BATON ROUGE – It was a fun Saturday afternoon in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as the No. 6 Auburn gymnastics team tied a program record with a 197.750 as freshman Sunisa Lee earned perfect score on bars and a program best in the all-around. Host and No. 8 LSU took the win with a 197.975.
"I really proud of the group tonight," head coach Jeff Graba said. "This is a really tough environment at LSU, and they handled it wonderfully. We tied a program record in score and got our first 10 in 20 years. It was great to see the team fight and come away with big routines."
"We gave it all we got today," Lee said. "We know that we still have so much to improve on so seeing these scores is encouraging and it just shows how much potential we have."
The team's score tied the program's record set on Feb. 27, 2015 in Auburn Arena.
"To do this on the road is amazing," Graba added. "I love the atmosphere here and this is so good for a young team to go through. We come to LSU and handle ourselves well and this just makes us better."
Lee captured the all-around title with a 39.825, setting an Auburn record in the category. That score also tied for the nation's best so far this season.
Her 10.0 on bars marked the first time since 2004 that a Tiger was awarded a perfect score. In addition, Lee captured the beam crown with a 9.975. She added career highs on vault and floor, scoring a 9.9 and 9.95, respectively.
"This means a lot to me," Lee said. "I've always watched college gymnastics so to be competing in college, to score a 10 and the first 10 at Auburn in a long time feels so surreal."
"Her bars have been like that the last couple weeks," Graba said. "That score shouldn't surprise us because she has been so consistent in this event."
As a team, Auburn put together big scores in every category. The team's 49.475 on vault finished as the third-best score in program history, while the 49.550 on beam came in a tie for second.
Senior Derrian Gobourne and freshman Sophia Groth also had big performances for the Tigers. Groth scored a 9.9 or better to earn career highs on every event competed. She came in second on beam with a 9.95 and added a pair of 9.9s on vault and floor.
"This environment was insane, and I just wanted to use that energy," Groth said. "Our theme for this week was to level up and I think everyone did a little bit better today and it showed."
Gobourne led the team on vault with 9.95 to tie her career best. She followed with a 9.925 on floor, earning her fourth-straight score of 9.925 or better in the event. Gobourne chipped in a 9.875 on bars.
The Tigers return to Auburn Arena for a Friday night matchup with another top 15 opponent in Missouri. The two teams will face off at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network, Feb. 11.
BARS
Auburn kicked off the meet with a 49.350 on bars in the first rotation. Lee's 10.0 on the apparatus marked the first time since 2000 that a Tiger earned a perfect score on bars. Gobourne followed with a 9.875, while juniors Aria Brusch and Cassie Stevens chipped in a pair of 9.85s. Junior Adeline Sabados closed out scoring with a 9.775.
VAULT
The Tigers put together a 49.475 on vault in rotation two, marking the third-best vault score in program history. Gobourne led the charge with a 9.95 to tie a season best and finish second. Groth and Lee as well as fifth year Drew Watson all came in a tie for third with 9.9s, which were career bests for Groth and Lee. Freshman Sara Hubbard and sophomore Tara Walsh earned 9.825s to add to the team score. That was also a career high for Walsh.
FLOOR
Auburn moved on to floor in the third and finished with a 49.375 despite dealing with music malfunctions. Lee's 9.95 finished second overall and Gobourne followed with a 9.925. Groth's 9.9 and Stevens' 9.875 were season bests. Watson's 9.725 contributed to the team score.
BEAM
The squad capped the meet with a season-high 49.550 on beam. That score finished in a tie for second in program history. Lee once again led the squad with her second-straight 9.975 in the event. That score gave her the beam title. Groth finished second with a career-best 9.95. Sophomore Olivia Hollingsworth with Brusch and Stevens all earned 9.875s, marking season bests for the trio.
10! Lee’s perfect bars helps No. 6 Auburn tie program record 197.750
