No. 7 Alabama scored second in the SEC championships in New Orleans, Louisiana, behind No. 3 LSU, who scored 198.075. Alabama posted a score of 197.75. No. 6 Kentucky placed third, No. 4 Florida placed fourth, Missouri placed fifth, Arkansas placed sixth, Auburn placed seventh, and Georgia placed eighth.
“I am so incredibly proud of our team tonight,” Alabama head coach Ashley Johnston said. “We beat two teams that were ranked ahead of us coming into tonight and I’m just really proud of the effort all together.”
This second-place finish marks the program’s 25th consecutive championship with a top three finish. Alabama gymnastics is also the only team that has never finished outside the top four spots in the history of the competition.
As the fourth seed, Alabama gymnastics competed in the second session along with LSU, Florida and Kentucky.
To start the competition night out, Alabama was on the floor exercise. On the floor exercise, the Crimson Tide posted a 49.475 and ended the first rotation tied for first with LSU. The highest score for the Crimson Tide was a 9.9, and four Alabama gymnasts met that mark: junior Lilly Hudson, freshman Jamison Sears, graduate student Luisa Blanco and sophomore Gabby Gladieux.
The floor SEC champions were Kentucky’s Raena Worley and LSU’s KJ Johnson and Kiya Johnson. Each gymnast posted a 9.975.
For the second rotation, Alabama competed on vault. The Crimson Tide was in third place following the second competition after posting a 49.3 on the vault. This brought Alabama’s total to 98.775. Kentucky and LSU were tied for first with a score of 98.925.
The highest score for Alabama on the vault was a 9.9. Blanco and junior Corinne Bunagan were the two Alabama gymnasts to hit the 9.9.
The vault SEC champion was LSU’s Haleigh Bryant, who posted a 9.975.
Alabama competed on the uneven bars for the third rotation and posted a 49.425 to bring its total score to 148.2. The highest score for the Crimson Tide came from freshman Chloe LaCoursiere and Blanco, each posting a 9.925. LaCoursiere, as the leadoff on the bars, was the first Crimson Tide gymnast of the night to score above a 9.9.
Before the meet, Johnston talked about the distractions that may have an impact on the competition.
“We talked as a group about keeping our mission greater than the distractions,” Johnston said. “It would have been easy to get off track tonight with the noise and how energetic the arena was, but I am just really proud of our group for staying locked in and for staying connected with each other.”
The uneven bars champions were LSU’s Ashley Cowan and Missouri’s Mara Titarsolej, with a score of 9.95.
For the fourth rotation, Alabama competed on the balance beam. The competition on the balance beam had been tough, with each team prior having one gymnast either fall or wobble during their routine. That did not continue on into Alabama’s beam rotation as the Crimson Tide posted a 49.3.
The highest score for the Crimson Tide came from Blanco, who posted a 9.95. The SEC champion on the balance beam was LSU’s Konnor McClain, who posted a perfect 10.
The all-around champion was Bryant, with a total of 39.8. Blanco was second in the all-around with a score of 39.675.
Up next for Alabama gymnastics is the NCAA regionals from April 4-6. The teams in the regionals will be determined on March 25.
“This really was a collective effort and a great confidence-builder as we head into the regional championships,” Johnston said.
