AUBURN, Ala. – Saving her best for last, Cassie Stevens scored a career-high 9.95 on floor in her final event at Neville Arena to win the all-around Friday and lead No. 12 Auburn to a come-from-behind 197.425-197.0 win over No. 13 Missouri.
"It's the culmination of five years of nothing but love and support from people in this building," Stevens said. "To give back in the way that I could was really special. Anyone wants to go out on a high note. I'm happy with my performance and the team's performance. It was a lot of fun. I had a great time."
In her fifth season on the Plains, Stevens won the all-around for the fourth time this year, earning a 39.625 while claiming the vault title and sharing event titles on beam and floor.
"I tried to manage the nerves by overlaying them with emotions of gratitude and celebration," Stevens said. "Constantly trying to take it all in and be grateful for all the experiences and opportunities I've gotten to have here."
In her 200th career routine, Stevens anchored on vault and earned a 9.9 to highlight the Tigers' opening rotation. Sara Hubbard scored a season-high 9.875, Sydney Schumaker scored a 9.85, Olivia Hollingsworth added a 9.825 while Sophia Groth and Julianne Huff each scored 9.75s to give the Tigers a 49.2 on vault while Missouri scored 49.225 on bars.
Moving to bars for Auburn's second rotation, fifth-year gymnast Aria Brusch led off with a 9.875. In the third spot, Groth stuck her landing en route to tying her season high with a 9.9. Gabby McLaughlin followed with a 9.8, Stevens scored a 9.85 and Olivia Greaves anchored with a career-best 9.9 to share the event title with Groth and Missouri's Sienna Schreiber.
Trailing Missouri 98.550-98.525 at the midway point of the meet after both teams scored 49.325s in their second rotations, Auburn scored another 49.325 on beam while Missouri shined on floor, totaling 49.475.
Soon after Paige Zancan stuck her beam landing, teammates mobbed the freshman in congratulations. After Zancan's leadoff 9.85, Brusch followed with a 9.75, then Hollingsworth and Groth each earned 9.9s, tying the former's career high, before Stevens' stellar meet continued with a 9.925 to share the event title with Schreiber.
The visiting Tigers carried a .175 lead into the final rotation but Missouri struggled on beam, scoring 48.975, while Auburn excelled on floor with a season-best 49.575.
Brusch began with a 9.85 in her final regular-season floor routine before Hannah Hagle and Groth equaled their season highs with 9.9s. After McLaughlin earned a 9.875, Stevens and Hollingsworth closed the meet in style with matching 9.95s, with Hollingsworth anchoring and earning a 10 from one judge.
"I was in shock," said Hollingsworth, one of six seniors Auburn honored after the meet. "Freshman year, getting hurt on floor and my journey coming back to competing floor. I felt like all my hard work paid off. To see that 10, I was so excited."
"There's a lot of emotion on this night." Auburn coach Jeff Graba said. "These seniors in particular really feel an attachment to our fanbase. I'm really happy that they finished it really well and we ended this the right way, with a good victory and people hitting their stride at the end."
Schreiber finished second in the all-around with a 39.475 while Groth (39.450) and Hollingsworth (39.4) also competed in all four events for Auburn.
Auburn will spend March on the road with three meets before the SEC Championships, beginning next Friday, March 1, at Georgia at 6 p.m. CT.
"We're in a really good spot," Graba said. "We've got some tough places to go. We've figured out who we are in the last couple of home meets and now we get to go on the road and there's a benefit to that. Those scores are gold in our sport.
"Everything's in front of this team. We can be a Final Four team if we want, but we've got to put it together and we've got to put it together outside of Neville Arena."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
