Like so many meets this season, Saturday night’s NCAA Gymnastics Championship came down to the final rotation. Unlike so many meets this season, Alabama’s hopes for its seventh national title came up just short, doomed by two falls on balance beam from the least likely sources: seniors Diandra Milliner and Kim Jacob.
“Diandra and Kim have been rocks for us,” Alabama coach Sarah Patterson said. “They’re both individual national champions, and really, they’re the reason that we have two national champions and we finished third last year. That is just the most uncharacteristic ending that I could have imagined.”
Patterson has been coaching Alabama gymnastics for her entire career, winning six national championships, tied for the most by any coach in any Alabama sport. Despite the ending, Patterson counts this group as one of the most outstanding in her career.
“I really felt like this team. They have given it their all, all season,” Patterson said. I’ve worked with a lot of women after 36 years, and this is one of the most amazing groups that I’ve been with.”
In fact, until that final rotation, Alabama’s seniors had been dominant, with Milliner recording a 9.95 on the floor exercise and Jacob scoring 9.95 in both floor and uneven bars. Senior Sarah DeMeo was also a star in an otherwise disappointing finale for one of Alabama’s most accomplished classes, overcoming a cut finger to record a career-best 39.65 in all-around competition.
“I give her credit,” Patterson said. “I just kept telling her to be mentally calm and she would be fine, and she was.”
DeMeo said she sympathizes with her classmates, and the two falls can’t take away from the legacy left by this class.
“Out of all four events, beam is the most-pressure event,” DeMeo said. “Anything can happen. Kim and Diandra, they are our rocks on beam. That’s why they’re our end books in the lineup. I was in their position last year. I know how they feel because I made that mistake last year at the national championship. That doesn’t mean anything, because it was a team performance. It could have happened on the first event or the last event. We’re still proud.”
Patterson said much of the disappointment the team feels is due to its prior achievement.
“I think part of it is, when they were freshman, they didn’t feel that pressure, because they came in and they won two in a row” Patterson said. “I think last year is the first time they felt the pressure. We’ve never had a senior class have that kind of record in terms of their overall finish. It’s difficult when you finish first, first, third and fourth in your career and you’re disappointed. But that’s the expectations that we have. This will take a little time to get over, but I told them it doesn’t take away from the people they are, what they’ve given to this University and my love for them.”
DeMeo agreed the loss Saturday night can’t take away from the impact the seniors have had on the gymnastics program. The senior All-American will be encouraged by freshmen like Katie Bailey, who recorded a 39.525 in all-around competition.
“It’s not just this one meet,” DeMeo said. “It’s a legacy that we’ve created. Our senior class has been such a special class from our freshman year here. The freshman class this year, they’re kind of filling our shoes, and I’m excited to see them grow. I’ll always be a fan of Alabama, and I’m excited to see what happens next year.”
