No. 12 Auburn Falls to No. 6 Alabama Friday Night

Feb. 23, 2018

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AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The No. 12 Auburn gymnastics team scored a 195.4 in its final home meet of the season in Auburn Arena, falling to No. 6 Alabama's 197.3. The Tigers moved to 6-7 overall and 1-5 in the Southeastern Conference.

"I think we started strong and finished strong and used our energy well," head coach Jeff Graba said. "I think the crowd brought a lot of energy, and I really believe that we just lost our focus on the middle two events. I think they were putting pressure on themselves to do better than what they were doing, and usually when you're trying to over-achieve in gymnastics it doesn't work out well."

The Tigers honored their two seniors prior to the meet ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Kennedy Finister and Cara Stricklin ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" in front of a sellout crowd of 7,424.

Auburn saw its best performances coming on the meet bookends, earning solid scores on vault and floor.

The squad kicked off the meet on vault, scoring a 49.275. Junior Taylor Krippner and freshman Drew Watson each earned a career-best on the apparatus, picking up a pair of 9.9s for the Tigers. Sophomore Gracie Day added a 9.85, while freshman Jada Glenn and sophomore Katie Becker had a 9.825 and 9.8, respectively.

Auburn's final rotation saw the team finish with a season-best 49.375. Day came in a tie for first with a career-best 9.925. A trio of Tigers in Watson, redshirt sophomore Emma Slappey, and redshirt junior Abby Milliet added a 9.875 apiece. That score tied a career best for Watson and tied season high for Slappey. Freshman Ashley Smith led off the rotation with a 9.825.

Rotation two for the Tigers had the team go 48.325 on bars, having to count a fall. Watson led the team with a 9.8, while sophomore Kendal Moss had a 9.775. Becker and junior Samantha Cerio each added a 9.75.

Auburn also counted a fall on beam, finishing with a 48.425. Milliet once again led the team on the apparatus, having a 9.875. Freshmen beam specialists Meredith Sylvia and Allie Riddle chipped in a 9.825 and 9.8, respectively, while Slappey's 9.775 also added to the team score.

Auburn travels to Baton Rouge for a Sunday afternoon tilt vs. No. 2 LSU. The two Tiger teams will go head-to-head, March 4, at 2:30 p.m. CT in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and the meet will be broadcast live on SEC Network.

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