No. 7 Alabama gymnastics (5-4, 2-3 SEC) looks to remain dominant inside of Coleman Coliseum in what will be its final home meet of the season Friday, March 4. Alabama will take on the Arkansas Gymbacks (2-6, 0-6) on the Crimson Tide’s senior night. 

Six seniors will be honored Friday night: Emily Gaskins, Griffin James, Sania Mitchell, Shallon Olsen, Kaylee Quinn and Lexi Graber.

Emotions look to be high for these six athletes and their fans on a night when Big Al’s birthday will also be celebrated during the meet. 

James said the whole week has been one of joy and high emotions during practices, even preceding the Friday meet. 

“We really just played a lot of games, we did each other’s floor routines, and it really almost made me emotional because I was like, I look forward to coming to practice every day to be with these girls, because it’s just the shine of my day,” James said.

Alabama head coach Dana Duckworth expressed her gratitude for this senior class, not only in their championship performances, but their character off the competition floor as well.  

“They’ve meant everything to this program and everything to me,” Duckworth said. “They will never be defined by what they’ve accomplished and the medals and the rankings. They will be defined by the women they’ve become and that’s very important to me on this senior night. ”

The Crimson Tide have been dominant at home all season, posting an unblemished 5-0 record. In a sport where a tenth of a point can determine a winner, the Crimson Tide have an average win margin at home of nearly 1.9 points.

The Gymbacks are coming off a 196.100-196.975 defeat by the Georgia Bulldogs. Arkansas seeks to earn its first road victory and first conference victory of the season. It also looks to end a four-game losing skid. 

Alabama comes off a 197.500-196.775 victory over the Missouri Tigers. 

The performance was led by all-around winner Luisa Blanco. Blanco scored a season-high 39.725 in the all-around, including meet highs on the vault, 9.925, and uneven bars, 9.950. 

First vault between Alabama and Arkansas is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT. The meet will be televised on SEC Network+.