Pink Meet Remains Among Alabama's Most Important Annual Events

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Freshman Makarri Doggette is among the lucky ones. She doesn't have a personal or family story of someone who has had to deal with breast cancer.

But that doesn't mean the Power of Pink Meet doesn't mean a lot to her.

Doggette's been watching it for years as an Alabama gymnastics fan and recruit, and it's always been her favorite meet.

"Looking back and watching it as a little girl, and just saying 'Wow, I wish that was me,' it just means so much," she said.

"This is means so much more than gymnastics."

Friday evening, one of the most important annual events of Alabama athletics will be held when Missouri visits Coleman Coliseum (7:15 p.m. CT, SEC Network+).

It's the 16th annual pink meet, when fans, gymnasts and cancer survivors all proudly wear the color in support.

Regardless of the outcome it's always an emotional night.

“The Power of Pink meet is about bringing awareness to the fight against breast cancer," Crimson Tide coach Dana Duckworth said. "The idea of the Power of Pink is we do gymnastics for something bigger than ourselves.

"There’s nothing like competing in Coleman Coliseum and there is nothing like your performance bringing you the W. At the end of the day, it comes down to how well our ladies execute what they do on a daily basis.”

The Power of Pink initiative was started by former Crimson Tide coach Sarah Patterson in 2004 and expanded to include all Alabama women's sports in 2009.

One of the meet traditions is for the Alabama gymnasts to forgo their usual introductions and instead step into the spotlight with a cancer survivor. Sometimes it's a relative.

Then there's the meet part of the evening. No. 7 Alabama is coming off a big 196.775-196.425 victory at LSU, its first victory in Baton Rouge since 2013.

Fittingly, junior Lexi Graber secured the win with her final routine on balance beam, scoring 9.875 en route to 39.475 in the all-around. She had taken her first career fall in the event during the season opener at Auburn.

"It just creates momentum and confidence for our team," Graber said. "It shows the world that we can do this and we are a force to be be reckoned with."