AUBURN, Ala. – With a win at No. 10 Missouri on Saturday, the Auburn gymnastics team has secured top 10 victories in back-to-back weeks for the first time in program history. However, the Tigers stayed put at No. 13 in this week's ranking after earning a 195.825 in Saturday's meet.
Auburn (3-0) will be back home in Auburn Arena this Friday to face another top 10 opponent in No. 6 Georgia. The meet is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.
"It was a great weekend, and coming off the road with a win in the SEC is always a huge victory," Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said. "To do it against a Top 10 team is even better. However, it won't get easier as we host No. 6 Georgia this Friday, and they are coming in on a mission. We need to refocus and get ready for a battle this Friday. We need all the help we can get so I hope our fans fill Auburn Arena and help us again this weekend!"
The top five in this week's rankings remained unchanged with Oklahoma still at the top, followed by UCLA (No. 2), Florida (No. 3), Utah (No. 4) and LSU (No. 5).
In the SEC, Georgia climbed to No. 6, and Alabama moved all the way up to No. 9 – giving the conference four teams ranked in the top 10. Next up is Auburn at No. 13, followed by Missouri (No. 15), Kentucky (No. 17) and Arkansas (No. 21).
Auburn posted another strong bars score (49.275) in Saturday's meet and is ranked No. 6 nationally on the event. Led by Abby Milliet at No. 21, the Tigers have six gymnasts – Milliet, Samantha Cerio, Gracie Day, Derrian Gobourne, Taylor Krippner and Derrian Gobourne – ranked in the top 50 individually on bars.
Auburn also cracked the top 10 on vault for the first time this season with a 49.025 against Missouri. Watson (No. 20), Gobourne (No. 21) and Day (No. 28) are all ranked in the top 30 with average scores of 9.842 or higher through the first three meets.
The Tigers dropped three spots on beam but are still ranked No. 11, narrowly missing the top 10. Milliet is the highest-ranked individual on the team at No. 41.
Gobourne earned another solid all-around score (39.100) Saturday after winning event titles on vault and floor, and the freshman is ranked No. 15 nationally this week on all-around. Watson, who won the AA title against Missouri, is ranked No. 36 in the country.
