AUBURN, Ala. – In front of a second straight sellout crowd at Auburn Arena, the No. 13 Auburn gymnastics team picked up another top-10 win – it's third in three weeks – as the Tigers posted a season-high 196.775 to knock off No. 6 Georgia (196.400) on Friday.
Auburn is now 4-0 to start the season for the first time in program history.
"First and foremost, we went into this with the mindset that this is a test for us," Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said. "We're trying to see how we match up against some of the best teams in the country. We knew Georgia was really good. We knew they were on a roll coming in and that their scoring potential is pretty high. I wanted to see if this team could duplicate what they did against LSU.
"I think what I take away from this is that we're better each week. It doesn't really matter who the opponent is. The tougher the opponent, the better we seem to get."
Auburn was clinging to a narrow lead heading into the final event, but the Tigers sealed the victory after yet another outstanding performance on floor.
(1/25/2019) Gymnastics vs Georgia
Emma Slappey, Skyler Sheppard and Drew Watson each earned a 9.800 or higher to start, and then it was freshman Derrian Gobourne who nearly brought the house down with a 9.950 – one of the two judges gave her a perfect 10. It matched her career-high that she set against LSU two weeks ago.
"We started out strong (on floor)," senior Samantha Cerio said. "Emma Slappey started with a great routine, and the momentum kept building. Derrian's routine is always full of energy and excitement. It just gets you so pumped."
"Floor is what Derrian is really good at anyways right now," added Graba. "That's something that she's always going to wow people with. I think it's not hard to say that our girls watch that and they get juiced up out of it. I think the fans get juiced up, too. This crowd, I'm telling you, this is our secret sauce. If we get a lot of people in the stands, our girls get better."
Senior Abby Milliet followed Gobourne with a 9.850 on floor, and then Cerio finished the meet with a 9.825 as Auburn posted a season-high 49.300 on the event.
Thanks to her 9.950 on floor, Gobourne claimed the all-around title with a 39.375.
The Tigers opened the meet on vault where junior Gracie Day recorded a season-high score 9.900 to win the individual event title. Senior Taylor Krippner made her season debut on vault and led off with a 9.875 while Gobourne, Watson and senior A'Miracal Phillips each added a 9.825. It was a season-high for Phillips.
Auburn continued on bars where the team finished ahead of Georgia with a 49.050. Day claimed her second individual title of the night and matched season-high with a 9.875. Cerio, Gobourne and Milliet all earned a 9.800 or higher on the event.
On beam, the Tigers bounced back from last week with a 49.175. All six gymnasts scored a 9.775 or higher, and it was anchor Meredith Sylvia who led the way with a 9.875. Coming in right behind her, Krippner and Milliet each earned a 9.850. Then it was the two all-arounders, Gobourne and Watson, who earned a pair of 9.800s.
After hosting three of the first four meets, Auburn will be back on the road next week when it travels to No. 17 Kentucky for a 6 p.m. CT meet on Friday, Feb. 1.
(1/25/2019) Gymnastics vs Georgia
"I don't think we need to change our mindset or change much of anything," Day said. "Gymnastics is gymnastics no matter where you go, whether it's at home or away. So, just taking our gymnastics away is all we have to do."