Alabama gymnastics traveled to St. Charles, Missouri, on Friday for the Zou to the Lou quad meet. The meet was against No. 9 Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois.
The meet ended with Alabama in second place after scoring 196.675. Missouri was first with a score of 197.15, Illinois was third with a score of 196.225 and Iowa was fourth with a score of 195.
“I think the storyline of this team this year is that we’ve needed a little bit longer runway to take off and really fly,” head coach Ashley Johnston said. “I believe they have all the puzzle pieces to be absolutely great and one of the best in the country.”
This was Alabama’s first meet this season on a podium, which helps prepare the team for the postseason meets, which are all on podium and feature more than just one opponent.
Rotation 1
For the first rotation, Alabama was on the uneven bars, Missouri was on the vault, Illinois was on the balance beam and Iowa was on the floor. On the uneven bars, Alabama scored 49.225, which placed it second behind Iowa, who scored 49.275.
The highest score for the Crimson Tide was from freshman Ryan Fuller, who scored a 9.925. However, that was not enough to win the title; Missouri’s Amari Celestine and Illinois’ Chloe Cho shared the title after posting a 9.95.
Rotation 2
Since the meet was a quad meet, Alabama went in an unusual order through the rotations. For the second, Alabama was on the balance beam, where it posted a 48.55.
After two rotations, Alabama was in last place with 97.775. Iowa was in first with 98.325, Illinois was second with 98.2 and Missouri was in third with 98.125.
Senior Lilly Hudson and junior Gabby Gladieux each had a fall on the balance beam and posted a 9.275 and 9.225, respectively.
“I think every opportunity is a learning lesson,” Johnston said. “We talked about the fight and the grit that they showed in responding to having a couple of falls on beam. I think that was a tremendous takeaway, that this team invested in finishing strong and giving it everything.”
On the balance beam, sophomore Chloe LaCoursiere posted the highest score, a 9.875. The balance beam title went to Cho, who put up a 9.925.
Rotation 3
Alabama was on the floor for the third rotation and posted a 49.575 to propel itself back to second place.
Hudson scored a perfect 10 on the floor. This marked her third career 10, and her first on the floor. Right after Hudson’s 10, Gladieux posted a 9.95 to end the rotation.
“That was such a great moment,” Johnston said. “It was great to be able to see her respond to a tough position on beam and really just give it her all and do what she does every single day. To see that pay off was a great moment, a great momentum builder.”
Hudson shared the floor title with Missouri’s Kennedy Griffin, who also posted a 10.
Rotation 4
To end the meet, Alabama was on the vault and scored a 49.325 to cement the Crimson Tide in second place.
Hudson and senior Corinne Bunagan each posted a 9.9 to mark the highest score for Alabama. Those two also took the event title.
Alabama gymnastics will be back in action on Friday at Coleman Coliseum to take on the Auburn Tigers. The meet will start at 7:30 p.m. CT and can be streamed on the SEC Network.
