AUBURN, Ala. – Freshman Sunisa Lee and senior Derrian Gobourne of the No. 7 Auburn gymnastics team were honored by the Southeastern Conference as each garnered postseason awards voted on by the league's head coaches. Lee was named Freshman of the Year, while Gobourne was awarded Co-Specialist of the Year released Wednesday.
In addition, Lee was placed on the All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman teams, while Gobourne, junior Aria Brusch and freshman Sophia Groth also earned All-SEC recognition.
It is the first time in program history that two Tigers were honored with one of the three SEC postseason awards in the same season. In addition, Auburn has had at least one All-SEC performer each year since 2012.
"Having two major conference awards at the end of the year is such a phenomenal accomplishment for Auburn gymnastics," head coach Jeff Graba said. "I'm so proud of this team and of Suni and Derrian. This just shows how far this program has come and gives us a glimpse of the bright future it has as well."
Lee became Auburn's first SEC champion since 1994 when she won the conference bars title with a perfect 10.0 last Saturday, placing her on the All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman teams. Overall, she's won seven all-around titles this year as well as 10 bars crowns, six beam titles, three floor titles and one on vault.
"For Suni to get this award after only 12 weeks on campus is simply amazing," Graba said. "She has had an enormous impact on our program in this short amount of time and obviously the rest of the conference noticed this as well. I'm very proud of Suni and am excited for what the future holds for her and this team."
The St. Paul, Minnesota product became the first Auburn gymnast to record a 10.0 since 2004 and has four on the season so far – two on bars and two on beam. She ranks first in the SEC and second nationally in the all-around (39.750), while being first nationally on bars (9.970) and beam (9.980). She's also in the top 10 on floor (9.950) nationally.
Lee set the Auburn all-around record with a 39.825 and six of her all-around scores rank in the top 10 in program history.
She has been named SEC Gymnast of the Week three times this year and SEC Freshman of the Week twice.
Gobourne, of Sarasota, Florida, was awarded SEC Co-Specialist of the Year for the second-straight season after also earning the honor in 2021.
"This award for Derrian is absolutely well deserved," Graba said. "I'm so proud of Derrian and this award is just confirmation for what she has been bringing to our program for years in the toughest conference in the country."
Gobourne secured All-SEC recognition after a pair of runner-up finishes at this year's championships. She finished in a tie for second on bars (9.95) and floor (9.95).
She has competed on vault, bars and floor in every meet this year. Highlighting her season has been the nine scores of 9.9 or better on floor where she ranks third in the SEC and seventh nationally with a 9.955 NQS. The first 10.0 of her career came on floor against Florida, helping the Tigers tie the SEC champion with a 198.575.
Gobourne has won six floor titles and three bars crowns this season. She has six scores of 9.9 or better on bars, including a career-high 9.975. The senior also tied her career best on vault with a 9.95 on the road at LSU.
Brusch, a junior from Cincinnati, earned the first All-SEC recognition of her career after finishing tied for second on bars at the SEC Championship with a career-best 9.95.
Groth, a freshman from West Des Moines, Iowa, also earned the first All-SEC honor of her early career. The four-time SEC Freshman of the Week tied her career high on beam with a 9.95 at the SEC meet this past Saturday, finishing in a tie for second overall.
The Tigers return to action next weekend, hosting the 2022 NCAA Auburn Regional in Neville Arena. Auburn will compete in the afternoon session, March 31, as the second seed and looks to advance to the Sweet 16, April 2.
