No. 3 Alabama Gymnastics Overcomes Falls on Beam for Win over Kentucky

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— There was a carnival set up outside of Coleman Coliseum on Friday night with rides, games and a petting zoo, but Alabama gymnastics experienced a roller coaster of its own inside in the gym with ups and downs from start to finish.

"We wanted to give the people what they came for, which was an adventerous, thrilling ride, and I feel like we got that tonight," Alabama head coach Ashley Johnston said after the meet. "There was a series of some uncharacteristic mistakes throughout tonight. We wish we could go back and redo those moments, but all we can do is learn from them."

For the first time this season, Alabama had to count a fall after its first two gymnasts fell on the balance beam in the third rotation. The Crimson Tide also had a fall in the very first routine of the night on the vault.

No. 3 Alabama was able to overcome the mistakes with a strong finish on the floor exercise to beat No. 22 Kentucky 197.200-196.675. Despite having to count a fall, Alabama still avoided falling into the 196 range and continued its streak of scoring above a 197 in every meet this season.

Sophomore Love Birt had to follow Alabama's falls on beam, and it was her collegiate debut after missing all of last season with an ACL injury. She stepped up and delievered a 9.875 performance. The next three beam workers hit their routines, and the Tide was able to get back on track and put up a respectable score. The 48.825 on the beam was the first rotation score of the season for the Crimson Tide below a 49.

Career debut for Love!!! A CLUTCH 9.875!!

📺 SECN+#RollTide pic.twitter.com/aAfw4EGQGd
— Alabama Gymnastics (@BamaGymnastics) March 7, 2026

Johnston said following two falls in your debut is "probably the hardest situation to step into," but Birth looked like a poised veteran even if she didn't feel like it on the inside.

"I was definitely nervous just because I'd never stepped up to anything like that before," Birt said. "But also like Ashley said, we practice this time in and time out in the gym. We've put high-pressure situations on us, had people running around screaming, so really we're prepared for any moment like this.

"It just came back to the feeling of gratitude. I just felt super grateful to be able to go up there and show everybody what I've worked so hard for.

After a disappointing performance on the beam, Alabama knew it needed a strong finish on floor. Senior Rachel Rybicki scored a 9.9 in the second spot and kicked off a run of 9.9s in the floor lineup as the Crimson Tide scored a 49.550 on the apparatus.

"Going into floor, we all knew we were completely capable of handling the moment that we were in," Rybicki said. "Like Love said and Ashley also said, we've prepared for this moment. These are the moments that make championship teams. I think we were excited to step into that challenge and attack it."

After a shaky start on vault in the leadoff rotation, Alabama put together its best uneven bars rotation of the year with a 49.600. Ryan Fuller scored a career high 9.95, and Chloe LaCoursiere retained her spot as the top bars worker in the nation with a 9.975.

The individual highlight of the night was freshman Azaraya Ra-Akbar's stuck landing on her Yurchenko 1.5 vault, earning her fourth 9.975 of the season (two on vault and two on bars.)

HELLO!! 9.975 FOR AZA

📺 SECN+#RollTide pic.twitter.com/6laTzkfsGK
— Alabama Gymnastics (@BamaGymnastics) March 7, 2026

Johnston think the lessons learned Friday night will benefit her team as it soon enters the postseason.

"Of course you don't ever want to be in that position, but I do get really excited about what we can learn from it," Johnston said. "I do think the confidence that Love and the whole back half of that lineup built in that moment, you just can't replicate that type of experience. Moving into the postseason, if we're in a championship moment, they're going to be able to draw back on this and be like, 'That's OK. Because in the toughest moments, we knew how to get it done.' Again, I'm thankful for that ultimately, and I think that's just going to help us moving forward."

Alabama will have another quick turnaround as the Crimson Tide heads to Illinois to compete on Sunday at 2 p.m.