Crimson Tide Top 5: Gymnastics

Throughout the month of June, Bama Central writers will pick the best five players in each Alabama sport, and for each position group in football.

In Premier League football, there are six clubs that have earned the distinction of being a part of "The Big Six." Those are the teams with the most prestige, money and power. 

And if there were a "Big Six" for collegiate gymnastics, Alabama would surely be a part of it. 

The program began in 1972 as a club team but didn't become an official sanctioned sport on campus until 1975. Since then, the Crimson Tide has won six NCAA championships, 10 Southeastern Conference Championships and an NCAA-record 32 regional championships. 

All of that success but two of those SEC titles came under Sarah Patterson, who led Alabama from 1978 to 2014. Patterson turned Alabama into a perennial contender and produced a total of 66 gymnasts that have totaled 302 All-American honors. 

While winning six NCAA team championships under her leadership, Alabama has also taken home 25 individual NCAA championships, which means making a top five list incredibly difficult. 

Since Patterson stepped down in 2015, Dana Duckworth has taken over and the accolades for the Crimson Tide have continued with two more SEC titles, three Super Six appearances and three NCAA regional championships. 

5. Kim Jacob

Jacob's freshman and sophomore seasons saw Alabama win the 2011 and 2012 NCAA team championships. She also played a pivotal role in the 2011 and 2014 SEC championships. During her senior year in 2014, she claimed the all-around NCAA individual title.

In 2014, Jacob became the third gymnast ever and first in Alabama history to win the Honda Cup, which is awarded to the best collegiate woman-athlete every year.

Jacob is an 11-time All-American and her four first-team honors in 2014 were the most of any gymnast at the national championships. She was named SEC Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year three times. 

4. Kayla Hoffman 

Hoffman was a huge reason that Alabama took home the 2011 NCAA team championship and 2011 SEC championship. During that season, the Mobile, Ala. product won the Honda Award, which honors the best gymnast nationally, SEC Gymnast of the Year, SEC Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the NCAA Top VIII Award, which is given to the top eight athletes in all of college sports regardless of gender or division. 

She won the 2011 SEC individual title in vault and was the runner-up for the 2011 NCAA all-around individual championship.

Hoffman is also a five-time All-American, four-time All-SEC honoree and seven-time NCAA Regional champion.

3. Jeana Rice

Rice was one of the Crimson Tide's most prolific gymnasts of the early 2000's, taking home 18 All-American honors, which at the time was an NCAA record. During her time at the Capstone, she won six individual SEC championships and three NCAA Regional championships. 

She was a key piece of Alabama's 2002 NCAA team championship and 2003 SEC championship. Rice became the fifth Crimson Tide gymnast to win SEC Female Athlete of the Year in 2003-2004, which is voted on by the conference's athletic directors. 

Rice capped off her Alabama career by winning the 2004 NCAA all-around individual championship. 

2. Andreé Pickens

Pickens accomplished a lot of firsts during her time in Tuscaloosa. 

She was named SEC Gymnast of the Year three straight seasons and became the first athlete to win the award multiple times. She was also the first to win at least four individual SEC titles in one single postseason, capturing the all-around, vault, bars and balance beam championships in 2002. 

As a 14-time All-American, Pickens was the only gymnast to earn five All-American honors in two different seasons (1999 and 2002). She is a two-time NCAA champion, once in the balance beam in 1999 and once in the uneven bars in 2002. 

She was voted a captain of Alabama's 2002 NCAA team championship squad.

1. Ashley Miles

Miles was never a part of a team national championship at Alabama but her individual success speaks for itself. She won 20 individual postseason titles including four NCAA championships, six SEC championships and 10 NCAA Regional championships. 

She dominated the SEC floor-exercise by winning the event four years in a row to become the first gymnast in the history of the conference to do so. 

Her NCAA championships in 2003, 2004 and 2006 came in the vault, while her 2004 title came in the floor exercise. Miles was named Collegiate Gymnast of the Year in 2006. 

As a 12-time All-American, Miles recorded seven 10.0's during her career.

The Crimson Tide Top 5 will appear every day during the month of June on BamaCentral.

Crimson Tide Top 5: Introduction

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