Tag: sec gymnastics

Auburn Gymnastics climbs into top five of latest poll, ranks first in vault

Auburn Gymnastics performed like the best in the country. Their reward? They are ranked as one of the best in the country.

Last Saturday, Auburn Gymnastics performed like the best in the country. Their reward? They are ranked as one of the best in the country.

Following a record-breaking performance at the Super 16 in Las Vegas over the weekend, Auburn Gymnastics is now ranked No. 5 in the country according to RoadToNationals.com.

The Tigers scored 197.350 in their season-opening meet, finishing third behind the last two national champions – Oklahoma and Michigan– and above perennial power UCLA. Their overall score set a program record for the highest total in a season-opening meet.

Auburn’s strongest event last Saturday was the vault. [autotag]Derrian Gobourne[/autotag], [autotag]Cassie Stevens[/autotag], [autotag]Sara Hubbard[/autotag], and Olympic gold medalist [autotag]Suni Lee[/autotag] each scored 9.9 on the way to a 49.500 total score. Auburn’s win propelled them to the No. 1 overall ranking in this week’s poll.

“I was really happy with our vault performance,” Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said. “We’ve heard a lot about how we’ve had to improve on that event and I think our vault squad really took that to heart. That score was just a reward for all their hard work.”

Oklahoma checks in at No. 1 in this week’s poll, while Michigan is No. 4. Auburn’s schedule does not get any easier this week, as they travel to No. 2 Florida on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. CT. The meet will be televised by ESPN2.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]

[listicle id=59755]

Lee dominates competition in Auburn Gymnastics’ season opener

Suni Lee earned the all-around crown in Saturday’s Super 16 meet against powers UCLA, Michigan, and Oklahoma.

The No. 5 Auburn Tigers opened the season in a big way on Saturday night by placing third in the Super 16 in Las Vegas.

The Tigers scored 197.350, which sets a program record for the highest score in a season-opening contest. Auburn finished behind the last two programs to win a national championship, Michigan and Oklahoma and finished 0.075 points higher than seven-time national champion UCLA.

Opening the season against strong competition provided the challenge that head coach [autotag]Jeff Graba[/autotag] was hoping his team would experience.

“It was about developing our depth and testing ourselves coming into this meet and I was really happy with how the team performed under the pressure,” Graba said following Saturday’s meet. “We beat our program record and were up against great competition so I’m excited. It was a great start and we wanted to kick off the season the right way.”

Despite the team finishing third in the competition, [autotag]Suni Lee[/autotag] won the all-around crown with a score of 39.750. She earned the overall title by scoring 9.9 on the floor and vault, a 9.95 on the bars, and a perfect 10.0 on the beam, her fourth 10.0 score as an Auburn Tiger.

“Personally, I feel like I did everything I could,” Lee said. “I had a couple of hiccups and I’m still trying to figure out my routines, but I’m just taking day by day and am happy with tonight.”

[autotag]Derrian Goboure[/autotag] got off to a hot start as well, as she scored 9.9 in vault, bars, and floor. [autotag]Olivia Hollingsworth[/autotag] and [autotag]Cassie Stevens[/autotag] competed in the all-around and finished with scores of 39.100 and 39.025 respectively.

Auburn returns to the floor next Friday, Jan. 13 at Florida. Auburn’s first home meet will take place on Friday, Jan. 20 when they host Arkansas, who is led by Olympic gold medalist Jordyn Wieber.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]

[listicle id=59755]

Lee, Gobourne among ESPN’s ‘must watch’ gymnasts of the 2023 season

Gymnastics fans are excited to see Auburn’s Suni Lee and Derrian Gobourne raise their talents to a new level in 2023.

Another exciting season of Auburn Gymnastics gets underway on Saturday, and two members of Auburn’s roster are earning time in the spotlight.

Auburn gymnasts [autotag]Suni Lee[/autotag] and [autotag]Derrian Gobourne[/autotag] were recognized by ESPN this week as gymnasts to watch ahead of the 2023 season. Both made an impact in last season’s Final Four run, and are expected to take their talents to a higher level this season.

Lee joins a list of Olympic gold medalists who return to their respective programs as sophomores, which includes Oregon State’s Jade Carey, UCLA’s Jordan Chiles, and Utah’s Grace McCallum. Lee revealed last November that the 2023 season would be her last so that she can place focus on the upcoming XXXIII Olympic Summer Games in Paris in 2024.

