A.J. Mills had a week to forget at the McWhorter Center.

For three days, 12 hours total, the senior was “off,” coach Jeff Thompson said. Everything for the all-around competitor just wasn’t clicking like it had been the previous weeks, or even the past few years.

That’s why the always-quotable Thompson was left almost answerless after Mills’ performance Friday night at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Mills tallied a career-best 39.525 in the all-around to lead No. 6 Auburn past No. 7 Arkansas, 196.175-195.4, in a testy, high-tension meet before 3,118 fans.

Thompson called it “one of the most awesome performances I’ve ever seen from an individual.”

“Also,” Thompson said, “it means that your practice really doesn’t mean anything.”

Mills hit a meet-high 9.9 on the vault to open the night, scored second-best with a 9.85 on the uneven bars, picked up another 9.85 on the beam and notched a career-best 9.925 on the floor, which all but wrapped up Auburn’s fourth win of the season.

Her floor exercise tally, which was instantly matched by fellow senior Lindsey Puckett, was announced as tying the all-time team record.

“I was able to calm my nerves a lot better than I have in previous meets,” Mills said. “This was what I’ve been doing in practice, so I just did what I was doing in practice.”

But wasn’t everything going wrong in practice?

“We’ve just been working really hard on putting ourselves in a meet setting and just doing all the routines day in and day out,” she said. “That was building our confidence a lot.”

Auburn’s confidence was tested early in the meet, as it matched a season-low on the vault with a 48.925. As the lower-than-average scores added up, assistant coach Rachelle Thompson angrily stormed to the head referee’s table for an explanation.

She wasn’t the only side looking for answers, as the tight officiating held for both sides throughout the meet.

“So far this year, when they’ve performed a certain way, they’re used to getting certain scores,” Jeff Thompson said. “Tonight, the scores were a little bit lower, which is frustrating when you know, for the last four weeks, that got a 9.8 and tonight it got a 9.7.

“They decided they were just going to take everything.”

Auburn instantly rebounded with a 49.275 on the uneven bars — the second-best in team history — which gave it a lead it would not relinquish.

The lead wasn’t exactly cozy, though, as the teams headed into the final event because Auburn counted its first fall of the season on the beam. Krissy Voss needed to use hands for support on the final dismount, while Rachel Inniss landed on her feet off the beam in the middle of her routine.

“I’m glad we got it over with,” Thompson said. “It’s like the guy that never missed a free throw all season and he gets to the finals of the SEC Championship and he’s got to make the free throw to win the game. You don’t want that kind of pressure on you down the road.”

| 737-2561