The Extra Point: Alabama Gymnastics Gaining Momentum

After a season-best score of 197.875 last Friday, the No. 9 ranked Alabama gymnastics team will look to build upon their success when they face Georgia in their annual Power of Pink meet.

Author:
Clay Miller
Publish date:
Feb 11, 2022 4:00 PM EST

The Alabama gymnastics team is hitting their stride.

Beginning the year as the No. 6 ranked team in the country, the Crimson Tide had a challenging start to the season as their first two matches were both on the road against No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 2 Florida.

They performed admirably at both meets and came within less than a tenth of a point of defeating Florida but ultimately came up short in both matches. However, since those two meets, Alabama has shown consistent improvement in their scores and has now defeated three of their last four opponents.

Last Friday, in a tri-meet against North Carolina and Western Michigan, Alabama had a season-best score of 197.875. That matched the score the Crimson Tide used to win the 2021 SEC Championship and is the highest score under head coach Dana Duckworth.

"I think they did exactly what we wanted them to do tonight which was let's be at four events for four events as a team," Duckworth said after the meet. "And was it perfect? No. Is there still more to improve? Yes. But what a great step in our confidence moving forward."

Alabama was led by junior Luisa Blanco, the 2021 SEC Gymnast of the Year, who posted three scores 9.9 scores and a total score of 39.675 won the all-around title, her first of the season. The highlight of her night was season-high score of 9.950 on the uneven bars.

Across the board the Crimson Tide performed well and big contributions came from all over the roster. Makarri Doggette also had a score of 9.950 on the uneven bars and Shania Adams had the same score of 9.950 on the vault.

Coming off its best meet of the season and moving up to the No. 8 ranked team in the country, the Alabama gymnastics team will now turn their focus to tonight's matchup against Georgia.

The match is the 18th annual Power of Pink meet and will be broadcast on the SEC Network at 6:30 p.m. CT from Coleman Coliseum.

Check out the video at the top of the page where BamaCentral's Clay Miller and Katie Windham give an overview of the Alabama gymnastics team.