Jan. 31, 2014
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- No. 12 Auburn gymnastics knocked off tenth-ranked Arkansas 196.550-196.100 on Friday to earn the first win in program history in Fayetteville.
"I'm really proud of how we performed tonight," Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said. "We talk about handling adversity, and we certainly did that on beam tonight. We performed well on the road once again and were able to hang on for the win against a talented, top 10 team."
Auburn entered the meet 0-5 all-time in Fayetteville and Barnhill Arena since Arkansas' inaugural season in 2003.
Auburn sealed the win with a season-high 49.150 on beam led by Caitlin Atkinson's 9.900. The Tigers came up clutch with four consecutive hits after Lexus Demers fell in the No. 2 spot. Freshman MJ Rott tied her season high with a 9.750, Bri Guy added a season-best 9.85, Megan Walker scored 9.875 and then Atkinson closed the meet with a career high tying score to secure the victory.
The Tigers took the lead 98.350-97.775 at the midway point of the meet with a solid 49.300 on vault. Leading the way were Rott with a 9.950 and Guy with a 9.900. Atkinson and Kait Kluz both added scores of 9.85 as Auburn pushed in front of the Razorbacks.
Rott took home the vault title, becoming the first gymnast to best Arkansas' Katherine Grable on the apparatus in 2014. An Auburn gymnast has won the vault title in all four meets this season.
Aiding Auburn's push was the Razorbacks being forced to count a fall on bars.
The Tigers held on to their lead with a 49.050 on floor led by Guy's 9.875 and twin 9.85 totals from Atkinson and Rott. With a solid 49.200 on beam, Arkansas closed to 147.400-146.975 as the meet moved to the final rotation.
Auburn opened the meet on bars and posted a total of 48.975, the second highest total of 2014. Top scores were recorded by Atkinson with a 9.850 and Guy with a 9.825. With her 9.850, Atkinson won her sixth event title of the season.
Atkinson and Guy finished with totals of 39.450 to tie for second behind Grable (39.575) in the all-around competition.
The Tigers are in action next on Feb. 8 at the Air Force Academy.