FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 20 Auburn gymnastics team earned a season-high road score Friday night, topping No. 14 Arkansas in Barnhill Arena, 196.500-196.025.
The win moved the Tigers to 4-6 on the season with a 3-4 record in the Southeastern Conference.
"We came in wanting to have a good attitude and good focus and I think we did that tonight on all four events," head coach Jeff Graba said. "I'm really happy with tonight's effort and every single person was dialed in."
Behind a renewed chemistry, the win was the first in Fayetteville since 2014 for the Tigers.
"It was the best team chemistry we've had all year," Graba said. "The team is really starting to support each other and we're seeing the success we can have when we do that."
"The team chemistry was awesome," sophomore Derrian Gobourne said. "We had so much fun tonight. Even though it wasn't a perfect meet, we were still together and it was just a lot of fun."
Auburn put up another big score on vault, earning a 49.400 for the second highest of the season. Junior Drew Watson set a career high, earning a 9.975 to lead the team.
"We weren't great on bars, but we go to vault and they knock it out of the park," Graba said. "It was great to see because that's what this team is capable of."
Watson finished second in the all-around with a 39.400, marking her second-best score of the season in the category.
The Tigers return home for one last time in 2020, taking on Texas Woman's University Friday, Feb. 28. The two teams will face off at 7 p.m. CT and the meet will be Auburn's Senior Night. The Tigers will honor their five seniors - Katie Becker, Gracie Day, Kendal Moss, Skyler Sheppard, Emma Slappey.
BARS
Auburn kicked off the meet with a 49.000 on bars. Senior Gracie Day and Watson led the charge with a pair of 9.85s. That mark was a season-best for Watson. Freshman Aria Brusch added a 9.825, while classmate Cassie Stevens chipped in a 9.75. Freshman Adeline Sabados put together a 9.725 toward the team score.
VAULT
The Tigers put up a huge score on vault in rotation two, earning a 49.400. Watson took home the event title with a 9.975, setting a career high with the score. Day tied her career best with a 9.925, while Stevens and Gobourne each added a 9.9. That marked tied a season high for Gobourne and tied a career best for Stevens. Senior Katie Becker added a 9.7.
FLOOR
Gobourne anchored the third rotation with a 9.9 to highlight floor. Watson earned a 9.85, while Brusch put together a 9.8 for the squad. Day's 9.75 and senior Emma Slappey's 9.625 counted towards the team score as Auburn finished with a 48.925.
BEAM
The Tigers closed out the meet strong, earning a 49.175 on beam to seal the meet. Senior Skyler Sheppard led the way with a 9.875, while freshmen Stevens and Brusch added a pair of 9.85s. Junior Meredith Sylvia added a 9.825 and Slappey closed out the scoring with a 9.775.