No. 17 Alabama gymnastics hosted the No. 11 Auburn Tigers on Friday night for the Iron Bowl of gymnastics and the annual Power of Pink meet. The meet ended with Auburn winning 197.75-197.35. This marked the first time Auburn beat Alabama gymnastics in Coleman Coliseum.
“This team has faced a lot of hard days,” head coach Ashley Johnston said. “I think these last two weeks they’ve really started believing and really started overcoming some of the challenges that they were up against.”
This was the 21st anniversary of the Power of Pink initiative started by former Alabama gymnastics coaches Sarah and David Patterson.
Rotation 1
Alabama started the meet on vault as the home team, and Auburn started on the uneven bars. At the end of the first rotation, Auburn was leading 49.425-48.925.
The Crimson Tide posted a lower-than-normal vault rotation after several gymnasts hopped or went sideways instead of sticking the landing.
In response to the Crimson Tide’s vault rotation, sophomore Chloe LaCoursiere talked about what the team needs to do to have consistent landings.
“It’s just a little change of the mental approach,” LaCoursiere said.
For the Crimson Tide, senior Lilly Hudson scored the highest with a 9.9. However, Auburn’s Katelyn Jong took the vault title after posting a 9.95.
Rotation 2
Alabama competed on the uneven bars, and Auburn competed on the vault for the second rotation. At the end of Rotation 2, halfway through the meet, Auburn led 98.925-98.375. Auburn posted a 49.5, and Alabama scored 49.45.
The highest uneven bars score for the Crimson Tide was 9.9, coming from Hudson, freshman Ryan Fuller and graduate student Shania Adams. Auburn’s Jong and Alex Irvine took the uneven bars title with a score of 9.925.
Rotation 3
For the third rotation, Alabama was on the balance beam and scored 49.375. On the floor, Auburn posted 49.45. This put Auburn in the lead 148.375-147.75.
On the balance beam, junior Gabby Gladieux posted a 9.925 as the highest score for the Crimson Tide. The balance beam title was shared between Gladieux and Auburn’s Paige Zancan.
Even after two good rotations, Alabama could not catch up to Auburn’s score. However, Hudson talked about how the team is close to fighting to get where it wants to be.
“I think it’s really blocking out the noise, and just keep going the way that we’re going,” Hudson said. “I think just keeping our heads down and working, getting a little bit better everywhere we can.”
Rotation 4
Heading into the final rotation on the floor, Coleman Coliseum was full of people dancing and gymnasts getting the student section on their feet.
Alabama posted a 49.6 on the floor, and Auburn scored a 49.375 on the balance beam.
Hudson and Gladieux each posted a 9.95 to tie as the Crimson Tide’s highest scorer. Gladieux completed a near-perfect routine: One judge gave her a 10, and the other gave her a 9.9.
“Gabby trains like that. She competes like that. Nobody’s ever surprised. She’s one of the best floor workers in the country,” Johnston said.
The floor title went to Hudson, Gladieux and Auburn’s Sophia Groth. The all-around title went to Hudson, who totaled 39.625.
Next Friday, the Crimson Tide will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas. The match will start at 6:30 p.m. CT and can be streamed on SEC Network.
