No. 7 Kentucky gymnastics hosted No. 11 Auburn in Historic Memorial Coliseum for Excite Night and claimed the win in front of a sold out crowd, 197.050-196.600.
Skylar Killough-Wilhelm took two wins of the night, winning her second overall victory. She also won in the bars event with a 9.950, which is now her season best. Killough-Wilhelm now has five event titles with the Wildcats.
Senior Makenzie Wilson took the win for the Cats in the vault event with a 9.925 and Hailey Davis’ rockstar performance on floor landed her a 9.925 and the event win
The first rotation for the Cats was vault. Sophomore Cecily Rizo led off for the Cats landing a 9.800. Ryan Noonan and Killough-Wilhelm both scored in the 9.700s, Isabella Magnelli tallied a 9.825, freshman Anna Flynn Cashion as an exhibition had a 9.525 and Wilson’s score of 9.925 won. The Cats wrapped up this rotation tallying a total of 49.075, starting off behind Auburn.
The second rotation for the Cats was the uneven bars, where they put up some impressive numbers. Transfer Isabella Rivelli started things off for the Cats landing a 9.875. Jillian Procasky scored a 9.875 and both Noonan and Delaynee Rodriguez scored in the 9.800s as well. Davis landed a 9.750 and Killough-Wilhelm scored her winning 9.950. Annie Riegert performed in the exhibition, which resulted with a score of 6.100 due to a fall. The total score for the bars was 49.300, giving the Cats the lead against Auburn.
The third rotation was beam, where the Cats tallied a total of 49.375 points. This was their highest score of the night. The “Beam Queen” Magnelli took the top score for the Cats with a 9.925. Creslyn Brose, Sharon Lee, Rodriguez and Killough-Wilhelm all put up scores in the 9.800s. Freshman Chesney Bennett landed a 9.750 and Abby Bednar on exhibition scored a 9.400.
The final rotation for Kentucky was floor, where it performed a total score of 49.300, securing the win for the meet. Davis’ winning score of 9.925 led the way, followed by Brose’s comeback to the event also scoring in the 9.900s. Killough-Wilhelm, Rizo and Rodriguez tallied up numbers in the 9.800s. Magnelli and Cashion wrapped it up with 9.775s each.
The Cats return back to action Friday, Feb. 7, traveling to Oklahoma to take on the No. 1 Sooners at 8:30 p.m.