It was business as usual for No. 5 Auburn Gymnastics, as they earned their second-straight home win over a top-25 foe. The Tigers used a different game plan where several gymnasts were moved around, or even omitted, from different events. Despite the change, Auburn was able to defeat No. 25 NC State, 197.175-196.125.
One of the most notable changes was [autotag]Suni Lee[/autotag] being bumped from the all-around by receiving a break from the floor routine. Fans shared concern after noticing her absence from the event, but head coach [autotag]Jeff Graba[/autotag] says that it was all a part of a plan that will help Auburn succeed later in the season.
“We are trying to be smart with her. We got to the end of last year, and our all-arounders were really tired. We are doing three or four all-arounders at times right now. It was just Suni’s turn,” Graba said after Friday’s meet. “We have both Cassie (Stevens) and [autotag]Olivia Hollingsworth[/autotag] who are holding up right now, but at some point, we are going to have to do the same thing with them.”
Although the team planned for said changes throughout the week, it affected the team’s routine, which threw off its’ usual energy. Senior [autotag]Cassie Stevens[/autotag] says that despite the adversity the team faced, she is pleased that they were able to still post a high overall score.
“We made some mistakes, and those are things that we are going to want to improve on in the future. I feel like we haven’t really hit our stride yet, we know that there is so much more in the tank,” Stevens said. “It is comforting to know, like, even with a not-so-great meet that we can still go 197. It also looked like we know that there is so much more.”
Stevens won the all-around title in Friday’s meet, scoring a 39.600, with her best scores coming on vault and floor, where she scored a 9.925 in both events. She also scored a 9.9 on beam.
“I was really happy with my performance. I feel like, just working on all of those little, finer details in the gym this past week paid off, which is always really nice when your hard work pays off,” Stevens said. “I had to face some adversity just in random things… slipping on puddles, mats not being underneath of me, but it was just nice to go out there and fight and have it pay off.”
Auburn will hit the road next week to face their sixth-straight top-25 opponent, No. 13 Alabama. The Tigers and Tide will meet at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa next Friday at 6:30 P.M. CT.
