No. 3 Alabama gymnastics beat the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats 197.2-196.675 on Friday night.
“I heard that we had a carnival ride out front of Coleman Coliseum, but it had to be paused because of lightning twice, but we put on our own roller coaster ride in Coleman Coliseum,” head coach Ashley Johnston said. “This team takes a lot of pride in being the best at getting better and we just need to get on track and do that.”
Rotation 1
As the home team, Alabama competed in Olympic order, starting on the vault. Kentucky started on the uneven bars. On the vault, Alabama posted a 49.225, and Kentucky made a 49.1 on the uneven bars.
Freshman Noella Marshall fell in the leadoff position and posted a 8.55.
“That was another tough moment,” Johnston said. “I think this team has done a phenomenal job of just not letting one performance bleed into the next performance, so I could see them all look around and be like ‘it’s okay, lock in guys, just do what we know how to do.’”
For the Crimson Tide, freshman Azaraya Ra-Akbar posted a 9.975 to mark the highest score for Alabama. This landed Ra-Akbar the title.
Rotation 2
Alabama moved to the uneven bars for the second rotation, and Kentucky moved to the vault. On the uneven bars, Alabama posted a 49.6 to bring its total to 98.825. On the vault, Kentucky made a 48.975 to bring its total to 98.075.
Junior Chloe LaCoursiere, the number one uneven bars worker in the country, clinched the uneven bars title with a 9.975.
Rotation 3
For the third rotation, Alabama was on the balance beam and Kentucky was on the floor. On the balance beam, the Crimson Tide posted a 48.825 and the Wildcats made a 49.4 on the floor. This brought the team totals to 147.65 and 147.475, respectively.
The Crimson Tide had a rocky start to the balance beam rotation. In the leadoff position, sophomore Ryan Fuller fell and made a 9. In the second position, junior Gabby Ladanyi fell and made a 9.25. However, sophomore Love Birt saw her collegiate debut in the third position and was able to post a 9.875.
“I was definitely nervous, I never stepped up to anything like that before,” Birt said. “I just felt super grateful to be able to go up there and show everybody what I’ve been working so hard for.”
LaCoursiere posted a 9.925 to mark Alabama’s highest balance beam score of the night. LaCoursiere tied for the event title with Kentucky’s Delaynee Rodriguez.
Rotation 4
The Crimson Tide was on the floor for the final rotation, and the Wildcats were on the balance beam. On the floor Alabama posted a 49.55 and Kentucky posted a 49.2 on the balance beam.
Alabama knew it had to put on its best floor performance to continue the lead after having to count a fall on the balance beam.
“We all knew that we were completely capable of handling the moment that we were in,” senior Rachel Rybicki said. “These are the moments that make championship teams. I think we were excited to step into that challenge and attack it”
Ra-Akbar posted a 9.95 to mark Alabama’s highest score on the floor, this clinched the title for Ra-Akbar.
Alabama will be back in action on Sunday in Champaign, Illinois to take on the Illinois Illini. The meet is set to start at 2 p.m. CT and can be streamed on B1G+.
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