It’s not exactly back to square one for the Alabama gymnastics team, but it hasn’t been in this position in three years.
After winning back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012, the Crimson Tide ran into the buzzsaw that was Florida Gators, which counted a fall but still took home the 2013 NCAA title. On Friday, No. 2 Alabama will begin what it hopes is a climb back to the top of the mountain when it hosts Missouri in its home opener.
“You have to go into every year with a clean slate and not worry about what happened,” junior Kayla Williams said. “It was hard, but once we left L.A., we tried to leave everything that happened there so we could come back here and start fresh for this year. I feel like that’s something we did a really good job of.
“Sometimes coming off a national championship, it’s not as easy. But I feel like we’ve done a really good job of that. Whole new team, whole new atmosphere, hopefully that shows.”
There is a still a certain pedigree that Alabama carries in women’s gymnastics, and the six-time champion Crimson Tide expects nothing less than everyone’s best in competition. While Alabama isn’t the reigning champion for the first time in three years, the team still says it believes there will be a target on its back.
“Whenever anybody goes up against us, they’re looking at – this is one of the teams that’s going to contend for the national championship,” Alabama coach Sarah Patterson said. “Nobody really takes into consideration whether we have six freshmen or two. They don’t seem to care, they just know that you’re going to [be] prepared by the end. And to me, I use it as a compliment. I think, we have six freshmen, but I think our peers know that by the end we’ll find a way to mix the puzzle and get it put in place the way it needs to be.”
A quick glance at the roster shows a lot of new faces that could make this look like a brand new team. The Crimson Tide welcomed six freshmen, a handful of whom could contribute immediately, said Patterson.
Katie Bailey, Mary Lillian Sanders, Amanda Jeeter and Dominique Pegg all joined the team in the fall, while Aja Sims and Keely McNeer, two former members of the U.S.A. gymnastics team, graduated high school a semester early, enrolled in January and will be able to compete right away.
“I think it brings a new sense of energy when they pop in,” Patterson said. “I think they’re very talented. I think Aja [Sims], because she’s been here a little bit longer and was a little bit ahead of the game in training, I think she’s going to step right in and be out there some. I think it’s just a little lift when they come in in January.”
Patterson also went out of her way to mention Bailey, saying she could be a candidate to regularly go all-around as a freshman, much like Lauren Beers last year.
“She’s powerful. She has a great sense of awareness,” Patterson said of Bailey. “She comes very close to or can just stick a vault already. She’s a tremendous competitor. … She could have the most difficult tumbling on the team.”
There are certainly big holes to fill – four graduating seniors played key roles on the 2013 squad. All-American Marissa Gutierrez regularly went three routines before an ankle injury ended her season. Becca Alexin was a regular on the uneven bars, while All-Americans Ashley Sledge and Ashley Priess carried a heavy workload for last year’s team.
In their place, Patterson said the team voted senior Kim Jacob, junior Kayla Williams and junior Kaitlin Clark to Alabama’s leadership team.
“It’s an honor for me to be a leader on this team,” said Jacob, who competed in the all-around seven times last season. “I feel like we have a bunch of strong leaders on the team, everyone in their own way. But just to get to be voted by my teammates, it’s a real honor.”
Patterson said she doesn’t necessarily want her team flying right out of the gate. She frequently talks about peaking at the right time, meaning a gradual climb throughout the season, where the team is at its best at the NCAAs. Unlike in sports like football or basketball, a team’s head-to-head record doesn’t necessarily determine a team’s postseason fate in gymnastics.
“First of all, I want us to do a great job. I want us to walk out there and be confident,” Patterson said of the meet Friday. “And whatever skills, or whoever we put out in the lineup, I want them to hit and have a sense of confidence to start the season off.
“We’re at home. I want it to be a great show. I want our fans to see a level of gymnastics – big skills, exciting, fun – so that they’ll want to come back. And I would like to set the tone for the rest of the country: ‘Wow, this is going to be a good Alabama team.’ And us getting that sense of confidence by having a good first meet does a lot for us.”
