Feb. 1, 2007

Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

AUBURN -

The No. 10 Auburn gymnastics team (4-2, 1-1 SEC) will hit the road for the second week in a row as they travel to Gainesville to take on No. 1 Florida (7-0-1, 1-0-1 SEC) at 6 p.m. CT on Friday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.  The Tigers' 4-2 record is the best start since 2003, when the team started off with a 6-2 record.  The meet will feature two of the top beam teams in the country.  The Gators are ranked No. 1, while the Tigers are No. 3.  This marks the first of two meetings scheduled for this season, with the second coming at the SEC Championships.

"The goal will be for us to go down there and hit our routines, head coach Jeff Thompson said.  "If we do that, hopefully we can rise to the occasion, hit beam again at the end and pull off a big upset."

The Tigers are ranked third on beam with a blistering average of 49.025.  Junior Julie Dwyer is ranked No. 2 in the country with an average score of 9.894.  She also holds a No. 7 ranking nationally on beam with an average score of 39.362.  Her score of 39.625 against Kentucky is the third highest posted by a gymnast this season.  AU is also ranked 11th on vault, 17th on bars and 22nd on floor.

Last week, Auburn's team scores of 49.175 on beam and 49.150 on vault against Alabama not only were season highs for the Tigers, but the marks also vaulted the 2007 squad into the record books.  The beam score tied for ninth highest all-time.  The vault score tied for the eighth highest score in the program's history.

No. 1 Florida battled No. 2 and two-time defending national champion Georgia to a tie last Saturday afternoon in front of a record crowd in Athens.  The Gators and Bulldogs exchanged the lead throughout the meet, but the contest finally ended at 197.25 each.  For the meet, Florida turned in season-best team totals for final score (197.25), vault (49.40) and balance beam (49.30).  Not only are the Gators ranked first overall (196.869), but they also hold the highest ranking on balance beam (49.194).  UF is second on floor (49.225), second on bars (49.294) and seventh on vault (49.156).

Florida leads the all-time series with Auburn, 40-12.  The Gators have won the last five meetings, including both meetings in 2006.  Since the 1986 season, Auburn has not defeated Florida in Gainesville.  Auburn's last win over Florida was on Feb. 13, 2004, when the Tigers won 197.000-196.900 at home.  The Tigers' team score of 197.000 in their last win over Florida is a school record.