SEC Gymnastics Week 6 Recap: Auburn and Florida step it up, Alabama and Missouri falter

Week 6 saw more up and down matchups for the SEC gymnastics teams. 

No. 14 Auburn pulled off the upset against rival No. 7 Alabama. No. 6 Florida saw the highest overall score across all SEC teams with a 197.850, followed closely by Auburn’s 197.725 and No. 3 LSU’s 197.625. No. 5 Kentucky’s score dropped by a little over two-tenths, but the Wildcats still pulled off another SEC victory. No. 12 Missouri and No. 13 Arkansas were the two lowest scoring SEC teams with a 196.600 and 196.050, respectively. 

Read on to learn more about Week 6’s highs and lows.

No. 3 LSU @ No. 19 Georgia

Final score: LSU: 197.625 – Georgia: 197.075

LSU

LSU secured its ninth win in a row over the Bulldogs this weekend. It was a great step in the right direction for the team, claiming their highest road score yet (197.625).

The Tigers had the edge over Georgia the whole competition, starting off bars with a 49.3. Leadoff Alexis Jeffrey and Konnor McClain both scored 9.875s to be part of a four-way tie for the bars title. LSU pushed their lead more on vault, scoring a 49.375. Haleigh Bryant anchored, scoring a 9.95 and claiming the vault title.  

The Tigers headed to floor, where Bryant scored a 9.95 and shared a portion of the floor title with Georgia’s Lily Smith. With the help of Aleah Finnegan and Kiya Johnson scoring 9.925s, LSU recorded its highest event score of the night with a 49.525. The Tigers headed into the last rotation with ease, with more than a half a point buffer.

Bryant claimed her first ever 10.0 on beam, making her the first LSU gymnast in history to score a perfect on every event – aka a Gym Slam. Gymnastics fans were in some discourse on the internet as to whether or not this routine was actually a 10.0 after she had a noticeable correction no her standing front tuck. Bryant claimed the all-around with a 39.75.

LSU will be back at home to host the Auburn Tigers on Friday.

Upcoming matchup: Friday, February 16 @ 8:30 p.m. ET | Auburn @ LSU – Live Stats | Video (ESPN)

Georgia

The Bulldogs took another loss against LSU, bringing their season record to 1-5 overall and 0-5 in the SEC. After scoring a season-high 197.3 last weekend, the GymDogs needed to keep their final score climbing to contend with the Tigers, but it dropped by a little over two-tenths to a 197.075. 

“The really important thing is to start finding those landings, and that will just add little tenths,” UGA head coach Courtney Kupets Carter said. “That just creates excitement and momentum to keep doing that throughout the rotations. We did not do that starting on vault.”

Georgia scratched a 49.05 on vault, with the highest score being Ady Wahl’s Yurchenko 1.5 in the anchor spot with a 9.85. The Bulldogs picked up some momentum on bars, scoring a 49.25. Holly Snyder and anchor Lily Smith both scored 9.875s to be part of a four-way tie for the bars title. 

The GymDogs continued to increase their scores on beam with a 49.3. Naya Howard made her season debut on the event in the leadoff spot and notched a 9.85. Smith, Jaydah Battle, and anchor JaFree Scott all scored 9.875s. Georgia reached a new season-high on floor with a 49.475. Smith claimed a share of the floor title after scoring a 9.95 in the anchor spot. 

The Bulldogs will take a break next weekend and return to SEC competition at Alabama on Friday, February 23.

No. 7 Alabama @ No. 14 Auburn

Final score: Auburn: 197.725 – Alabama: 197.050

Alabama

“We say that we want to be so prepared that we can walk into any arena knowing that it’s ours to defend as long as we just do our job, and tonight, we just gave away too many things,” Alabama head coach Ashley Johnston said. 

The Tide took a hard loss to Auburn this weekend. Gabby Gladieux competed in the all-around for the first time in her career, scoring a 39.175.

Alabama started on bars with an unusually low-scoring rotation (49.175). Cameron Machado was the only gymnast that scored above a 9.825, notching a 9.925 and claiming the bars title. The Tide got back into the meet on vault, scoring a season-high 49.45. Chloe LaCoursiere marked a career-high 9.95, claiming a share of the vault title with teammate Luisa Blanco.

On floor, the Tide’s highest score was a 9.925 from Lilly Hudson, who shared a portion of the title with Auburn’s Olivia Hollingsworth. Alabama’s lowest rotation score of the night was beam with a 49.075. The Tide was forced to keep Ella Burgess’s 9.625 following a fall from Rachel Rybicki. Blanco finished Alabama off strong in the anchor spot with a 9.925. 

Alabama will travel to Texas Woman’s University on Monday, February 19 to compete in a quad meet vs. TWU, Arizona, and Arkansas.  

Upcoming matchup: Monday, February 19 @ 3 p.m. ET | Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas @ Texas Woman’s

Auburn

The Tigers dominated Alabama in their rivalry matchup, scoring a season-high 197.725. This is Auburn’s largest margin of victory over Alabama in program history. Cassie Stevens won the all-around with a career-high 39.7.

Auburn kicked off the night with an electric vault performance, scoring a season-high 49.5. Olivia Hollingsworth scored a new career-best 9.9 on the apparatus. Julianne Huff and Stevens led the team with 9.925s. The Tigers then moved to bars, totaling their lowest score of the night, 49.225. Hollingsworth and Stevens carried the highest scores for the team with 9.9s.

A new season-high on beam (49.475) was reached in the third rotation after Stevens scored a career-high 9.975 for her near-perfect routine. She claimed the beam title for her performance. Leadoff Paige Zancan also scored a new career high on the event with a 9.9. The Tigers saw another season-high total on floor (49.525) with all counted scores on the event notching a 9.9 or above. Hollingsworth anchored, scoring a 9.925 and tying for the floor title. 