Lee, the 2021 Olympic all-around champion, helped lead Auburn to a fourth-place ranking, its best-ever finish in program history. Individually, she won the NCAA title on beam and finished second in the all-around. She recently revealed this would be her final season of collegiate gymnastics. “I want to be the best teammate I can be and continue the amazing legacy we were able to build last season,” she told ESPN in November about her goals for the year. We have a feeling she’ll do just that.

Gobourne is another athlete that keeps fans watching. She competes in every event but is most known for her spectacular floor routines. ESPN’s D’Arcy Maine is excited to watch Gobourne’s floor exercise this season and says that Gobourne has the chance to become a viral hit.

The 2022 NCAA floor runner-up opens this standout routine with “God Save the Queen,” while placing an invisible crown atop her head, and this is exactly the kind of energy and confidence we can all use in the new year. It’s giving a little 2020 Nia Dennis with some of the Beyonce/Homecoming music choices — and we can’t wait to watch on repeat all season long.

Auburn opens the season on Saturday, Jan. 7 in Las Vegas at the Super 16 Challenge. The Tigers will compete among the NCAA’s top gymnastics programs including Michigan, UCLA, and defending national champion Oklahoma.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]

[listicle id=59755]

Auburn Gymnastics: Suni Lee, Sophia Groth earn SEC Honors 

Auburn gymnasts honored by the SEC in their weekly honors

Following a record-tying performance at LSU, Auburn freshman gymnasts Suni Lee and Sophia Groth were honored by the SEC on Tuesday.

Lee was named the SEC Gymnast of the Week, and Groth the Freshman of the Week. They helped lead Auburn to a record-tying score of 197.750.

Lee had one of the best performances in Auburn history, winning her second-straight all-around title with a score of 39.825. The score was the highest in program history and tied for the highest score in the country this season.

Her performance was highlighted by a perfect 10 on bars, Auburn’s first 10 since 2014. She also set career highs on beam (9.975), floor (9.95), and vault (9.9).

Goth was named the Freshman of the Week for the second time this season after setting career highs on beam (9.95), vault (9.9), and floor (9.9).

No. 7 Auburn will host No. 9 Missouri in Auburn Arena Friday night. The meet is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. CT and will be on the SEC Network.

Auburn gymnast Meredith Sylvia receives Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award

On Monday, Auburn University announced that senior gymnast Meredith Sylvia is a recipient of this year’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. 

On Monday Auburn University announced that senior gymnast Meredith Sylvia is a recipient of this year’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.

Each year Auburn University honors two senior students with the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. The award is named after notable New York attorney and humanitarian Algernon Sydney Sullivan who founded the New York Southern Society (now Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation) with the mission to promote,

“The welfare of mankind and to continue, carry out and further the philanthropies and philanthropic aims of the late Algernon Sydney Sullivan and Mary Mildred Hammond Sullivan, and more particularly to contribute funds for the support, education, maintenance, care and training of children of any age and circumstance.”

The award honors students who demonstrate exceptional character and integrity as well as a commitment to serve others.

Sylvia is set to graduate this spring with a degree in conservation biology. She plans to earn her Masters in Arts in education and become a middle school science teacher.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEJTPTVhyY4

As a gymnast Sylvia was one of the Tigers most reliable specialists on the beam. The consistent SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient was also reliable within the Auburn community with service dedicated to the Lee County Humane Society, Our House, and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Since the start of the COVID19 pandemic Sylvia has assisted the Lee County Humane Society by providing care for more than 20 animals. Sylvia provided great relief to local overflowing animal shelters by becoming a foster home.

Through Our House Sylvia tutored and mentored local elementary and middle school students by assisting them with classwork. Our House is a non-profit organization that supplies resources to underprivileged families.

For several years now Sylvia and the Auburn gymnastics team have participated in the annual Downtown Trick or Treat event through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The festive Halloween activity allows athletes to greet fans and pass out candy to kids. Individually she has visited several local elementary schools to encourage the importance of exercise and display her gymnastics abilities. Sylvia has taken part in several Habitat for Humanity service projects through Auburn SAAC by serving as a volunteer in 2017 and service project coordinator in 2019.