Alabama Gymnastics Headed to Nationals for Second Consecutive Season

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The Alabama gymnastics team had the same objective entering Sunday's NCAA regional final as it did on Friday: finish in the top two among four teams. The prize? A trip to nationals. The opponents were all national seeds: Florida, Cal and Oregon State.

Alabama scored a season-high 197.675 to finish in second, just behind regional champ Florida, which posted a 197.700. Nationals begin on April 17 in Fort Worth, Texas, and Ashley Johnston's squad will be there for the second straight year. Cal came in third, with a final score of 197.575.

"This has been a huge goal in front of us, and week after week, we have talked about never losing the hope or belief or confidence that this team can do it," Johnston said. "They continue to work relentlessly to figure out any and all ways to get better and find our edge."

The No. 11 Crimson Tide finished the first rotation in third place, bolstered on vault by a 9.900 from senior Corinne Bunagan (who stuck her landing) and two 9.850s from Jordyn Paradise and anchor Lilly Hudson. No. 6 Cal, which competed with Alabama in Friday's session, was in second, .200 ahead of the host team.

No. 3 national seed Florida logged four scores of 9.900 or higher on bars, and three 9.925s, which is of little surprise from one of the country's best bars teams. All three other squads were chasing the Gators after the night's first event.

Alabama answered the call on the uneven bars, with a 49.475 event score and a 9.950 from sophomore Chloe LaCoursiere. The event score tied for the high with No. 14 Oregon State, which had a nice rebound on floor capped off by Jade Carey's 9.950. The Crimson Tide closed the distance between itself and Cal by .175, placing itself just out of second entering the night's third event.

Cal had some strong landings during its stint on vault, but only one 9.900 courtesy of Madelyn Williams. Alabama had a trio of gymnasts concurrently reach or eclipse that mark, contributing to the Crimson Tide getting closer to the mark it needed to reach.

Fifth-year senior Shania Adams had a big part in that, closing out the bars lineup with a 9.925. Alabama took to the balance beam for its third event, while Florida had its turn on floor, Oregon State competed on vault and Cal was tasked with continuing an impressive overall quad meet on bars.

Florida star Leanne Wong got a 9.950 on floor to lead the Gators. The Crimson Tide strung together four straight routines on beam of 9.900 or more, with Adams anchoring to the tune of a 9.925 and junior Gabby Gladieux scoring a 9.950.

Despite Cal closing out bars with back-to-back 9.950s, Alabama's highest beam score of the season (49.500) pushed the Crimson Tide into second, 148.150-148.125. The crowd could sense how close it was going to be in the end. Coleman Coliseum got louder and louder as the meet went on.

"We were hype after beam," Hudson said. "Beam is such an event where you have to go aggressive. The thought of going aggressive and taking risks on a four-inch balance beam in front of 15,000 people in the highest of pressures, that's hard to do. We did it. We did just that."

The Crimson Tide's season would come down to floor, its best event of the season. Hudson and Gladieux tied for the event title in it on Friday with Cal's Mya Lauzon and emJae Frazier. The Golden Bears, ending the night on beam, were Alabama's biggest threat. Oregon State was well down entering the final rotation and needed cataclysms from the other teams to get back to contention; it finished with a 196.875.

Junior Rachel Rybicki led off with a tough fall late in her floor routine and a 9.500. The next five in the lineup were officially on put-up-or-shut-up time. Cal's first beam competitor fell and scored an 8.950. The Crimson Tide gymnasts brought energy congruent with the gravity of the situation.

Sophomore Jamison Sears, the third athlete in the lineup, scored a 9.900. That left one competitor before Hudson and the anchor Gladieux: freshman Paityn Walker. After a deep breath prior to her second tumbling pass, she kept the season alive with a season-best 9.900.

"It was a little nerve-wracking, but we have trained for situations like that," Walker said. "I kinda trusted my training. I knew I had it. I did a lot of mental routines in the [floor] corral. I envisioned myself doing those passes. I really did my normal, which really helped me... It paid off."