Auburn will head to Baton Rouge next Friday, February 16 to take on the LSU Tigers.

Upcoming matchup: Friday, February 16 @ 8:30 p.m. ET | Auburn @ LSU – Live Stats | Video (ESPN)

No. 12 Missouri @ No. 5 Kentucky

Final score: Kentucky: 197.350 – Missouri: 196.600

Missouri

The Tigers fell on the road to Kentucky after their final score dropped a little more than four-tenths from their 197.025 last weekend.

Missouri started on bars, scoring a 49.425 where Rayna Light scored a career-best 9.85. Mara Titarsolej tied for the bars title with a 9.95. The Tigers then headed to vault where their highest scores were 9.9s from Hannah Horton and Jocelyn Moore. 

Mizzou posted their highest rotation on floor with a 49.525. Moore and Amari Celestine carried the Tigers with a 9.975 and 9.95, respectively. Moore shared the floor title with Kentucky’s Raena Worley. The Tigers buckled under the pressure to get ahead on beam and only scored a 48.400. Missouri was forced to keep a 9.675 from Light and a 9.375 from Sienna Schreiber after Celestine scored an 8.9. The highest score for the Tigers on the event was Grace Anne Davis’s 9.85. 

Mizzou will compete vs. Florida, Illinois, and Lindenwood next weekend in the Mizzou to the Lou quad meet.

Upcoming matchup: Friday, February 16 @ 7 p.m. ET | Florida, Illinois, Lindenwood, Missouri (Mizzou to the Lou)

Kentucky

The Wildcats extended their win streak over Missouri this weekend, continuing to prove themselves as a top SEC contender. 

Beginning on vault, Kentucky proved why they are ranked No. 1 on the event, scoring a 49.500. Arianna Patterson clutched a 9.925 for her front pike half, and anchor Makenzie Wilson claimed the event title with a 9.95 for the same vault. The momentum continued on bars (49.300), where Raena Worley scored a 9.95 to share the event title with Missouri’s Mara Titarsolej. Sophomore Claire Stippich made her Kentucky gymnastics debut and scored a 9.8 on the apparatus. 

The Wildcats struggled on beam, scoring a 48.800 and ending their streak of scoring at least 49 on every event dating back to March 2022. Kentucky was forced to keep Patterson’s 9.6 and Isabella Magnelli’s 9.65 after Cecily Rizo scored a 9.125. Worley claimed the beam title with her 9.9 routine. 

Team 50 set a new program record on floor, scoring a 49.750, with no counted score being under a 9.925. Wilson and Magnelli set new career-bests with a 9.925 and 9.95, respectively. Worley claimed a portion of the floor title for her 9.975 in the anchor spot. She also claimed the all-around with a 39.725

The Wildcats will pause SEC competition next Friday, February 16 to host BYU.

Upcoming matchup: Friday, February 16 @ 7 p.m. ET | BYU @ Kentucky

No. 13 Arkansas @ No. 6 Florida

Final score: Florida: 197.850 – Arkansas: 196.050

Arkansas

The Gymbacks struggled through Friday’s meet at Florida, only beating the Gators on floor and not scoring a 9.9 or above until the third rotation. Arkansas scored a season-low 196.050 dropping lower than their 196.200 last weekend. 

The Razorbacks started on bars with a 49.175. Their highest score came from Jensen Scalzo with a 9.875. On vault, Arkansas scored a 49.025. Lauren Williams led the Gymbacks with a 9.85 in the anchor position. 

Floor saw the Razorbacks’ highest score (49.425) as they found their normal groove on the event. Williams scored the first 9.9 of the night for the team and was followed by Frankie Price scoring a 9.95 in the anchor spot and winning the floor title. 

The Gymbacks lost all hope of a comeback on beam, scoring a 48.425. In the leadoff spot, Kalyxta Gamiao claimed a three-way share of the beam title with a 9.925. Arkansas was forced to keep a 9.15 from Priscilla Park after an earlier fall in the lineup from Maddie Jones scored a 9.025.

The Razorbacks will compete twice next week. They will take on Cal, Oklahoma, and Washington at the Metroplex Challenge on Saturday, February 17. Then they will head to Texas Woman’s University to compete in a quad meet against TWU, Alabama, and Arizona on Monday, February 19.

Upcoming matchups:

• Saturday, February 17 @ 8:15 p.m. ET | Arkansas, California, Oklahoma, Washington (Metroplex Challenge)
• Monday, February 19 @ 3 p.m. ET | Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas @ Texas Woman’s

Florida

The Gators dominated Arkansas on Friday, scoring a new season-high 197.85. Florida marked season-high scores on vault (49.475) and bars (49.600) to start the meet off in style. 

Vault saw Danie Ferris score a career-best 9.95, and Leanne Wong scored a 9.925 in the anchor position. Anya Pilgrim scored a 9.95 on bars, marking a new career high on the event for the standout freshman. Wong scored her first 10.0 of the season with a stellar routine, moving her to No. 4 in the Gators all-time 10.0 leaderboard. Wong also claimed the all-around with a 39.725.

Victoria Nguyen and Wong led the Gators on beam scoring back-to-back 9.925s and joining in a three-way tie with Arkansas’ Kalyxta Gamiao. Floor was Florida’s lowest event, scoring a 49.325. Leadoff Lori Brubach had the highest score with a 9.9.

Florida will head to Missouri to compete in the Mizzou to the Lou quad meet vs. Missouri, Illinois, and Lindenwood on Friday, February 16.

Upcoming matchup: Friday, February 16 @ 7 p.m. ET | Florida, Illinois, Lindenwood, Missouri (Mizzou to the Lou)