The No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide gymnastics reigned victorious Saturday over No. 5 UCLA, No. 7 California, and No. 17 Auburn with a score of 197.125 at the Mean Girls Super 16 Gymnastics Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada. This score marks the program’s second-highest score for a season opener.
Head coach Ashley Johnston said she was proud of her team’s performance.
“We were really focused on winning the moment,” Johnston said. “Whatever the challenge was going to be, whatever the setback was going to be, whatever the distraction might be, just learning how to respond, overcome it and win the moment to be able to create momentum and carry that throughout the competition.”
The Crimson Tide gymnasts ended their floor rotation with a score of 49.25. Of the six gymnasts competing, all scored a 9.8 or higher. Sophomore Gabby Gladieux earned the highest score for the Crimson Tide with a 9.975, a career high, which earned her the floor title for the night.
As a freshman, Gladieux competed on the floor in all 13 of the Crimson Tide’s meets and earned a 9.9 or higher 10 times. Gladieux scored a 9.95, her previous best, on the floor at the Metroplex Challenge as well as in the Norman Regional final.
For the vault rotation, the Crimson Tide ended with a score of 49.275. Graduate student Luisa Blanco and sophomore Karis German each earned a 9.9 for their performances on the vault apparatus. Blanco and German tied for third place on vault.
Now in her fifth season, Blanco has had a lot of success on the vault during her time at Alabama. In 2022, she earned a career best of 9.95 to win in the vault rotation at Elevate the Stage, and at the SEC championships.
On the uneven bars, the Crimson Tide earned a total of 49.525 points. Blanco earned a 9.95 on the uneven bars, tied for the highest score of the night on the apparatus.
The Crimson Tide earned 49.075 points on the balance beam. Senior Shania Adams earned a score of 9.9 on the balance beam. Adams shared the event title with Emily Lee from UCLA and Mya Lauzon from Cal.
For the Crimson Tide, Blanco was the only one to compete in the all-around category and finished in second place with a score of 39.55. It was a dominant start for the fifth-year gymnast, who has seen a lot of success in the all-around.
Last year, Blanco placed in the top 10 nationally for the all-around, and second at the SEC championships. In 2021, Blanco was the SEC champion in the all-around, vault, balance beam and uneven bars. This feat made her the fifth gymnast of all time and the second Alabama gymnast to win four titles in one meet.
“There was a lot of high moments and also some areas that we need to tweak and improve, but that’s to be expected at the first meet of the season,” Johnston said. “We’ll take what we learned and continue to improve and work as we move through the coming weeks.”
In total the Alabama gymnasts earned seven scores of 9.9 or higher, including freshman Chloe LaCoursiere’s score of 9.9 on bars. Along with LaCoursiere, freshman Jamison Sears also competed and earned a 9.85 on her vault debut. LaCoursiere earned a 9.775 on her vault debut as well.
The Alabama Crimson Tide gymnasts will be back in action at home Friday at 6 p.m. against Missouri for their home opener.
“We can’t wait to be back in our home arena in front of our crowd and fans,” Johnston said. “We’re here to play gymnastics. We’re here to go big, and we’re just so thankful for everybody’s support.”
