Tigers’ consistent beam and floor routines do not help them overcome the Bulldogs.
Even with outstanding floor and beam routines, No. 14 Auburn gymnastics could not overcome No. 20 Georgia on the road. The Tigers’ Friday night loss in Athens, Georgia, was 197.550-196.900.
Head coach Jeff Graba stated, “We had some bright spots tonight with big performances in each rotation.” “I think the team did well in a tough environment, and travelling in the SEC is never easy.”
The Tigers demonstrated their strength on the floor and beam, earning scores of 49.350 and 49.325 respectively.
The final two rotations of the meet saw Auburn’s seniors deliver strong performances that resulted in good scores. With two scores of 9.925, junior Sophia Groth and senior Gabby McLaughlin had the best results of the evening on the beam. Groth’s score was a season-best. On the balance beam, senior Olivia Hollingsworth scored a 9.850, while fifth-year Aria Brusch scored a 9.800. Paige Zancan, a freshman, was the first to finish the competition with a 9.825.
Anchoring the Tigers’ floor rotation, Hollingsworth scored a 9.925. The senior’s score of 9.900 or higher was his fifth consecutive and his seventh overall for Hollingsworth. Groth came next with a 9.875, and the final three athletes in the rotation were Brusch, Cassie Stevens, and Hannah Hagle with three 9.850s each.
However, Auburn’s floor and beam efforts were insufficient to
The Tigers struggled all season long with the vault apparatus, scoring a season-low 49.050 on it. Even though the team didn’t perform well on vault, Zancan scored a 9.900 on her very first vault. Julianne Huff, a freshman, scored a 9.775, while Stevens came next with a 9.875. Sydney Schumaker
, a senior, scored first with a 9.750, followed by another 9.750 from Hollingsworth.
Redshirt freshman Olivia Greaves tied her career-high score of 9.900 in the event’s anchor position as Auburn scored a 49.175 overall on bars. Groth scored a 9.8, while Brusch, freshman Emma Grace Boyd, and Hollingsworth set the standard with three straight 9.825s. Boyd gave a career-high performance.
Georgia defeated the Tigers with scores of 49.300 on the vault, 49.400 on the bars and beam, and 49.450 on the floor.
Auburn travels to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the 2024 Podium Challenge on Saturday, March 8, hoping to make a road trip comeback. At 6 p.m. CST on the podium, the Tigers will face No. 3 LSU, Texas Woman’s, and George Washington.
