NASHVILLE – The No. 14 Auburn gymnastics team capped the 2024 regular season with a season-best road score, earning a 197.575 Saturday night to finish second at the Kidney Care Women's Gymnastics Championship in Nashville.
No. 6 Kentucky took the meet with a 197.925, while No. 15 Ohio State earned a 196.250 and Fisk had a 191.525. The quad was held in the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.
"I'm really happy with the grit and determination of this group," head coach Jeff Graba said. "All the hard work is really starting to pay off. We started strong, which is something we've been working on."
Fifth year Cassie Stevens had another big night, finishing in a tie for first in the all-around with a 39.650. She took the vault title with a season-high 9.95, came in a tie for second on beam with a 9.925 and chipped in a 9.9 on bars and a 9.875 on floor.
"That was probably the most fun we've had all season," Stevens said. "Our energy was really good and we were able to build on each event. We're really starting to get in our groove and just believing in ourselves and trusting it. I just can't say enough about the people that lead off our lineups because we can't build momentum without them hitting for us."
Fifth year Aria Brusch was one of those lead offs this evening, having all three of her event scores contribute to the team total. That included a 9.95 as the lead off on bars, tying a career high and earning the event title.
Auburn kicked off the meet on beam with a 49.475 to tie a season best and followed with a 49.525 on floor. After a 49.175 on vault, the squad closed out with a season-high 49.400 on bars to earn a big road score.
"To basically go 49.5 on the first two events is huge for us," Graba said. "We still have some room for improvement on vault, but to have six 10.0 vaults was a big goal for us. And to finish on bars like that was big and I'm just really excited that our bars team is starting to believe in themselves."
Three Tigers earned a 9.9 or better on beam to push the squad to a 49.475 in the opening rotation. Stevens and senior Gabby McLaughlin came in a tie for second with a pair of 9.925s and junior Sophia Groth secured a 9.9. Freshman Paige Zancan led off with a 9.875 and Brusch earned a 9.85 for the team score.
Auburn moved to floor and put together a 49.525, which was the team's second-highest score in the event this season. McLaughlin and Groth led the way with a pair of 9.925s with senior Olivia Hollingsworth and Brusch adding 9.9s. Stevens and freshman Julianne Huff were both awarded 9.875s for their performances.
The Tigers went on to vault for rotation three and came away with a 49.175. Stevens took the event title with a season-best 9.95 to highlight the rotation. Hollingsworth had a 9.85, while senior Sydney Schumaker and junior Sara Hubbard added 9.8s. Zancan's 9.775 contributed to the team score.
The squad closed out with a season-best 49.400 on bars and were led by Brusch's 9.95. Stevens and redshirt freshman Olivia Greaves each had a 9.9, which tied a career high for Greaves. Hollingsworth, McLaughlin and Groth all chipped in 9.825s.
The 2024 postseason is up next for the Tigers and the team will head to New Orleans next week for the 2024 Southeastern Conference Championship. The two-session meet will take place on March 23 and will be held in the Smoothie King Center.
