AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 15 Auburn gymnastics team capped its home schedule Friday night, celebrating Senior Night with a win over Texas Woman's University. The Tigers tied their season high with a 196.700, topping TWU's 192.800.
"This is the way that you want to send out your seniors," head coach Jeff Graba said. "Being the last time in the arena this season and having a good crowd behind us was great. There's still some things to work on, but really a pretty good night."
Auburn celebrated its five seniors prior to the meet – Katie Becker, Gracie Day, Kendal Moss, Skyler Sheppard and Emma Slappey.
"We made it a point in the locker room to say that we are doing it for each other, not just for our teammates but for friends, family, and coaches and fans in the arena," Sheppard said. "Tonight was definitely something very special and you really can't compare it to anything else."
"It is definitely difficult with this being our last time in here because our fans are so good," Day said. "I do not consider them fans, I consider them family so just being able to go out there one last time in front of my family was really special and emotional."
In addition to the solid team score, the Tigers set a season high on floor with a 49.350.
"We made changes to floor and let some exhibitions go because our goal has been to be eight, nine or even 10 deep on these events," Graba said. "What I like about floor now is that we know we can score at a high level. We've known that we can score that high. We are interchangeable. That brings a lot of confidence at this point in the season where it's a pretty brutal travel schedule. Everybody is going to be ready to go, and we can't drop a scoring potential."
Freshman Cassie Stevens won the all-around with a 39.225. Junior Drew Watson earned her sixth vault title with a 9.95 and sophomore Derrian Gobourne took the bars crown with a 9.925, tying her career high. Gobourne and Day shared the floor title with a 9.9 each.
The Tigers travel to New Hampshire for a Sunday afternoon contest. Auburn will take on host New Hampshire, March 8, as well as Rutgers and Central Michigan. The meet will be held in Durham, N.H., and is set for 12 p.m. CT.
VAULT
The Tigers continued their success on vault, scoring a 49.225 to start the meet. Watson captured her sixth event title of the season, scoring a 9.95 to lead all student-athletes. The score was the Tyler, Texas, product's seventh 9.9 or better of the season. Stevens and Gobourne added a pair of 9.85s, while Day earned a 9.8. Becker closed out scoring with a 9.775.
BARS
Auburn tied its season best on bars and finished with a 49.275 on the night. Gobourne's 9.925 tied her career high and gave her the event title for the fourth time this year. Day followed with a 9.875 and freshman Aria Brusch put together a 9.85. Freshman Adeline Sabados put together a solid 9.825 and Watson closed out scoring with a 9.8.
BEAM
Stevens and Sheppard led the beam squad in rotation three with a pair of 9.825s, helping the Tigers go 48.850. Slappey and Brusch each earned a 9.8 and junior Meredith Sylvia added a 9.6.
FLOOR
Auburn capped the night on floor with its season-high 49.350. Gobourne and Day shared the title with a 9.9. That finished was Gobourne's win in the event this year and it tied Day's season best. Brusch capped her busy night with a 9.875 and Sheppard put together a huge routine for a 9.85. Stevens closed out scoring with a 9.825, tying her career best.