Razorbacks Defeated at Auburn
The No. 19 Arkansas Razorback gymnastics team competed against No. 15 Auburn Tigers in Alabama Friday, Feb. 8. They finished the night with several strong performances, but lost 196.325 to 195.650.
This is the second straight loss and the fourth loss of the season for the Razorbacks. Despite the loss, the night had a string of high-marks and season-high performances from multiple competitors.
“We’re happy that we are doing better, but we need to be doing even better than that,” co-head coach Mark Cook said. “Score those high 196s like we are capable.”
The meet started off with Arkansas posting a 49.050 on the bars just behind Auburn’s 49.30 on the vault. Arkansas took the bars title with junior Shelby Salmon earning the highest mark of the night as she had her season-high score of 9.900. Senior Amy Borsellino, junior Katherine Grable and freshman Erin Freier also had high marks on the bars.
With a team vault score of 49.200 in the second rotation, Arkansas pulled ahead of Auburn and their 48.850 on the bars.
Grable scored her season-high of 9.925 to tie for the vault title along with Auburn’s Caitlin Atkinson.
“Our bars and vault rotations were very good tonight,” Cook said. “We executed really well and Heather Elswick had one of her best vaults I have seen.”
Rotation three had Arkansas on the floor, and they came away with a 48.975 which tied the Hogs with Auburn as they scored a 49.075 on the beam.
Notable performances on the floor came from senior Kelci Lewis and Borsellino as they led the team with scores of 9.875.
Going into the fourth rotation tied with Auburn with an overall score of 147.225, Arkansas scored a 48.425 on the beam. Grable tied for the beam title with Auburn’s Megan Walker.
Just behind Grable on the beam was freshman teammate Heather Elswick with another season-high score of 9.900.
The Razorbacks’ final rotation wasn’t quite enough to outscore the night, and the victory went to Auburn as they scored a 49.100 on the floor in the final rotation.
This loss brought the season record to 1-4, with a win over Denver, and 0-3 in the Southeastern Conference.
“We had a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes tonight,” Cook said. “We were in a good position after our first three events, even after a couple of mistakes on the floor. Kelci Lewis had an excellent routine on the floor. We will learn from this meet and continue to build our momentum for the rest of the season.”
Next for the Razorbacks is a meet at Louisiana State University Friday, Feb. 15.
