Diandra Milliner – great routine but checks step forward on the double twist dismount, so that will be the main deduction. 9.850

Kaitlyn Clark – beautiful switch split leap – beat jump to sheep jump – bends over at waist but stays on – bhs to loso – nice – front kickover to beat jump – full turn – dismounts with a round off to 1.5 twist – check step forward on landing.  9.800

Kayla Williams – great routine until a similar bend at the waist on the straddle 3/4 but she pulled it back up quickly and continued with the routine – sticks the 1.5 twist. 9.825

Sarah DeMeo – front handspring punch onto the beam to double stag leap – front aerial to beat jump – bhs to loso – switch split leap to split leap – sits down the double pike dismount - what a great looking routine up until that final element. 9.300

Kim Jacob - great routine - bhs to loso to loso – tiny hop forward on the 1.5 twist dismuont. 9.925

Ashley Priess – beat jump to sheep jump – front aerial to Korbut – switch split leap to straddle jump – full turn with leg horizontal – dismounts with a switch split leap to immediate gainer full twist – sticks the landing! 9.950

LSU: Floor – 49.350

Randii Wyrick – tuck full in to open – front tumbling sequence for her second pass – nice – double back to close off – small stumble back on landing but she stands it up. 9.775

Britney Taylor – double pike to open – controlled step back – front tumbling to close. 9.775

Maliah Mathis – double layout – beautiful in the air and stands up her next tumbling element but then bounds backwards out of bounds with the super high double pike. 9.625

Jessica Savona – 9.90 – sassy routine – sold it beautifully.

Rheagan Courville – double front Arabian to open – dramatic music – awesome second pass of the double tuck – ring leap to split full combination – double pike – lands it with a check step forward – chest down a bit – excellent routine otherwise. 9.900

Lloimincia Hall – opens with a double layout – one controlled step back – front-front 1/1 to front layout – crowd loving it! seat drop to exhibit her power and control further – closes with a double tuck – take that! Dynamite! 10.00

Lora Leigh Frost – two steps back on the opening double layout – rest of routine was fine for a 9.775.

Ashley Priess – opens with a double tuck – - 1.5 through to a front layout – solid – awesome double tuck jump - closes with a double pike – beautiful – double stag barrel leap with excellent amplitude. 9.875

Lauren Beers – no problems with her opening and closing passes this week – double layout and double tuck to close – 9.875

Sarah DeMeo – opens with a double front Arabian – super in the air – step forward on landing – 1.5 to front layout – hop 1/1 jump – sticks the 2.5 twist final pass. Happy gal! 9.900

Diandra Milliner – huge opening double front Arabian – stuck it cold! Another stick – front handspring to front 1/1 to front layout.  Double pike to finish – one step back on landing – huge in the air. 9.900

Kim Jacob – opens with a pike full in – second pass of a double pike – pop step back – big smile for the crowd – finishes strong with a 1.5 to 1/1 – solid! 9.950

LSU: Beam

Ericka Garcia – 9.85 – solid effort from the senior.

Randii Wyrick – 9.825 – confident routine with just a few balance checks.

Britney Taylor – some small balance checks and hesitation in connections – 1.5 twist dismount - step forward on the landing. 9.800

Lloi Hall - executes her elements well - step back on the dismount of the double tuck. 9.85

Rheagan Courville – full turn horizontal leg position – standing Arabian (really nice) – bhs to loso – switch split leap to split 1/4 turn – beat jump in tuck position – front aerial – balance check – has to turn to the side but then refocuses and finishes with a split leap and then does her gainer back pike dismount – small step. 9.85

Jessie Jordan – front aerial – pretty form – bhs to loso – one balance step back – switch split leap to straddle 1/4 jump – side somi – 1.5 twist dismount – bent a bit at waist but she holds firm. 9.875

Kaitlyn Clark – Y 1/1 – great distance but step back on landing. 9.850

Ashley Sledge – Y 1/1 – went in a little flat on this vault, hop slide back on landing – great distance however. 9.875

Kayla Williams – Y 1/1 – stuck for a 9.975.

Carley Sims – Y 1/1 – almost stuck perfectly – works hard to hold it in place before turning to salute the judges – great speed leading into this vault, which propelled her to that stick. 9.875

Lauren Beers – Y 1/1 – small hop back for a 9.925

Diandra Milliner – Y 1.5 – went in real fast with her rotation – step forward on landing. 9.875

LSU: Bars

Lloi Hall – 9.700

Britney Ranzey – 9.825

Kaleigh Dickson – fall on the straddle Jaeger – tuck full in dismount, hop forward on landing. 9.150

Rheagan Courville – solid routine – small hop on the tuck full in dismount – nice flow from start to finish. 9.925

Randii Wyrick – solid routine as well – stuck double layout – legs split on landing. 9.925

Sarie Morrison – hits her routine – tuck full in dismount – small shift on landing for a 9.925

Ashley Sledge – solid opening routine for the Tide – sticks the dismount – 9.90

Becca Alexin – shaposh to pak salto; took a hop on the double tuck flyaway dismount landing for a 9.85 – rest of routine looked solid.

