Alabama Gymnastics Soars to Win over North Carolina in Season Opener

The Crimson Tide surpassed the 197 threshold in the first meet of the season thanks to a 9.95 in the final routine.

Alabama gymnast Gabby Gladieux / Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Ashley Johnston's two main messages to her team heading into the season opener were "start strong" and "handle the noise." Both those messages would end up being important on Friday night against North Carolina.

Alabama held the lead from the first rotation on, eventually leading to a 197.025-195.225 win over the Tar Heels inside Coleman Coliseum on Friday night, but a medical emergency in the stands temporarily delayed the meet in the middle of the second rotation.

About 10 minutes later, the meet resumed, but a distraction like that can really take a team out of its elements. But the Crimson Tide jumped right back into the rotation and meet and continued to perform at a high level.

"I am so pleased with how tonight went," Johnston said after the meet. "There was a lot of reasons that this team could've been phased, but they were not. They continued to focus on the things they can control, continued to invest in each other in what makes them great on a day-to-day basis and were just able to stay in control of the whole night."

Alabama finished strong with its best rotation of the night on floor, scoring a 49.425 on the event with 9.9s or higher by Rachel Rybicki, Shania Adams, Lilly Hudson and Gabby Gladieux to close out the rotation. Gladieux's 9.95 in the finale spot gave the Crimson Tide just enough to surpass the 197 total in Week 1.

It was Rybicki's first ever collegiate floor routine, and she scored a 9.9

"It was such an amazing experience," Rybicki said. "Like I Ashley said, I really worked hard in the preseason. And everybody who was able to debut a new routine, we really worked hard to be able to put ourselves in this position."

The meet featured some high-flying freshmen for the Crimson Tide. Paityn Walker scored the only 9.9 for Alabama on the uneven bars. Johnston put Walker in the anchor spot, which shows her faith in the true freshman.

Ryan Fuller (bars and floor) and Kylee Kvamme (vault and beam) also made their Alabama debuts as true freshmen on Friday night, and sophomore Gabby Ladanyi made her debut on the balance beam.

Gladieux and Hudson were neck-and-neck for the all-around title all night, but Gladieux's 9.95 on the floor exercise put her slightly ahead with a 39.575 to win the all-around.

Up next, Alabama will travel to Kentucky on Jan. 17 to take on the Wildcats at 6 p.m.

"Overall, I think that was a really great start for us," Johnston said. "We of course have things we're already going to be thinking about tweaking, building, adjusting. But I really couldn't have asked for anything more to start the season with a young team that delivered a strong, scary statement to the gymnastics world."

Read more: Ashley Johnston Gives Injury Update on Alabama Gymnast Jamison Sears