Auburn’s Suni Lee earns another SEC honor after 2 perfect-10s against Alabama

Auburn’s Suni Lee earns another SEC honor after 2 perfect-10s against Alabama

Suni Lee earned her third weekly honor this season from the SEC following her performance during Auburn’s dual meet against rival Alabama.

Lee was named the SEC Gymnast of the Week after posting a pair of perfect-10s and taking home the all-around title in Tuscaloosa on Friday night, the league announced Tuesday. Lee’s honor comes after she was previously recognized by the SEC for her performance in Auburn’s season opener in the Super 16 Challenge in Las Vegas, as well as her effort against Arkansas last month.

Lee’s latest honor comes after she tied her career high in the all-around during the Tigers’ meet against the Tide. Lee finished with a 39.825 all-around score to take home the individual crown and lead Auburn to a season-high 197.700 team score at Coleman Coliseum. Along with Auburn posting a season-high and an impressive road score, it marked the first time in program history that the Tigers finished with a team score of at least 197.000 in Tuscaloosa.

In matching her career-best all-around score, which she first set in last year’s meet against LSU, Lee moved into first nationally in all-around scoring average at 39.713.

Her performance at Coleman Coliseum was bookended by two perfect-10s. She opened the meet with a 10 on bars and closed things down with a 10 on the beam. They were the seventh and eighth perfect-10s during her Auburn career, as she set the program record for career 10s. It also marked the first time in her career that she finished with two 10s in a single meet, becoming the first gymnast in program history to achieve that feat.

Her 10 on bars to start the meet helped Auburn win the event head-to-head while tying the team’s season-high score of 49.400 on the apparatus. She capped the night with a 10 on the beam, which was her second of the season in that event. Her perfect score helped Auburn set a season-high with a 49.500 team total on beam.

Lee also posted a 9.9 on vault and a 9.925 on floor to round out her all-around performance.

Fifth-ranked Auburn returns to the floor Friday against ninth-ranked LSU at Neville Arena. The meet will start at 7:30 p.m. and air on SEC Network.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.