With Suni Lee sidelined, Auburn gymnastics falls in NCAA regional to end season
After making it to the Final Four last year, Auburn gymnastics had its 2023 season end in the semifinals of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional in UCLA's Pauley Pavilion on Thursday.
The Tigers, who were without Suni Lee for the fourth straight meet, scored a season-worst 195.9 and placed last in a field that featured Utah, Southern Utah and Washington. In order to move on to the Sweet 16, Auburn needed a top-two finish.
Things began well for the Tigers, who were in second place with a score of 98.575 through two rotations, .3 points behind the Utes. But in the third rotation, the first three Auburn gymnasts to participate on bars fell. Auburn earned a season-worst 48.15 in the event and dropped to the bottom of the meet's standings.
Now, attention shifts toward the possibility of a couple of Tigers − Derrian Gobourne on floor and Cassie Stevens on bars − potentially qualifying for nationals as individuals. The individual qualifiers won't be known until other regionals across the country are completed.
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Lee, who announced prior to the start of the season that this was here last year competing for the Tigers, was first absent for Auburn's meet versus Kentucky on March 4. Coach Jeff Graba released a statement the morning of the contest, citing "schedule changes" for her being unavailable. But ahead of the regular-season finale against Penn State on March 10, both Graba and Lee released statements explaining the 2020 Olympic gold medalist was going through "a non-gymnastics health issue that has impaired her ability to train."
She wasn't able to compete in the SEC Championship in Duluth, Georgia, on March 18 for the same reason. Although she didn't participate, she was present in Neville Arena against the Nittany Lions and made the trips to Lexington and Duluth.
She was also in attendance Thursday, cheering on her teammates in Los Angeles.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Suni Lee: Auburn gymnastics star out, Tigers fall in NCAA regional
