Alabama Gymnastics Soars to Win over Missouri in SEC Opener

The Crimson Tide posted a 197+ for the second straight meet to top the Tigers in the home opener at Coleman Coliseum.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama Gymnastics only led by five hundredths of a point heading into the final rotation of its home opener against Missouri. Then Coleman Coliseum floor magic happened.

Behind an energetic crowd the No. 4 Crimson Tide soared to a big score on floor to pull ahead of the No. 3 Tigers on the way to a 197.225-196.475 victory in the SEC opener.

"They showed great resilience, great toughness and were able to press the reset button to create and build momentum," Alabama head coach Ashley Johnston said after the meet. "And I think because of that, they were really able to take off near the end, especially on that floor rotation build off of one another and end the meet on a really high note. 

Fifth-year Ella Burgess started off the floor rotation with a 9.875 on floor exercise and the momentum continued from there capped by a 9.9 from sophomore Gabby Gladieux. Overall, Alabama posted a 49.450 on floor to close out the night. 

"There's nothing like it," Gladieux said about finishing on floor. "To look up and see thousands of people in the stands, and more importantly, my teammates on the sidelines– it gives you that energy even when you're tired."

For the second week in a row, Alabama's best event of the night was the uneven bars. The Crimson Tide scored a 49.550 on bars highlighted by a 9.95 from Luisa Blanco and 9.925 from freshman. Chloe LaCoursiere. 

Alabama continued its momentum from the opening week, scoring at least a 197 for the second week in a row.

"We're just getting started," Gladieux said. "These past two meets, I think they speak to the potential of this team, and we're not even close to being done yet."

Next up, Alabama will host Arkansas on Jan. 19 inside Coleman Coliseum at 6:30 p.m.

How it happened...

Final Score: Alabama 197.175, Missouri 196.475

Rotation 4: (Alabama floor exercise, Missouri balance beam)

Alabama floor lineup:

1. Ella Burgess- She might see some small deductions in her leap series, but her tumbling passes were solid- 9.875

2. Cam Machado- My view was partially obstructed, so I couldn't tell whether or not she fell out of her triple wolf turns. Her tumbling passes were clean- 9.875

3. Shania Adams- I didn't spot any major mistakes in Adams' routine. There appears to be some sort of scoring discrepancies from the judges,  who have changed the start value of her routine to 9.9, which means she probably missed an element in her routine- 9.75

4. Lilly Hudson- Hudson brings the Coleman crowd to its feet with her Alabama-themed music. Should be a big score for Hudson- 9.875

5. Luisa Blanco- Wasn't the cleanest floor routine I've ever seen from Blanco, but was Alabama's best floor routine so far- 9.925

6. Gabby Gladieux- Gladieux has the biggest tumbling on the team. Her powerhouse routine puts the exclamation point on the night- 9.9

Alabama floor total: 49.450

Score after Rotation 3: Alabama 147.725, Missouri 147.675)

• Alabama didn't have many clean routines on beam, while Missouri was pretty strong on floor overall. It should be an exciting final rotation after the Tigers have cut into the Tide's margin. 

Rotation 3: (Alabama balance beam-49.050, Missouri floor exercise-49.250)

Alabama beam lineup:

1. Gabby Gladieux- I didn't spot any major mistakes in her routine. Her chest was down on the dismount, but she stuck the landing- 9.75 

2. Rachel Rybicki- Balance check on her first turn and connection series, but huge bounce back routine for Rybicki after falling off the beam in the first meet- 9.8

3. Ella Burgess- A couple of slight balance checks throughout, but she finishes the routine with a stuck landing on her back tuck dismount- 9.875

4. Shania Adams- She had a pretty sizable balance check about midway through and took a step on the landing- 9.7

5. Lilly Hudson- She had to lift her leg off the beam on a skill, so that will be a pretty big deduction. She did manage to stay on the beam though, so no matter what, Alabama will not have to count a fall on beam tonight- 9.7

6. Luisa Blanco- Beautiful routine from Blanco to finish out the beam rotation. Should be Alabama's highest score- 9.925

Alabama beam total: 49.050

Score after Rotation 2: Alabama 98.675, Missouri 98.325

• Both teams had strong second rotations– some really big vaults from Missouri and stuck landing after stuck landing on bars for Alabama

Rotation 2: (Alabama bars 49.550, Missouri vault- 49.375)

Alabama bars lineup: 

1. Chloe LaCoursiere- She was maybe a little short on one of her handstands, but other than that, a pretty perfect routine to lead off Alabama's bars rotation- 9.925

2. Natalia Pawlak- May have had some nerves for her first routine inside Coleman because she overextended on her first handstand and took a step back on her dismount, but no major mistakes overall- 9.775

3. Cam Machado- She was short on a few of her handstands, but capped the routine with a stuck dismount- 9.9

4. Mati Waligora- Slightly short on her final handstand, but a beautiful routine from Waligora. Ended with a stuck landing on her double layout dismount- 9.875

5. Makarri Doggette- She was also a little short on her final handstand, but another stuck dismount for Alabama on bars- 9.9

6. Luisa Blanco- Another beautiful routine and stuck landing to cap Alabama's bar rotation-  9.95

Alabama uneven bars total: 49.550

Score after Rotation 1: Alabama 49.125, Missouri 48.950

• Not a super clean start for either team. The only Alabama gymnast that came close to sticking her vault was Karis German. 

• Alabama scored higher on vault last week. 

First Rotation (Alabama vault-49.125), Missouri uneven bars- 48.950)

Alabama vault lineup:

1. Jamison Sears- Big Yurchenko from Sears distance wise, but she had a hop and big step back on the landing- 9.75

2. Karis German- German sticks the landing, but lands with her chest down on the Yurchenko full- 9.825

3. Lilly Hudson- Hop back on her landing, but solid Yurchenko 1.5 for Hudson- 9.825

4. Chloe LaCoursiere- Big step forward on her landing. She did perform a 1.5, so her vault will start at a 10.0 start value. So far, Alabama has had trouble finding their landings on vault- 9.825

5. Luisa Blanco- Another step forward on the landing on her Yurchenko 1.5- 9.875

6. Gabby Gladieux- Big vault from Gladieux with a slight hop on the landing. She only did a Yurchenko full, which is a 9.95 start value vualt. - 9.775

Alabama vault total: 49.125

Pre-Meet

• Tonight's marketing promotion is Big Al's birthday party. Atlanta Braves mascot Blooper is in the house for the celebration. 

• Warmup note: Alabama has got some incredible floor music this year that is sure to get the home crowd going.

• Fifth-year Mati Waligora is participating in warmups after not competing last week. Junior Jordyn Paradise is not dressed in the same warmup gear as the rest of the Alabama gymnasts and has a big brace on her left leg. 

Pre-Meet Notes 

Courtesy of Alabama Athletics

• Alabama is led by Ashley Johnston, in her second season as UA’s head coach, while Shannon Welker is in his 11th year with Missouri
  
• Both Alabama and Missouri are 3-0 on the season, with UA winning their Super 16 session via a 197.125 score, and Missouri taking home quad meet of their own, the Mizzou Invitational, via a 197.150 score
  • The Crimson Tide and the Tigers competed against each other last season in the regular season. Missouri hosted Alabama on March 3, 2023, with the Tigers edging the Tide, 197.075 - 196.750
  
• Alabama and Missouri last competed against each other in Coleman Coliseum on Feb. 25, 2022, with UA taking home a 197.500 - 196.775 win