AUBURN, Ala. – Scrambling its lineup again after another injury, No. 11 Auburn flirted with a 197 before falling to No. 1 Oklahoma 197.925-196.9 Friday at Neville Arena.
The Tigers competed without freshman phenom Katelyn Jong, who joined fellow freshman Marissa Neal and senior Olivia Hollingsworth on the sidelines cheering for their teammates.
“I’m really proud of the group. This was a tough meet. It’s been a tough week, it’s been a tough month,” Auburn coach Jeff Graba said. “We had to shuffle four new lineups in the last 22 hours. That’s the third time we’ve had to do that. It’s been difficult for this team. I think it’s been very emotional for them.”
The Tigers pushed through, scoring 49.2s on vault and bars, 49.275 on beam and 49.225 on floor.
“For them to come in and fight like they did, I’m really proud of them,” Graba said. “We have to get better, and we have to get back into the practice gym and settle down a little bit. I’m really proud because you can’t teach fight, so I’m glad they have that in them, and we can clean up all the things we need to.”
Beginning on vault, freshman Sophia Bell anchored with a 9.9, Auburn’s highest score of the event.
“We’re a team that rallies together,” Bell said. “We’ve done it since the beginning. We’ve had to overcome a lot of adversity. It’s pushed us to be closer and to stick through it together. I’m proud of everybody. To put our best foot forward and be certain that we can count on whoever we put in to hit, and we did just that. We went out there and hit it.”
Julianne Huff led off with a 9.8. Sara Hubbard’s 9.875, Sarah Zois’ 9.775 and Paige Zancan’s 9.85 also counted toward the Tigers’ 49.2.
Moving to bars for the second rotation, Alex Irvine and Olivia Greaves each delivered 9.9s at the bottom of the lineup. Sophia Groth contributed a 9.825, Bryn Bartman scored a 9.8 while Emma Grace Boyd and Caroline Leonard each scored 9.775s.
Showcasing its season-length strength on beam, Gabby McLaughlin anchored with a 9.925 after Groth earned a 9.9. Olivia Ahern led off with a 9.85. Zois scored a 9.875 and Zancan added a 9.725.
Finishing on floor, Groth and McLaughlin earned 9.875s at the bottom of the lineup to lead the Tigers. Greaves added a 9.85, Zois led off with a 9.825 while Zancan and Bell both tallied 9.8s.
Oklahoma swept the event titles, with Elle Mueller winning vault with a 9.975, Faith Torrez winning bars and floor with 9.95s, and Jordan Bowers taking the beam crown with a 9.95 on her way to the all-around title with a 39.675.
The Tigers return to the road at No. 8 Missouri next Sunday at noon CT on SEC Network.
“What they should take away from tonight is we are fully capable,” Graba said. “I’m really impressed with us. We’re competitive with anybody in the country but our margin for error is less at this point.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer