'Nobody Doubted' after Early Mistake Led to Pressure-Packed Floor Rotation for Alabama Gymnastics

A stumble in the leadoff spot put pressure on the Crimson Tide's next five gymnasts in the floor rotations to put up big routines and clinch a spot to nationals.

The University of Alabama Gymnastics Team celebrates during the NCAA Regional Final at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL on Sunday, Apr 6, 2025. | Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama's season-best performance on the balance beam put the Crimson Tide in a really good position heading into the final rotation of Sunday evening's NCAA gymnastics regional final inside Coleman Coliseum.

The 49.500 on beam put No. 11 Alabama ahead of No. 6 Cal in second place behind Florida with the opportunity to end on floor exercise–– the Crimson Tide's best event.

But an uncharacteristic mistake by Rachel Rybicki on her final tumbling pass in the leadoff spot immediately put the pressure back on the home team. Alabama would need five straight hit routines to close out the rotation with little margin for error if the Crimson Tide wanted to advance to nationals for the second straight season under head coach Ashley Johnston.

That's exactly what the Crimson Tide got. Shania Adams scored a 9.85 in the next routine, and then Jamison Sears started a streak of four scores 9.9 or better to close out the meet on floor.

"When I look at that floor lineup, nobody second guessed anything," Johnston said after the meet. "Rachel is a rockstar— she had one little mistake tonight. But as I looked around, nobody doubted for a second that we could get this done. These three right here were a huge part of that and just a testament to their training, their resilience, their fight and again, just the relentless pursuit for excellence.”

Alabama freshman Paityn Walker competed in the fourth spot in the floor lineup. She said it was "a little nerve wracking" knowing that she would have to hit her routine.

"But we have trained for situations like that," Walker said. "I kind of trusted my training. I knew I had it. I did a lot of mental routines in the corral. I envisioned myself doing those passes, and I really did my normal which really helped me. And I didn’t over-control anything, and it paid off.”

Senior Lilly Hudson highlighted the rotation with a 9.95 in her final routine inside Coleman Coliseum after a great career. After she saluted the judges, Hudson blew kisses to the Coleman crowd.

Kisses for the crowd from Lilly Hudson after her final routine in Coleman Coliseum. She goes 9.95 on floor pic.twitter.com/GoUMFdAEWf

— Katie Windham (@katiewindham_) April 6, 2025

"It capped off an incredible four years that I'll remember for the rest of my life," Hudson said.

Even after the 9.95 from Hudson and 9.9s from Walker and Sears, Alabama still needed Gladieux to hit her routine in the anchor spot to ensure that the Crimson Tide would stay ahead of Cal and advance to nationals.

Gladieux has been one of the most consistent floor workers in the country this season with 12 routines that scored 9.9 or better. It still was a lot of pressure in the moment for the Crimson Tide junior.

"The one word that comes to mind is trust," Gladieux said. "I had to trust my training, trust my process and trust my team ultimately. Looking over there before I went, and seeing them all huddled together gave me all the strength and all the reassurance that I could hit this routine."

Gladieux scored a 9.925, and Alabama ended up with a 49.525 on floor exercise and a season-high 197.675 overall to finish second in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional and advance to the NCAA championship semifinals.

"Just a testament to their training, their resilience, their fight and again, the relentless pursuit for excellence," Johnston said.