AUBURN, Ala. – With Florida on deck, the Auburn gymnastics team checked in at No. 12 in this week's ranking after earning a 196.125 on Friday night to beat Kentucky.
The Tigers are still perfect (5-0, 4-0) on the season, and this Friday's matchup in Gainesville will feature the last remaining undefeated teams in conference. Florida, ranked No. 2 nationally is coming off a loss at Oklahoma but has yet to lose an SEC meet.
"It's going to be a huge test for us this weekend going to Florida and dealing with that crazy environment," Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said. "We've been fighting for everything these last few meets, and now we've got to continue that as well as fine-tune our routines.
"It will take everything we've got to compete down there, but this team has already surpassed everyone's expectations and I think they will bring their best performance yet."
With Oklahoma's win over Florida, the Sooners are once again at the top spot in the rankings – followed by Florida, UCLA, Utah and LSU for the second week in a row.
The SEC features four teams in the top 10 with Florida (No. 2), LSU (No. 5), Georgia (No. 6) and Alabama (No. 8), and then it's Auburn (No. 12), Missouri (No. 13), Kentucky (No. 17) and Arkansas (No. 22). All eight teams scored a 196.000 or higher this past weekend.
Auburn remained in the top 10 nationally on vault and bars after posting the second-highest vault/bars total (98.550) in the past three seasons against Kentucky on Friday. The Tigers are currently ranked seventh on bars (49.260) and ninth on vault (49.105).
Sophomore Drew Watson led the way on vault over the weekend with a career-high 9.925 and moved up to a tie for 17th nationally. Watson is one of four Auburn gymnasts ranked in the top 30 on the event. On bars, Samantha Cerio also earned a 9.925 against Kentucky, and the senior climbed to No. 30 nationally this week.
The Tigers are ranked 13th on beam (48.910) thanks to another strong routine from sophomore Meredith Sylvia, who won the individual event title Friday with a 9.850.
