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    No. 17 Auburn Gymnastics Treks to No. 33 Maryland for Four-Way Meet Tigers will also take on No. 56 George Washington and No. 62 Yale
    Lauren Brzostowski

    Lauren Brzostowski

    March 17, 2010

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    AUBURN- The No. 17 Auburn gymnastics team (3-6, 2-4) will travel to College Park, Md., for the first time in program history, and its first four-way meet of the season Saturday, March 20 at 3 p.m. CT from Comcast Center Pavilion on the campus of the University of Maryland.

    "We're looking forward to going to Maryland and focusing on us," said head coach Jeff Thompson. "I think last week at Ohio State we focused too much on the scores, trying to win and trying not to lose. We need to get back to focusing on the process of competing."

    Saturday's meet is the fourth all-time meeting between the Tigers and Terps, with Maryland holding a 3-1 advantage. The last time the two teams met was on Feb. 14, 1998, at the West Virginia Invite, where Maryland defeated the Tigers 190.725-190.025 under former head coach Robert Dillard. The Tiger's lone victory against Maryland came on March 1, 1991 in West Virginia, 187.550-183.650. Current head coach Jeff Thompson has never faced Maryland.

    Maryland ranks as the No. 33 team in the nation, with a 194.340 RQS, and team high score of 195.650. In event-by-event rankings, the Terps rank 29th on vault (48.865), 36th on bars (48.485), 30th on beam (48.365) and 31st on floor (48.795). Maryland's highest-ranked gymnast is freshman Allison Kirkorian, who is 43rd in the nation with a 9.85 average on vault. Other gymnasts ranked highly are Abigail Adams, who is 57th on floor with a 9.835, and Brandi George, who is 66th on beam with a 9.795.

    Auburn is undefeated against George Washington in two tries. The first victory came on March 16, 1988, 182.050-171.200 in Auburn. The second win came on Jan. 30, 2004 in Lexington, Ky. 196.500-194.175, where the Tigers also scored the fourth-highest vault score in school history with a 49.350.

    George Washington is 56th in the GymInfo poll, with a 190.320 RQS and a high score of 192.375. GW holds event rankings of 48th on vault (48.200), 59th on bars (47.000), 56th on beam (47.405) and 50th floor (48.315). Leslie Delima will be the featured gymnast, as she is the team's highest-ranked gymnast on both bars (293rd, 9.535) and on beam (239th, 9.6).

    Auburn is a perfect 1-0 against Yale, which enters the meet as the No. 62 team in the nation with a 188-490. Auburn defeated the Bulldogs 196.000-191.300 on Feb. 21, 2004, at the New Hampshire Quad in Durham, N.H. The meet was one of the better meets in school history, as Auburn marked the fourth-highest team bars score with a 49.175 and fifth-highest floor score with a 49.350

    Yale is ranked 65th on vault (47.350), 62nd on beam (46.770), 59th on bars (46.905) and 58th on floor (47.855). Their top-rated gymnast is the 72nd floor performer in the nation in Bridgette Kivisto (9.82). Also, Allison Mak is ranked 136th on beam with a 9.730 average.

    Junior Rachel Inniss is Auburn's highest-ranked gymnast as she is No. 15 in the country on beam with a 9.865 average, while sophomore Allyson Sandusky is the other Auburn gymnast ranked in the top 30 at No. 27 on bars (9.844).

    Senior Krissy Voss ranks 37th in the all-around competition with a 39.055 average, while four Tiger beam competitors are ranked in the top 100. Inniss leads the way, and is followed by Sandusky (35th, 9.835), sophomore Kylie Shields (45th, 9.820), and Voss (84th, 9.780).

    In event-by-event rankings, Auburn is 11th on beam (48.995), 12th on bars (49.045), 18th on vault (49.030) and 28th on floor (48.860).

    "We have an opportunity this weekend to replace that 194 score, and at this point we know for sure that we're going to regional's. There is no pressure there like there is on other teams about making it, and we still have a chance to move up into the top 12 and be a two seed," said Thompson.

    Live stats and video for Saturday's meet can be accessed via AuburnTigers.com, while live updates can be found by following AU_Gymnastics on Twitter.

     

     

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