Alabama Gymnastics Beats SEC Rivals with 198 at Elevate the Stage

The Crimson Tide knocked off Auburn, Arkansas and Georgia with its second score of 198 on the weekend.

There's just something special about performing in the Von Braun Center for Alabama gymnastics. It is the site where Alabama won the 2021 SEC Championship, and on Sunday it is where the Crimson Tide earned its second 198 score of the weekend. 

Alabama (198.000) won its sixth straight Elevate the Stage meet over Auburn (197.750), Arkansas (196.800) and Georgia (196.200) in Huntsville Sunday afternoon. 

It had been nearly eight years since Alabama finished with a team total in the 198 range before the Crimson Tide did it twice in one weekend after beating Arkansas 198.075-196.000 in Coleman Coliseum Friday night. 

"I’m really proud of the consistency our team showed this weekend," Alabama coach Dana Duckworth said in a press release. "To score a 198 on Friday and then come back and do it again this afternoon, less than 48 hours later, will help our ladies feel confident and prepared as we head into the championship season.

"We adjusted quickly to the podium surface and showed a lot of resilience and tenacity today. We had some changes to the lineup as we went along and they didn’t waver. I’m really proud of the way they handled the adversity and came out with a strong showing and a great win."

The Crimson Tide had already beaten Georgia and Arkansas this season, but the win at Elevate the Stage avenged the Jan. 28 loss to the Tigers in Auburn arena. 

Alabama set the tone from the start with a 49.625 on the uneven bars. The Crimson Tide bars squad did not have to count a score lower than a 9.9. They were led by career bests from both Mati Waligora and Cam Machado with 9.95s. This helped Alabama build an early lead in the meet that it never gave up.

Alabama Athletics

It was a big meet for Machado, who also scored a career high on the floor exercise with a 9.925 to help pace the Crimson Tide to a 49.550 on floor. Fifth-year Lexi Graber and freshman Lilly Hudson both scored 9.95s on floor. 

Alabama Athletics

Elevate the Stage was an impressive meet overall for the Alabama freshman. She finished second in the all-around, only behind Auburn's Olympic gold-medalists Sunisa Lee, with a 39.500. 

Alabama Athletics

Heading into the final rotation, Alabama needed at least at 49.500 on vault to earn its second consecutive 198, and that is exactly what the vault lineup provided. The Crimson Tide once again proved its depth and skill on vault with six 10.0 start-value vaults, and Luisa Blanco scored a career-high 9.95. 

With the meets on Friday and Sunday this weekend, Alabama got a feel for what the postseason will be like and passed the test with flying colors. Elevate the Stage was almost an exact precursor of postseason with four teams competing simultaneously on podium. The team has two weeks off before the chance to defend its SEC title at the SEC Championship meet in Birmingham on March 19.