AUBURN — With two major SEC meets looming and Sunisa Lee not competing on the floor, No. 5 Auburn took care of business against No. 20 NC State. The Tigers surpassed 197 for the fourth time this year, defeating the Wolfpack 197.175-196.125.
Auburn led in all four events, kicking off the night with a solid 49.250 in the event. Senior Cassie Stevens topped both teams in the event with a 9.925, followed by teammates Derrian Gobourne(9.875) and Lee(9.850). This was Stevens' second 9.925 in the event this season, as she continues to refine the Yurchenko 1.5 that she switched to during last season.
"I felt pretty good," said Stevens in an interview with SEC Network following the meet. "I feel like I've been working on those finer details in the gym all week."
Stevens led the way for the Tigers in the all-around, scoring a 39.600, including a 9.925 on the floor, tying a career-high for the veteran gymnast.
The Tigers headed to bars next and delivered a 49.275, led by Lee's 9.950 and a pair of 9.85s from Stevens and sophomore Sophia Groth.
Groth has shown flashes while she still recovers from offseason surgery, but the sophomore gymnast has struggled at times, which was the case in the Tigers' beam rotation. Normally solid in the event, Groth nearly fell off the beam and registered a 9.575, the lowest for the Tigers in the event.
Despite Groth's struggles, the rest of the team backed her up as beam ended up being Auburn's highest-scoring event of the night, with three 9.9s from Stevens, Lee and Aria Brusch. The Tigers headed to the floor with a sizable lead, and the crowd right back into it with excitement surrounding another floor routine from Derrian Gobourne.
While Gobourne was the main event once again, one of the big winners on the floor for AUburn was Sophia Groth, who bounced back from her 9.3 last week with a 9.825 during tonight's meet. This was only the second time the sophomore competed on the floor this season.
Following Groth, Stevens hit a career-high 9.925 on floor and then Gobourne was up once again.
The Queen of Auburn gymnastics delivered another stellar performance, anchoring the evening with a 9.975 and capping off a successful evening for the Tigers.
Notably absent from the floor rotation was Suni Lee, who was resting ahead of the Alabama meet.
Chloe Negrete competed in three events for the Wolfpack, scoring a 9.9 on bars and earning a share of that event title in the loss. Emily Shephard was NC State's lone competition in the all-around, finishing the night with a score of 39.250.
No. 5 Auburn will go on the road next week for the Iron Bowl of gymnastics as the Tigers head to Tuscaloosa and take on No. 13 Alabama. The meet will begin at 6:30 p.m. CST live on the SEC Network.