Hudson came next. Her floor routine is a program staple. Another gymnast did it before her, while someone else may well be poised to take it over after the senior is gone. She wasn't ready for Sunday to be her last time doing it. She netted a 9.950 to set up Gladieux with a golden opportunity to seal it.

"I just think it capped off an incredible four years that I'll remember for the rest of my life," Hudson said. "I'll tell everyone about [it]. My family, my kids, everything... I looked up, and there's nothing like Coleman Coliseum. You look up and you see everybody on their feet, crimson and white. No words."

That last spot is customary for Gladieux, who effectively knocked Cal out of the picture with a 9.925 in Alabama's final routine of the regional. The Golden Bears didn't do enough in their final event; even if the team's last competitor got a 10, the Crimson Tide was still advancing to nationals.

"Looking over at them before I went, and seeing all of them huddled together, gave me all the strength and all the reassurance that I could hit this routine."

Gladieux leaned on trust in her teammates and the resolve that gave her to land the routine. Hudson had given her team a pep talk after the beam routine, trying to gauge the adrenaline and reset the mentality.

"Really incredibly thankful for this group who never quit," Johnston said. "We have the trust built to really challenge each other to be great in a really healthy way. I'm just excited about what Bama gymnastics is about, how we're building together."

Carey won the all-around with a 39.700; Williams was in second with a 39.600 score. Hudson and Wong tied at 39.550. LaCoursiere tied Williams and Cal's Casey Brown for the event title on bars. Hudson, Wong, Carey and Lauzon were in a four-way tie on floor. Bunagan tied for the crown on vault. Gladieux's 9.950 on beam was all knotted up with Lauzon and Carey.

"I have to say, it was our culture, and just what they've created together, and the connection within each person and their connection to the mission that I really believe was what drove us to come out on the side that we wanted to be on," Johnston said.

Final team scores from the Tuscaloosa Regional final. | Will Miller/BamaCentral

NCAA Regionals

Top two teams in each regional advance
Wednesday’s Results
University Park Regional
First Round Play-In: Maryland 196.250, West Virginia 195.325

Salt Lake City Regional
First Round Play-In: BYU 195.950, Utah State 194.475

Thursday’s Results
University Park Regional
Regional Semifinal, Session 1: Michigan State 197.625, Kentucky 197.525, Ohio State 196.400, Penn State 196.225
Regional Semifinal, Session 2: LSU 198.100, Arkansas 197.550, Michigan 197.050, Maryland 196.825

Tuscaloosa Regional
First Round Play-In: Clemson 195.400, Rutgers 193.875

Salt Lake City Regional
Regional Semifinal, Session 1: UCLA 197.750, Minnesota 197.200, Southern Utah 196.475, Boise State 195.175
Regional Semifinal, Session 2: Utah 197.650, Denver 197.650, Stanford 196.500, BYU 196.000

Seattle Regional
First Round Play-In: Illinois 195.475, UC Davis 194.050

Friday’s Results
Tuscaloosa Regional
Regional Semifinal, Session 1: California 197.550, Alabama 197.275, North Carolina 196.250, Iowa 196.000
Regional Semifinal, Session 2: Florida 198.225, Oregon State 197.050, NC State 196.275, Clemson 195.875

Seattle Regional
Regional Semifinal, Session 1: Missouri 197.650, Arizona 196.250, Georgia 196.175, Arizona State 196.050
Regional Semifinal, Session 2: Oklahoma 198.025, Auburn 196.950, Illinois 195.725, Nebraska 195.675

Saturday’s Results
University Park Regional
Final: LSU 198.050, Michigan State 198.000, Kentucky 197.625, Arkansas 197.375
Salt Lake City Regional
Final: Utah 197.825, UCLA 197.625, Denver 197.350, Minnesota 196.825

Sundays' Results
Tuscaloosa Regional
Final: Florida 197.700, Alabama 197.675, California 197.575, Oregon State 196.875
Seattle Regional
Final: Oklahoma 198.450, Missouri 197.425, Arizona 197.325, Auburn 196.250

National Championships
April 17-19
Fort Worth, Texas

NCAA Regionals

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