Jan. 21, 2011
ATHENS, Ga.--The Auburn gymnastics team (1-2, 1-1 SEC) lost to No. 5 Georgia (5-1, 1-0 SEC) 196.650-194.975 Friday at the Stegeman Coliseum on the University of Georgia campus. In front of a crowd of over 9,000, the Tigers set nine season-high scores, including a season-best team score.
"I thought we had some real bright spots again," head coach Jeff Graba said. "We still have some hiccups, but they're getting less. Some of the girls are really locking down right now. It's fun to watch, but the inexperience is still popping up. It is important for our girls to be in front of a massive crowd. They are definitely not our crowd, but they are a good crowd. I think it's fantastic for our girls that they felt pressure tonight that they haven't felt before."
Auburn opened its night on the uneven bars with three season-best performances. Allyson Sandusky and Petrina Yokay both scored a season-high 9.85, while senior Leah Vining set a new career-high after scoring a 9.75. Kylie Shields scored a 9.8 and Kendall Swartz turned in a 9.7 performance. Auburn scored 48.950 as a team, a season-high.
"I felt we did a good job of staying in our zone and pushing and being aggressive tonight," Graba said. We didn't let the pressure get to us, and for three events I think we handled them very well."
Junior Justine Foster had the score of the night on vault, scoring a season-high 9.8. Three Tigers, Sandusky, Lauren Brzostowski and Toi Garcia, scored a 9.725, while Yokay scored a 9.6 and Laura Lane scored a 9.5. Auburn scored a 48.575 as a team, and trailed Georgia by .65 after the first two rotations.
"I liked the way we competed on vault tonight, but to me the performance of the night was Toi on floor," Graba said. "I thought Toi did a phenomenal job. That's what she's capable of, and we've been telling her that in practice, and for her to finally break loose like that, I thought it was fantastic."
Brzostowski, a senior from York, Pa., got things underway on the floor exercise scoring a season-high 9.725. Next in the lineup was Yokay who turned in a career-best performance scoring a 9.7, and Justine Foster scored a 9.725. Garcia and Rachel Inniss closed out a great night on floor both scoring a 9.875, which was a season-high for Garcia.
"I've been pretty nervous the past couple of weeks, but I just went out there and said to myself, `this is your event, do what you know how to do,' so I went out there and had a good time," Garcia said.
Auburn scored a season-best 48.9 on the floor.
The Tigers closed out their night scoring a 48.550 on the beam. Inniss won her second individual title of the season after scoring a 9.85 in the event. Brzostowski gave another wonderful performance on beam, scoring a 9.75, and Sandusky scored a 9.7. Abbey Habicht scored a 9.65, while Yokay scored a 9.6. Yokay finished third in the all-around competition after matching her season-high 38.750.
The Tigers return to Auburn Arena Jan. 28 to take on Arkansas. Tonight's competition with Georgia will air on ESPNU on Jan. 27 at 1:30 p.m.
"It's going to be fantastic to go home, to our crowd next week and improve on what we've done tonight," Graba said. "We've still got some work to do, and we've still got some people to hopefully plug into some spot, and I'm hoping for a big Pink crowd."
Auburn Results
Team Total: 194.975
Vault
Laura Lane-9.5
Petrina Yokay- 9.6
Allyson Sandusky- 9.725
Lauren Brzostowski- 9.725
Toi Garcia- 9.725
Justine Foster- 9.725
Team Score: 48.575
Bars
Kareen Kaveh - 9.45
Kendall Swartz- 9.7
Leah Vining- 9.75
Petrina Yokay- 9.85
Allyson Sandusky- 9.85
Kylie Shields- 9.8
Team Score: 48.950
Beam
Lauren Brzostowski- 9.75
Petrina Yokay- 9.6
Abbey Habicht- 9.65
Laura Lane- 9.2
Allyson Sandusky- 9.7
Rachel Inniss- 9.85
Team Score: 48.550
Floor
Lauren Brzostowski- 9.725
Petrina Yokay- 9.7
Laura Lane- 9.175
Justine Foster- 9.725
Toi Garcia- 9.875
Rachel Inniss- 9.875
Team Score: 48.9
All-Around
Petrina Yokay- 38.75