Luisa Blanco Cements Legend Status With Two Perfect 10s in Final Home Meet
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Emblazoned in two corners of Coleman Coliseum is the slogan of Alabama athletics: "Where Legends are Made." Since arriving as an early enrollee in January 2020, Luisa Blanco has been on campus with Crimson Tide legends like DeVonta Smith, Bryce Young, Brandon Miller and Montana Fouts to name a few.
Her accomplishments were already a mile long as a 16-time all-American, individual SEC champion and SEC Gymnast of the Year. But on her final night competing inside Coleman Coliseum on Friday night, Blanco cemented her status as an Alabama gymnastics legend with two perfect 10s.
"Luisa’s been a legend by her gymnastics for her entire five years here," Alabama head coach Ashley Johnston said. "And she has as a person as well, it’s just that I’ve only known her for two years that I’ve been here. To see the growth that she’s had personally, as a leader, as somebody that I watch her teammates go to and ask for advice on gymnastics and life— it’s those moments of somebody breaking through that are just filled with joy and fulfillment."
Blanco is known for her phenomenal work on the balance beam, where she had already recored multiple 10s, but it was on her first and last event of the night where she once again reached perfection.
She stuck the landing on her Yurchenko 1.5 in the first rotation to earn her first career 10 on the vault. Behind her score, Alabama scored a season high on vault with a 49.500.
And then to put an exclamation point on the night and her career inside Coleman, Blanco scored a 10 on her final routine on the floor exercise, also the first on the event of her career.
After the meet, Blanco said she still hasn't processed the perfect scores.
"Even when the second 10 went up, I was like, ‘There’s no way,'" Blanco said. "I was just focused on the next person that was going.”
She did not score below a 9.9 on any event with a 9.9 on beam and 9.95 on the uneven bars. With the two perfect scores, Blanco set her career high in the all-around with a 39.850.
Behind her strong performance, the team put up its second-best score of the year with a 198, marking the second straight home meet with a score of 198 or better.
Luisa Blanco will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer representing Columbia, but she had some unfinished business to take care of first in Tuscaloosa. Because of the Olympic trials, Blanco didn't really have an offseason.
"She’s been in routine shape since the beginning of her actual senior year, and that’s really tough mentally, emotionally and physically," Johnston said. "So it says a ton about who she is and how much she cares about her team knowing that she can put that aside and still invest every ounce of her being because of how much she loves this team.
"And that’s why she came back. I can vividly remember talking with her about how she wanted to be more than just a gymnast. She wanted to leave a legacy. She wanted to be the leader, the person that was able to help her teammates grow and move forward and become legends themselves. I can confidently say she’s done that.”
Despite her international success, Blanco stuck to her commitment come back for fifth and final year with Alabama gymnastics.
"I think I was just kind of flirting with the idea of elite, but my main reason to come back was for this team," Blanco said. "And then you have this idea of this fifth year you weren’t supposed to have because COVID was this crazy worldwide pandemic that took the world by storm. I just wanted to do what I could with this year, and try everything under the sun. Even if it didn’t work, but just try.
"So I took a leap of faith. I had the best people around me, and I feel like that’s why I had results. I don’t think I could’ve done this alone. Elite gymnastics is completely different than college. And that’s why I’m soaking up every single moment because I think that’s what’s going to make me stronger come Paris.”
Even though it was her last home meet, Blanco's career with the Crimson Tide is not finished yet. Alabama ends the regular season next week at Oklahoma before moving on to the SEC Championships and wherever the team is sent in the NCAA Tournament.
Anyone inside Coleman Coliseum on Friday night will not forget the performance she delivered in front of the home crowd for the final night, including Blanco herself.
"I’m glad I could give it my best on my final night."