Kim Jacob – Ray release – toe on toe off to bail to hs on low bar – missed vertical on final handstand near end of routine and a check step forward on the double layout for a 9.800.

Kaitlyn Clark – toe on toe off on lb – shaposh back to hs right on top of the low bar; sticks the double layout dismount – sluggish on the toe on toe off giant (high bar) - handstands look pretty good. 9.850

Sarah DeMeo – problems with the giant uprise – just past vertical but keeps going – straddle Jaeger – hop back on the double layout. 9.825

Ashley Priess – 9.925 – stuck the dismount – Tkatchev to pak salto and Khorkina releases looked solid.

LSU on Vault:

Kaleigh Dickson – 9.925 Y 1/1 – stuck but limited amplitude and distance. 

Britney Taylor – 9.875 for a Y 1/1 – hop back – better distance.

Jessie Jordan – 9.90

Randi Lau – 9.925

Sarie Morrison – 9.925 – stuck Y 1/1 – looked really strong.

Rheagan Courville – Y 1/1 – 9.925 – controlled hop back – pretty form in the air.

Alabama is wearing the hot pink and black leo they wore earlier this year in Tuscaloosa at the Tide’s Pink Meet.

LSU is wearing black and a shell pink leo.  Both teams look great!

This is the second regular season meet between the Crimson Tide and Bengal Tigers, with Alabama claiming a resounding victory back on January 18th in Coleman Coliseum. Here we are six weeks later and it is LSU that has just slightly surged past the Tide in the RQS standings this past week, so they are holding at #4 while Alabama is in at #5.  So tonight’s competition is about as evenly a match up as you can get.

But LSU is celebrating Senior Night and it’s also their Pink Meet, so they are hoping the crowd turns out to inspire their team to a season high score and victory against their major foe, both on the football field and the gymnastics arena.

To win tonight Alabama will need a little luck and some super energized yet focused routines on all four events.  The luck will have to come from LSU experiencing miscues. But Bama would prefer to defeat them straight up and this will require an excellent start on the uneven bars by getting vertical on their handstands and sticking the dismount landings.  It’s as simple as that.

Alabama will see the return of Ashley Sledge to the vault line-up and Lauren Beers and Carley Sims are starting to demonstrate greater confidence with their Yurchenko 1/1 vaults since senior Marissa Gutierrez’s injury two weeks ago at Arkansas.  Tonight all Tide gymnasts need to block well off the table and stick their landings to put pressure on LSU going into the final two events.  Alabama is one of the top vaulting teams in the nation and it’s time to get those scores higher since post-season is just two weeks away.

Alabama will move to the floor exercise where tonight we may see six routines open with an E tumbling element, including Brooke Parker’s return, who will throw two E passes.  Alabama must stand up their difficult tumbling elements and stay in bounds.  Freshman Lauren Beers will be called upon again to showcase her dynamic routine but must nail that final double tuck pass to garner the highest score possible. 

Finishing on balance beam, Alabama hopes to demonstrate why they are the “beam team” by showcasing six routines that could all go 9.90 or higher.  Another strong leadoff by Diandra Milliner will set the confident tone early for Kaitlyn Clark and Kayla Williams.  DeMeo, Jacob and Priess will try to secure the victory with more difficult leap and tumbling elements to get the scores as high as possible.

It should be another terrific competition between two historic foes. The LSU band is in the house and Mike the Tiger is waiting to greet us outside later, so let’s get ready for some awesome SEC gymnastics! 

Warming up on beam for the Tide – Clark, Jacob, DeMeo, Williams, Beers, Priess, Milliner while Guti is back over on the vault table – jumping on and off to work the ankles under the close eye of David Patterson.

Nice bhs to back pike from Lauren Beers! Dismounting this week with a 1.5 twist.  Full turn with leg horizontal.  Milliner looking sharp with her flight series.

Clark struggling a bit with the Popa jump.  Nice stick of the 1.5 twist dismount by Jacob! Coach Patterson has Kaitlyn redo that last beat jump to sheep jump combination and claims it perfect with a high five. Team departs for the locker room – get ready for the elephant and tiger rumble!

Bama is warming up Parker, DeMeo, Milliner, Jacob, Sims, Priess, Frost, Beers, Dennis and Jacob on floor.  Marissa is running the vault runway to keep working those ankles.  Looking good!

Milliner sticks the second pass run (front layout to 1/1). Parker warming up a double front Arabian and a tuck full in.  She is showing better control in the air of that second E tumbling element this week.

Double layouts – Beers, Frost

Double front Arabian – DeMeo, Milliner, Parker

Tuck Full-In – Parker

Pike Full In – Jacob

Wow! DeMeo just threw a beautfiul double front Arabian (no mat this week!) and Milliner follows with her own version, stuck beautifully.

Hunter Dennis throwing some sky-high double tucks and pikes on floor – looks ready to exhibit tonight possibly.

Guti is now going through her choreo run and dance – Bama gymnasts encourage her and go through some of her dance moves to help inspire her further.