No. 12 Auburn Falls to No. 6 Alabama Friday Night

No. 12 Auburn Falls to No. 6 Alabama Friday NightNo. 12 Auburn Falls to No. 6 Alabama Friday Night

Feb. 23, 2018

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AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The No. 12 Auburn gymnastics team scored a 195.4 in its final home meet of the season in Auburn Arena, falling to No. 6 Alabama's 197.3. The Tigers moved to 6-7 overall and 1-5 in the Southeastern Conference.

"I think we started strong and finished strong and used our energy well," head coach Jeff Graba said. "I think the crowd brought a lot of energy, and I really believe that we just lost our focus on the middle two events. I think they were putting pressure on themselves to do better than what they were doing, and usually when you're trying to over-achieve in gymnastics it doesn't work out well."

The Tigers honored their two seniors prior to the meet ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Kennedy Finister and Cara Stricklin ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" in front of a sellout crowd of 7,424.

Auburn saw its best performances coming on the meet bookends, earning solid scores on vault and floor.

The squad kicked off the meet on vault, scoring a 49.275. Junior Taylor Krippner and freshman Drew Watson each earned a career-best on the apparatus, picking up a pair of 9.9s for the Tigers. Sophomore Gracie Day added a 9.85, while freshman Jada Glenn and sophomore Katie Becker had a 9.825 and 9.8, respectively.

Auburn's final rotation saw the team finish with a season-best 49.375. Day came in a tie for first with a career-best 9.925. A trio of Tigers in Watson, redshirt sophomore Emma Slappey, and redshirt junior Abby Milliet added a 9.875 apiece. That score tied a career best for Watson and tied season high for Slappey. Freshman Ashley Smith led off the rotation with a 9.825.

Rotation two for the Tigers had the team go 48.325 on bars, having to count a fall. Watson led the team with a 9.8, while sophomore Kendal Moss had a 9.775. Becker and junior Samantha Cerio each added a 9.75.

Auburn also counted a fall on beam, finishing with a 48.425. Milliet once again led the team on the apparatus, having a 9.875. Freshmen beam specialists Meredith Sylvia and Allie Riddle chipped in a 9.825 and 9.8, respectively, while Slappey's 9.775 also added to the team score.

Auburn travels to Baton Rouge for a Sunday afternoon tilt vs. No. 2 LSU. The two Tiger teams will go head-to-head, March 4, at 2:30 p.m. CT in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and the meet will be broadcast live on SEC Network.

Auburn Results

VaultBars
49.27548.325
Katie Becker9.800Katie Becker9.750
A'Miracal Phillips9.775Drew Watson9.800
Taylor Krippner9.900Kendal Moss9.775
Drew Watson9.900Abby Milliet9.150
Gracie Day9.850Gracie Day9.250
Jada Glenn9.825Samantha Cerio9.750
BeamFloor
48.42549.375
Allie Riddle9.800Ashley Smith9.825
Drew Watson9.075Jada Glenn9.100
Meredith Sylvia9.825Drew Watson9.875
Emma Slappey9.775Emma Slappey9.875
Abby Milliet9.875Gracie Day9.925
Taylor Krippner9.150Abby Milliet9.875