Suni Lee revealed on Monday in a Twitter post that an issue with her kidneys was the "non-gymnastics related health issue" that kept her out for the final four meets of Auburn's season.
The Auburn Tigers have been here before, even if the circumstances are a little different.
Auburn has already made the trip to Duluth for the SEC Championships, and as the Tigers prepare for their afternoon class with three of the top eight SEC teams, they will be without Suni Lee.
It was already going to be a big night for the No. 9 Auburn Tigers.
What was already going to be a difficult meet became even stranger as severe weather forced what would have been another Top-15 Friday night heights matchup for the Auburn Tigers to be postponed to Saturday at 11 a.m. CST. Auburn head coach Jeff Graba had already planned on resting Sunisa Lee on some floor, but with the added delay, senior day coming up and the postseason right around the corner, Graba decided to rest Lee for the entire meet.
Derrian Gobourne has done it again. The fifth-year senior has earned another weekly accolade, being named SEC Specialist of the Week after scoring a 9.9 on vault and a pair of 9.95s on floor and bars during the Tigers' win over Georgia last week.
“This year’s team has a lot of scoring potential, as much as we did last year,” said Auburn head coach Jeff Graba. “It’s just a matter of settling down and believing in ourselves and getting to the point where we expect it to happen a certain way.”
With Derrian Gobourne not competing on floor, and Suni Lee competing in just two of four events, it was a rest night for the Auburn Tigers as they took on Missouri.
On a team with an Olympian and the Queen of Auburn gymnastics and a season built around returning to the Final Four for the second appearance in program history, Cassie Stevens has become a star in her own right.
Jungle Village was already populated with hundreds of people in tents set up yesterday, but there was still a packed house on hand to witness another Top-10 matchup for Auburn gymnastics. The No. 15 Tigers set a season-high on the floor and bars on the way to a 197.750 team score, defeating No. 9 LSU.
After another historic night in the career of Suni Lee, the sophomore gymnast was named SEC Gymnast of the Week for the third time this season. It was a great night for Lee and her team, with the Auburn legend scoring two more perfect 10s and Auburn securing a season-high score. The Tigers could not get the win over their rivals, but it was a good step for Lee and the team.
Suni Lee was brilliant again, scoring two more 10s and adding another chapter to her legacy with the No. 11 Tigers scoring a season-high 197.700, but it was not enough as the No. 11 Crimson Tide wrapped the night up with season-high team scores on beam and floor, ultimately taking the win in Tuscaloosa.
When Jeff Graba arrived on the Plains, he wanted to rebuild the program in two ways: bring the crowds into the newly built Auburn Arena and take down Alabama. The Tigers have won three times at home but never on the road in Tuscaloosa.
Even with a non-conference week coming, and the Alabama and LSU meets on the horizon, No. 5 Auburn gymnastics is remaining focused on the task in front of it, as No. 20 NC State comes to town on Friday.
A Final Four banner was hung, Suni Lee won the all-around and Derrian Gobourne(along with her equally as exciting family) stole the show once again.
On the road once again, No. 5 Auburn gymnastics traveled to one of the toughest environments in all of college gymnastics, the Swamp. At the home of the No. 2 Gators, the Tigers led after the first rotation, but Florida pulled away behind three perfect 10s, winning the meet with a score of 197.825 to Auburn’s 197.200.
The No. 5 Auburn gymnastics team picked up right where they left off during the inaugural Super 16 in Vegas. Scoring a 197.350 at a quad meet that featured No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Michigan and No. 10 UCLA, the Tigers finished in third place behind Oklahoma(197.925) and Michigan(197.400).