📡 GymTide wins Its 32nd Regional Title, Advances to 36th-Consecutive NCAA Championships

[UA Press Release]

Alabama will be competing for its 32nd regional title and its 36th-consecutive NCAA Championships berth

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama gymnastics team will be the No. 1 seed when the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Championships gets underway Saturday, April 7 at 4 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum, the NCAA announced Monday.

The Crimson Tide, ranked sixth nationally, comes into the Tuscaloosa Regional having won an NCAA-best 31 regional titles. Alabama has also advanced to the NCAA Championships 35 years in a row. The top-two teams from each of the six regionals across the country will move on to the NCAA Championships, which will be held April 20-21 in St. Louis, Mo.

Tickets for the Tuscaloosa Regional can be purchased through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262) located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum, or online at RollTide.com. This marks the 15th time Alabama has hosted a gymnastics regional and the first since 2016.

Alabama will be joined by No. 2 seed Michigan, No. 3 seed Georgia as well as Missouri, Illinois and Central Michigan. The top-18 teams in the nation by regional qualifying score are seeded into the six regional sites. The remaining three teams come from within the region.

This will mark the second time this season that Alabama has faced Michigan after opening the season in Ann Arbor in January. The two teams also met at last year's regional in Morgantown, W.Va., when both advanced to the NCAA Championships. It will be the second trip to Tuscaloosa this year for Georgia and Missouri.

The Tide will open the regional on the floor exercise and will then move to the vault. From there, Alabama will be on a bye before advancing to the uneven bars followed by the balance beam.

Each regional team will have an individual gymnast from a school that did not advance rotating with it. Ashley Potts of Northern Illinois will rotate with the Crimson Tide. The top two all-around performers from each regional from a team that is not advancing will also earn a bid to St. Louis.

No. 1 Seeded Alabama Gymnastics Will Host NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional on April 7 at 4 p.m. - Alabama Athletics

 

[UA Press Release]

The Crimson Tide won its NCAA-best 32nd regional championship over the past 37 years and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the 36th year in a row

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama gymnastics team used a 197.225 to win its NCAA-best 32nd regional championship to advance to the NCAA Championships for the 36th year in a row in front of 5,302 fans.

"I'm so proud of this team," UA head coach Dana Duckworth said. "I'm so proud of the consistency and the trust. We talked a lot about being really grateful for everything and entitled to nothing, and tonight we really earned this opportunity and I think they knew we had to execute, we had to do our job, and I think that the ladies did a beautiful job of doing just that and representing The University of Alabama with a lot of pride."

The Crimson Tide finished nearly a three-quarters of a point ahead of second-place Georgia (196.500). The Bulldogs were the second team out of the Tuscaloosa regional to advance to St. Louis and NCAAs.

"It was really loud, actually," UA senior Nickie Guerrero said. "I wasn't expecting it to be that insane, but it made me appreciate all those fans that come every single meet – they showed up today. That was so amazing because they help so much."

While the margin between first and second was fairly wide, the difference between second and fourth was less than two-tenths of a point. Illinois (196.425) was third, while Michigan (196.350) was fourth. Missouri (196.100) and Central Michigan (195.825) rounded out the regional.

Alabama freshman Lexi Graber earned a career-best score of 39.575 to win the all-around. She also took first off the vault with a career-best 9.950. Senior Kiana Winston won the balance beam in the last Coleman Coliseum routine of her illustrious career.

"Being at home was a lot of fun," Graber said. "It was a blessing. Being with this team was just so fun tonight."

In addition to winning the meet, Alabama posted the highest score on all four events.

The Tide opened on the floor exercise with a 49.200 led by Graber's 9.875 and 9.850s from sophomore Maddie Deschand Guerrero. Alabama posted a season-best 49.350 on the vault, paced by Graber's 9.95 and 9.9s from junior Ari Guerra and Guerrero.

After sitting out the third rotation on a bye, Alabama posted a 49.400 on the uneven bars after a trio of 9.9s from Graber, freshman Kylie Dickson and Winston.

With a trip to nationals on the line, the Tide closed things out on the balance beam, where Winston's 9.925 and a 9.875 from Guerrero in the anchor spot pushed Alabama to a 49.275.

"It was just a blessing being able to compete for a final time here at home," Winston said. "My team has my back and I want to have theirs."

After a week off, Alabama will travel back to St. Louis (site of last month's Southeastern Conference Championships) for the NCAA Championships April 20-21.

 

[TerryP]

LSU and Nebraska in the Raleigh Regional.
Florida and Washington out of the University Park Regional.
Oklahoma and Kentucky out of the Minneapolis Regional.
UCLA and Arkansas out of the Columbus Regional.
Utah and California out of the Salt Lake City Regional.
Alabama and Georgia out of the Tuscaloosa Regional.