BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Freshman Sunisa Lee scored a 10 on bars, her fourth perfect score of the season and Auburn's first at the SEC Championship, to help the Tigers score 197.225, Auburn's highest ever output at the conference meet.
Auburn's third-place finish is the program's best in the eight-team format at the SEC Championship.
"Really proud of the girls," Auburn coach Jeff Graba said. "It was nice to see them settle down and get back on track."
Anchoring Auburn's final event of the meet, Lee's perfect bars routine served as a grand finale, securing the SEC even championship for the Olympic all-around gold medalist.
"It meant the world," said Lee, who scored only the second bars 10 in in SEC Championship history, joining Florida's Bridget Sloan in 2015.
Auburn saved its best for last Saturday at Legacy Arena, scoring a program-record 49.675 on bars.
Prior to Lee's 10, Derrian Gobourne and Aria Brusch both scored 9.95s while Cassie Stevens added a 9.9 and Sophia Groth scored 9.875.
"I'm always so proud of her. She's just so amazing," Gobourne said of her teammate. "I knew once she stuck that dismount that it was going to be a 10. My goal is to set her up for something big.
"That was phenomenal. The feeling was magical. It was like we were building off each other. It was so much fun. What matters is how you close it out. I'm super proud of this team. It shows how tough we are."
Lee and Gobourne shared runner-up honors on floor, both scoring 9.95s on the Tigers' second rotation. Auburn scored 49.425 on floor, with Brusch's 9.85 and Drew Watson's 9.8 also contributing.
"This group has to learn to be in the postseason," Graba said. "You have to weather adversity. I wanted to see that they could bounce back. To go to floor and start to kick in to high gear, that was important for us."
Watson led Auburn on vault, the Tigers' third rotation, with a 9.9. Lee and Stevens scored 9.875s while Sara Hubbard added a 9.825.
Stevens scored 39.475 to lead Auburn's all-around effort, finishing with a 9.9 on bars, 9.875s on vault and floor, and 9.825 on beam.
"Really proud of her," Graba said. "She's really stepped into this leader role. I believe she's one of the best all-arounders in the country and it showed today. It's a lot of fun to see her starting to peak at the right time."
Groth (39.35) and Lee (39.275) also competed in all four events for the Tigers. Florida's Trinity Thomas won the SEC all-around with a 39.825 including event titles on floor and vault with 9.975s.
Groth led the Tigers on beam with a 9.95 to earn runner-up honors while sophomore Gabby McLaughlin added a 9.9.
"She's starting to click," Graba said of Groth. "When she clicks, she's really, really good. I think that built her confidence up. The team is obviously going to take confidence from that."
Auburn overcame a tough start on beam, its first rotation, in which the Tigers scored 48.9 after counting one of two falls.
"We just wanted to end with a bang," Gobourne said. "I feel like we gained so much ending the way we did."
Florida won the SEC championship by scoring 198.200. Alabama finished second with 197.825.
Auburn will host an NCAA Regional at Neville Arena March 31 and April 2, hoping to advance to the NCAA Championship in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 15-16.
"We're pretty excited that we get a little bit of a break and we're hosting a regional so we don't have to go anywhere," Graba said. "We're really excited that we're moving in the right direction."
Lee wins bars as Auburn finishes third at SEC Championship
