‘Best meet yet’: Auburn took significant steps forward Friday at LSU. Here’s exactly how the Tigers improved
See insights and takeaways as Auburn sneaks out of Baton Rogue with its second-best score of the season — and the year’s best road score.
Marissa Neal found herself in the most unenviable position in college gymnastics.
She was up on the balance beam while the entire arena around her started to rumble.
A 10 had just been flashed for LSU on the other end of the competition floor, sending LSU fans into a frenzy. Neal was up on the most precarious apparatus at the most unlucky time. And, quite famously, college sports fans don’t get much rowdier than the ones at LSU.
But Neal nailed her triple series amid all the ruckus, got through her dismount with only a small hop, and closed the door on season-best beam rotation for the visiting Tigers to close Friday night’s meet, and Auburn snuck out of Baton Rouge with plenty to build on moving forward.
LSU won the head-to-head, as expected, but Auburn after another shaky start on bars, and a deflating pre-meet injury to Sophia Bell, actually got away with its second-best score of the entire season — and its best road score of the season. “This was our best, most cohesive meet yet,” Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said in a release from the team.
Auburn finished with a 196.825. Neal scored a 9.900 on beam to lift Auburn’s beam score to a 49.400 — just what the Tigers had been looking for on that apparatus. Bars was laborious again, but took a step forward in a key way, and vault also took a step forward in a way hidden by the scores.
Here’s how: