Due to projected inclement storms in the Lexington area on Friday, No. 9 Auburn‘s meet at No. 12 Kentucky had to be pushed to Saturday afternoon.
Despite the slight change in routine, Auburn stayed close to Kentucky until the end, falling to the Wildcats, 197.460-196.450.
Both teams stayed close to one another until the final event. Kentucky would post a 49.400 on floor, but two scores of 9.300 and 9.275 caused Auburn to have a low score beam, thus propelling Kentucky to an overall win.
“Maybe it will leave a bad taste in our mouth,” head coach [autotag]Jeff Graba[/autotag] said of Saturday’s meet. “We’ve got a week to work on it and get ready to go for Senior Night.”
[autotag]Cassie Stevens[/autotag] won the all-around with an overall score of 39.500, beating out Kentucky’s Raena Worley. Stevens’ best event was the vault, where she scored a 9.975. In her other three events by scoring 9.825 or higher.
“I think it shows what a quality athlete (Stevens) is and the depth of our team,” Graba said. “If we get everybody on the same page like where Cassie is right now, we’re in really good shape.”
[autotag]Derrian Gobourne[/autotag] paced the team on bars with a 9.900, Stevens led on beam with a 9.825, and [autotag]Gabby McLaughlin[/autotag] earned a 9.990 on floor. Auburn sophomore and Olympic gold medalist, [autotag]Suni Lee[/autotag], did not participate in Saturday’s meet.
Auburn will conclude the regular season on Friday by hosting Penn State at 7 p.m. CT. The Nittany Lions squad currently ranks No. 32 in the country by posting an average score of 195.995 per meet.
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