Hudson and Gladieux's Back-to-Back Floor Routines Punctuate Strong Event Showing

The two Crimson Tide veterans closed out the afternoon strong for their team.

Will Miller | Apr 4, 2025

Alabama gymnast Lilly Hudson. / Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Consistency is a theme for the Alabama gymnastics team in the postseason. The Crimson Tide gets to compete at home since Tuscaloosa is a regional host, and advanced to Sunday's regional final with a second-place finish in round two's afternoon session on Friday.

Another thing consistent in 2025 has been senior Lilly Hudson and junior Gabby Gladieux standing out on floor. With magnified stakes compared to a regular-season Friday dual meet, the two recorded back-to-back scores of 9.950 to round out the quad meet against Iowa, No. 6 Cal and North Carolina.

"I think for us, it's just repeating what we do in practice. I think that's the most important thing, not focusing on any outcome," Gladieux, who anchors the event, said. "We had full trust in the lineup before us."

As a team, the No. 11 Crimson Tide scored a 197.275, with a 49.600 on floor. That was the highest floor score of any of the squads competing in the session and Alabama's second-highest floor mark this season. Hudson and Gladieux tied with Cal's emJae Frazier and Mya Lauzon for the event title. Both pairs of gymnasts were the last two to perform floor routines for their respective teams.

"Our lineup sets us up the best," Hudson said, adding that she and Gladieux complement one another. "We are a duo that builds off each other, so it's just fun to let our work show out there."

Head coach Ashley Johnston, a multi-time All-American as a competitor herself, was not content to let her two veteran specialists downplay the fan-favorite routines they put on display.

"I gotta celebrate these two, though. They make it sound so easy," Johnston said. "They're both competing incredibly difficult routines. They're both opening up their floor routines with E-passes. Lilly's pass, that's worth [a] four-tenths bonus. That's a really complicated pass.

"Gabby's full out that she does, I have never seen a gymnast do a bigger, more dynamic full out. They make it sound so simple, but they train that way... The way that they practice is at such a high level that it just translates into the most challenging, toughest moments."

Owing partly to the clutch routines from Gladieux and Hudson, the Crimson Tide's 2025 season will continue on Sunday. The regional final, also at Coleman Coliseum, is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.

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