Sophia Groth took home the all-around title for Auburn in the loss to another pack of Tigers.
The No. 5 Auburn Tigers (4-5, 2-3 SEC) fell 197.450-196.550 to the No. 16 Missouri Tigers (5-3, 2-3 SEC).
“We came in knowing we had to rest people. It’s that time of year plus we’re pretty beat up,” Auburn coach Jeff Graba said. “We wanted to give some new people some opportunities. I thought for the most part we handled ourselves pretty well. I thought we got better tonight.”
The first rotation saw Auburn on bars and Missouri on vault. Suni Lee, who only competed in two events, held the anchor role and led Auburn with a 9.950. Jocelyn Moore led Missouri with a perfect 10.
The second rotation had Auburn on vault and Missouri on bars. Derrian Gobourne anchored for Auburn and held the highest score for the Tigers with a 9.875. Helen Hu led Missouri with a 9.900.
The third rotation put Auburn on floor and Missouri on beam. Lee and Gobourne were both missing from Auburn's floor lineup, but Groth and Olivia Hollingsworth both picked up the slack, each earning a 9.900. Groth scored a season-high and Hollingsworth tied her career best. Alisa Sheremeta received Missouri's highest score of 9.875.
The final rotation moved Auburn to beam and Missouri to floor. Cassie Stevens earned a 9.900 which ended up being Auburn's high score. Sheremeta and Amari Celestine led Missouri by each earning a 9.950.
Groth won the all-around for Auburn with a total score of 39.275.
Auburn will be back in action on short rest this Friday night as the Tigers take on the Georgia Bulldogs (6-8, 1-4 SEC) at home in Neville Arena. The meet is set for 6:30 p.m. CT. It will be the penultimate home meet of the season for the Tigers.
