Season Best 196.450 for No. 17 Auburn at No. 6 Alabama

Feb. 17, 2017

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The No. 17 Auburn gymnastics team posted a season-best 196.450 on the road at No. 6 Alabama Friday night, recording the program's third-highest score in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide took the win with a 197.350 in Coleman Coliseum.

"I thought the team did a great job tonight in a tough environment," head coach Jeff Graba said. "We focused on us the whole meet and it paid off. Now we can go back and grab the tenths we lost tonight and bring it to the table next week. We've been fighting hard all season and we are happy to have put together a complete meet."

Senior MJ Rott and sophomore Emma Engler picked up event titles for the Tigers. Rott earned her second vault title of the season with a 9.875, while Engler won her first title this year with a career high 9.9 on bars.

Freshman Katie Becker had a busy night as the Boone, N.C., product competed in the all-around for the first time in her career. She finished with a 38.95.

"I think Katie (Becker) did a good job in the all-around for us," Graba said. "That's a lot to ask of a freshman especially since we don't another all-arounder for her to look up to. I think she'd agree that she could do a lot better than she did, but I think she also did a great job handling her fatigue and working through it."

Auburn opened up the night on bars, earning a 49.2 for the second-highest score on the apparatus this season. Behind Engler's 9.9, sophomore Samantha Cerio added a 9.875 to guide the Tigers. Freshman Gracie Day anchored the first rotation with a 9.85, while sophomore Taylor Krippner added a 9.8 and Becker kicked things off with a 9.775 in her first-ever bars appearance.

The second rotation had the Tigers on vault where Rott led the charge with her 9.875. Day anchored once again and earned a 9.825, while Engler tied a season high with a 9.8. Krippner and classmate A'Miracal Phillips chipped in a 9.775 and a 9.75, respectively.

A pair of seniors paced Auburn on floor in rotation three as Lucia Scaglione and Kullen Hlawek scored a 9.875 apiece. That score was a career high for Scaglione and a season best for Hlawek. Cerio and Rott put together solid routines overall for the Tigers, picking up a 9.825 each. Becker and redshirt freshman Emma Slappey closed out scoring with a pair of 9.65s as Auburn went into the final rotation with a 49.05 on floor.

The Tigers finished the evening strong, garnering a season-high score of 49.175 on beam. Krippner once again anchored the youthful squad in the event and tied a career best with a 9.9. Hlawek opened up the rotation with a career-tying score of 9.85 and Cerio followed with another 9.825. Becker, Engler, and Slappey each chipped in 9.8s for the Tigers. That score tied a career high for Becker.

The Tigers return to The Plains for another SEC meet in Auburn Arena, hosting No. 2 LSU. Auburn and the Bayou Bengals are set to square off at 7:30 p.m. CT Friday, Feb. 24, on SEC Network.

Auburn Results