'Fight For Each Other': Alabama Gymnast Corinne Bunagan's Postseason Focus Clear

The Crimson Tide senior understands the importance of tuning out the noise.

Alabama's Corinne Bunagan performs on the beam during the meet with Oklahoma Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Following a fifth-place finish at the SEC Championships in Birmingham, the Alabama gymnastics team earned the No. 11 NCAA Tournament seed and the right to compete in its home gym one more time. For senior Corinne Bunagan, it's a special opportunity.

"Competing at home is gonna be super, super fun," she said Tuesday. "I've been competing here, obviously, for about four years now. It's our same equipment. It's our same fans. I'm just excited to go out there and have some fun."

The Crimson Tide will compete on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT in Tuscaloosa. It will be a quad meet, also consisting of No. 6 national seed Cal, North Carolina and Iowa. The teams have crossed paths with Alabama before in 2025; in North Carolina's case, it's met the Crimson Tide twice.

The top two finishers will continue their respective seasons into the regional finals on Sunday. With so many teams converging on Coleman Coliseum (nine in all, including first-round participants Rutgers and Clemson), there is a lot going on.

"We have been very intentional tuning out the noise," Bunagan said. "I don't follow, really, any gymnastics on social media and stuff like that. I know some girls choose not to watch competitions. It's not so much as making sure we ignore the competition but making sure that our focus is on ourselves."

Bunagan, a staple of Alabama's vault and beam lineups this season, touched on the team's togetherness as one of its strengths. That's one of the things that's helped the Crimson Tide through a season with its share of challenges. The team has still put up some of its highest scores in recent weeks.

"We've been able to stay together because of, honestly, our connection to each other and our goal," she said. "We've always known since day one that we wanted to fight for a natty, fight for each other... Honestly, just pouring into the girls around us has made a difference."

Familiarity in venue and opponents aside, everything Bunagan highlighted will be of major importance in the NCAA Tournament. Every challenge that Alabama has faced has led up to this moment, and that teamwork and shutting out distractions comes into play.