Auburn Defeats Alabama in Gymnastics For First Time since 1979

BY Walt Austin
College and Magnolia
12 February 2016

117 matches. Just shy of 37 years. That's how long it's been since Auburn Gymnastics defeated Alabama.

Tonight, in front of the second sellout crowd this season and only the third in Auburn Gymnastics history, the streak ended.

I can't do justice to what this means to those girls. I'll let Megan Walker do that for us as soon as she's able to write something. Here's what she had to say in her preview of the meet for tonight. This should at least give you a great idea of just what this victory means in terms of the direction of the program and how it will increase the national perception and prowess of the team.

It was such an intense match-up of two very excellent squads. They were giving their all throughout the whole night and it came down to the wire. Auburn needed a 9.925 on the final floor exercise to steal the victory. With something like that on the line there's no one better than Caitlyn Atkinson for Auburn. The senior pulled it out right on the money earning a 9.925, the All-Around Title, and the victory for Auburn Gymnastics. The final score was a razor thin margin of 197.275 - 197.250.

The trajectory Coach Graba has this team on is amazing. When a national powerhouse like Florida turns to one of his assistants to take over their program, you know he's doing things right. He took the team all the way to the Super 6 last year. Tonight he earned a win even bigger in the eyes of the Auburn Family. He ended just over three and a half decades worth of watching The Streak increase every year.

It's over. These ladies gave their heart and soul tonight to see it happen. WAR. DAMN. EAGLE.

They'll next be back in action at home on the 26th against Missouri. Let's make it two sellouts in a row!