Alabama Gymnastics Finishes Strong, Takes Second at SEC Tournament
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Alabama gymnastics team had to have a big night to claim its 11th SEC championship.
It did.
The problem was, so did Florida.
The top-seeded Gators got near flawless performances from Trinity Thomas (all-around winner) and Megan Skaggs (all-around runner-up) on Saturday at Legacy Arena. A few others stepped up, too, and the Gators took the SEC Tournament title with a 198.200 score in front of 10,180 in attendance.
Alabama, the No. 4 seed, did everything it could and scored a 197.825 to take second. But the night belonged to Florida, which stayed unbeaten (14-0-1).
"We talked about how we had to earn everything tonight, and nothing was going to be handed to us," Alabama coach Dana Duckworth said. "There was so much fight in them tonight."
There wasn’t much to celebrate at the end of the meet as the Crimson Tide’s Luisa Blanco landed awkwardly on her balance beam dismount, and injured her ankle.
She sat on the mat for more than 10 minutes as the UA staff attended to her. Blanco, who scored a 39.050 in the all-around, was then carried off the floor.
"I'm not sure yet," Duckworth said on the status of Blanco. "We will have to wait and see."
It was clear from the start it was a two-team meet. Florida and Alabama separated themselves after the first rotation with LSU and Auburn struggling on bars and beam.
Shallon Olsen started the Crimson Tide off with a 9.90 on the floor exercise and Lexi Graber finished with a strong 9.925. Florida got some strong performances on the vault to score a 49.475. Alabama was right behind with a 49.425.
The gap widened after the second rotation with Alabama scoring big on the vault, thanks to 9.90s from Graber and Lilly Hudson, who finished fourth in the all-around.
"It felt awesome," Hudson said of her performance. "Just to go out there and do what I know how to do, and to be on a stage as big as this, it's really amazing."
The meet took a big turn for Alabama with the uneven bars. Hudson got the crowd going with a 9.90, but Shania Adams’ 9.950 nearly blew the roof off the arena.
Cam Machado followed with a 9.925 and Makarri Doggette and Blanco scored a pair of 9.950 to cap the rotation and give Alabama a season-best 49.625 score on bars.
"That bar rotation was on fire," Duckworth said. "On floor and vault we got through it, but on bars and beam we dominated. The love they have for each other is where that deep desire and passion comes from. They are just able to continue to fight."
The score still wasn’t enough to take over the top spot. Florida’s 49.700 balance beam score, led by Thomas and Skaggs, kept the Gators in the lead.
Alabama closed out its session on balance beam while Florida was on the floor. Graber and Ella Burgess each scored a 9.90, but it wasn’t enough to match Florida.
"We've been so consistent these past few meets," Graber said. "We are looking to carry that momentum into regionals and hopefully nationals."
The fan favorite Saturday was Auburn’s Sunisa Lee, the Olympic gold medalist in the all-around in 2021. She got off to a rough start with a fall on the beam. She regrouped to score a 9.950 on the floor exercise and scored a perfect 10 on the uneven bars in the final rotation.
Alabama now awaits to see where it will compete in the NCAA regionals on March 31.
Alabama Gymnastics at 2022 SEC Championship
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