - 9.775
Rachel Inniss - 9.825
*Toi Garcia - 9.150
All-Around
Kylie Shields - 38.450
Krissy Voss - 38.725
*Exhibition