Auburn places second in gymnastics Semifinal II to advance to Final Four

The Auburn Tigers gymnastics team isn’t done yet.

The Auburn Tigers are still alive.

Auburn’s gymnastics team defeated both the defending national champions in the Michigan Wolverines and the SEC-rival Missouri Tigers with a score of 197.837 to be one of the two teams from the Semi II to advance to the Final Four. In an all-too-familiar sight, the Florida Gators managed to rally from behind to take the overall victory with a score of 197.975.

The Tigers began the night with a 49.5125 on the beam, which was good for second place. A stellar second rotation on the floor, however, propelled Auburn into the leading spot — four of the five gymnasts competing on the floor scored a 9.9 or higher, with senior [autotag]Derrian Gobourne[/autotag] landing a 9.9625.

Auburn carried that lead into the third rotation, the vault, with a 49.2375. The Tigers were unable to call themselves the winners of the meet at the end of the day, though, as Florida rallied with a very impressive 49.7500 that Auburn was unable to best on the bars. Although the Tigers’ 49.4750 in the last rotation couldn’t seal the victory, it did seal Auburn’s ticket to the last round of the NCAA gymnastics championships.

Freshman [autotag]Sunisa Lee[/autotag] also dazzled at the event. She won the individual national championship on the beam, but she was unable to nab the all-around title from UF’s Trinity Thomas. Despite this, her 39.675 all-around score was a driving force in helping the Tigers make its first finals appearance since 2015.

Auburn will face off against Florida, Oklahoma and Utah on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT in the Final Four.

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