The Auburn Tigers’ season comes to an end after the team posted a 195.9, placing them in fourth in the afternoon session of the Los Angeles Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
“When you get to this meet, you have to be really good to move on,” Auburn coach [autotag]Jeff Graba[/autotag] said. “You can’t have an event like we did on bars. We picked a bad night to have our worst night of the year.”
Auburn got off to a strong start on floor. [autotag]Derrian Gobourne[/autotag] earned a 9.925 in the anchor role to earn a share of the session title for the event. [autotag]Gabby McLaughlin[/autotag] and [autotag]Olivia Hollingsworth[/autotag] both scored a 9.875. [autotag]Sophia Groth[/autotag] and [autotag]Cassie Stevens[/autotag] each posted a 9.85, bringing Auburn’s score to 49.375 which had the Tigers in second place.
The Tigers competed on vault in the second rotation. [autotag]Caroline Leonard[/autotag] led off with a 9.875, [autotag]Sara Hubbard[/autotag] followed with a 9.850. Hollingsworth and Stevens both took a 9.8 and Gobourne closed up with a 9.875. Auburn’s score after two rotations was 98.575.
Things started to go wrong for the Tigers on bars in the third rotation. After three straight falls at the beginning [autotag]Aria Brusch[/autotag] scored a 9.9. Stevens tied her career-high with a 9.925 and Gobourne anchored with a 9.85.
Auburn closed up on beam. [autotag]Hannah Hagle[/autotag] earned the top score for the Tigers with a 9.9.
“For (Hagle) to do that on beam was a huge deal,” Graba said. “Caroline on vault, going 9.875 on a 9.95 (start value) vault. Derrian (Gobourne) was great on floor. We got some really good performances, but as a group, not as consistent as we want.”
The Tigers will have a lot to build on going into next season but will return key pieces such as Sophia Groth, Olivia Hollingsworth, and Gabby McLaughlin.
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