Early on, a home game against Florida just didn’t go in Alabama’s way. For the first time this season, the Crimson Tide faced a fall midway through the uneven bars lineup in a back-to-back fall event.
But something changed about halfway through the meeting after the hard pole rotation.
Head coach Ashley Johnston usually gathers the team after each rotation to deliver a message for the next rotation, but she said something different happened when the team assembled before the final event at the Coleman Coliseum Friday night.
“This time, they started talking and they started owning it,” Johnston said after the meeting. “They kind of came together and we said, ‘This is what we’re going to do. This is our house. We’re going to commit. We’re going to make it big. We’re going to be bold and bold.’ And those are the game-changing moments that you don’t always see from the outside, but I think those are the crucial things that will take this team to the next stage.”
Before a packed student section, the Crimson Tide finished with the highest balance beam and floor exercise scores of the season with four straight scores of 9.9 or better from Shania Adams, Gabby Gladieux, Lilly Hudson and Luisa Blanco to finish the meet floor.
In her first appearance at the event of the season, Adams tied a career-high on floor with a 9.9, and Blanco capped the night with the highest hit score of 9.95, shared with Florida’s Trinity Thomas. Alabama finished the tournament with a 49,425 on the floor, significantly higher than the 49,250 scored at the opening meeting.
Because Alabama was in danger of falling, it was the season’s lowest team total of 196.450. It wasn’t enough to beat the Florida Gators’ 197.325, and the Crimson Tide lost a match for the first time this season.
But Johnston is proud of how her team finished strongly after a shaky start on beam and vault.
“This team is resilient,” said Hudson. “We are strong and we just have so much more in the tank. It’s the beginning of the season. We get all the kinks out. And so I think it just shows how much we have in us and there’s a lot more of us to see.”
Scroll to Next
Alabama needed the strong finish because of what happened on the bars. Making her debut on the line, newcomer Lauren Little dropped to second in the lineup. Sophomore Jordyn Paradise rose right after and fell as well, resulting in a season low in each event of 48,675.
The Crimson Tide also had a few bumps to start the meeting at vault, with Adams, Little and Sania Mitchell making their first appearances in the vault lineup this season, and filling in for Makarri Doggette, Shallon Olsen and Blanco. Alabama struggled to find stuck landings and had three points off a 9.8 en route to a 49.100 at the event.
“Mistakes are inevitable,” said Gladieux. “And it’s not about the mistake you made. It’s how you react and I think this team did a great job with that.”
After the meeting, Johnston said Doggette rolled his ankle while training on Thursday and was being held at a mansion as a precaution. Olsen also had a minor, pinched injury that would not keep her out for long, but the coaching staff tried to keep an eye on her long-term health. Blanco attended all other events outside of the vault.
Despite the big gap in the bottom line, Johnston feels her team has shown they can compete with one of the best teams in the country. After scoring three perfect 10.0s over the past few weeks, the Gators weren’t as sharp on Friday night. If the Crimson Tide didn’t have to count the fall, it would have been a much more competitive meet.
“I think this meeting helped us get better,” Johnston said. “And I think we’re going to continue to see people step up and make some people healthy as we continue to develop throughout the season.”
Next up for the Crimson Tide is a street meet against Kentucky on Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m
See also:
Live Updates: #11 Alabama Gymnastics vs. #2 Florida
Nate Oats: Alabama G Nimari Burnett could return as soon as next week