Led by rising freshman stars Keko Jong and Marissa Neal, and a powerful team-wide effort in the last two rotations, the Auburn gymnastics team topped Oregon State in a thriller on Friday. The head-to-head result came down to an inquiry in dramatic fashion. The Tigers jumped for joy after seeing the original result reversed on the scoreboard, sending Neville Arena into one last celebration.
Auburn won 197.025 to 196.975, topping the 197 mark for the first time this season.
Oregon State celebrated a win at first, 196.975-196.925 — but that was short-lived, because a scoring inquiry and a video review gave Auburn an additional tenth and reversed the result in favor of the Tigers.
Neal was flagged for stepping out of bounds during her floor routine in the final rotation, but Auburn was able to inquire. The result moved Neal’s score from a 9.775 to a 9.
875 — and raised Auburn’s team score to that 197.025. “She was close, but we were able to prove she didn’t go out,” Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said.
Neal said: “I knew I was close to stepping out, but I knew it was fine.” In the big picture, Auburns struggled through vault and much of the bars rotation, before the Tigers flipped the script and finished strong to earn its best score so far this season. Here’s how Auburn’s team scores on each apparatus compared to last week’s podium meet at home against Arkansas: Auburn’s total score went up from196.
700 to197.025. Auburn cross thed 197 mark for the first ti.