That's what we're going to call them from now on. Jeana Rice goes out last Sunday after two events only to return to the all around in five days. Ashley Miles goes out on Wednesday with a knee injury only to inspire her team mates to a 197.200 performance. We are very proud of this team and hope you will return in two weeks to see them take on the LSU Tigers in Coleman, February 14, 2003. Roll Tide Roll!

Michigan's Calli Ryals is in second along with Kristin Sterner (39.550) and Jeana Rice wins the all around with a 39.750. 196.525 for Michigan and 197.200 for Alabama. Way to go Bama!

are: Rice in third, Sterner and Ryals in first.

and it looks like the Tide will win this one with strong performances on the floor. The awards are being given out. Vault: Jenny Deiley finishes second and Jeana Rice and Becca Clauson tie for first. Uneven Bars: Jenny Deiley finishes third, Sterner second and Rice first. Balance Beam: Grieco of Michigan, Reeser of Bama for third, Rice for second place and Ryals for first.

That was one great routine. Way to come together Bama for the first home meet.

and she is dancing with a bright smile plastered on her face. She is through her second pass with no problems and will throw another double pike at the end. Boy did she nail that last double pike, on top of her toes, no movement! Incredible!

as well as her second punch front (rough night) but is continuing the routine with a smile. Wolverines will have to count a 9.700 and a 9.75. They look very solid going into the next month of competition. Kite gets a 9.90 for her floor routine! Sterner-meister is up next.

The crowd is too.

Kite just nailed her opening pass of a front through to a double full to a punch front! Magnificent! Ryals gets a 9.975 for her awesome beam set.

and Patterson is giving her a hug. Grieco gets a 9.90 for her beam routine. Ryals is looking very good so far with her routine. She nails the double tuck dismount. Can you say 10?

finishing with a 9.825. Rice booms her opening pike and the whip to a 2 1/2 twist. No problem this week with her leap series and she is smiling all the way.

routine. Grieco is on now, looking good so far. Switch leap to switch side combo and a nice flight series of ff, ff layout. Wolf to Korbut and tuck full, slight balance check. Dismount: double twist, landed well but form is a little loose.

and we mean booms it! Her second pass of a double tuck has to step back because it was so high and had super good form. She finishes with another double tuck! Way to go! Solid routine.

flic flac, flic flac, double twist. Reeser gets a 9.85 for her floor routine. Holdefer is up next.

after a few checks on her first two passes. Clauson gets a 9.85 for her beam. Deiley is on with a punch front. Michigan is throwing the difficulty on beam this year for sure. Deiley is very elegant looking on the beam; she bends at the waist on her flight series but manages to just stay on.

and Reeser popped forward a bit on her second pass so she will be deducted accordingly.

Reeser is next and wants to push that scoring up immediately. Crowd is cheering loudly to "Devil Went Down to Georgia". She opens with a double pike, one step back on the landing.

What a way to start a floor event. Alexis Brion was one of the first to rush on the mat and hug M-C with congratulations on her super routine. Clauson punch fronts onto the beam with an exclamation point, working through her flight series and leap series with no major problems. Nice extension on the straddle leap combination.

crowd, which responds in kind. Her second pass is a front, front full to front tuck. Nice landing!

and a flight series of ff,ff, layout; punch front is landed a little low and a balance check but she stays on. She dismounts with a gainer pike off the end and takes a step back.

for the Tide instead of Holdefer. Slugger-bear, as RaraRuss calls her, will debut her routine for the home crowd. They've heard alot about this routine via the internet, so now is their big chance to see it in person. Kara Rosella is first up on beam for the Wolverines.

where she can cheer the ladies on floor. Bama continues to lead the Wolverines after three rotations: 147.675 to 147.350.

The YMCA dads are in their new white shirts with the huge YMCA letters. We have the Indian Chief, Construction Worker, the Cowboy and the Lance Armstrong interpreter. Andree Pickens' father is threatening one of the guys to replace him if he doesn't pick up his dance groove immediately. He immediately complies!

and Kroll is up last for the Wolverines. Solid opening pass of a double pike and a 2 1/2 to punch front for her second pass. She lands the final pass off to the left and has to use her left leg to stop her momentum but this was a fine routine overall. Holdefer is up on the beam with a punch front mount. She is looking good so far with the more difficult elements but bends at the waist on the difficult tour j'ete. Kroll gets a 9.775 for her floor routine. Holdefer dismounts with a Rudi. Now we move to the floor, our favorite crowd pleasing event.

is perfectly thrown. Gymacro series is right on and she dismounts with a double twist, landing it perfectly. No obvious deductions we can see. The crowd is up on their feet. What a trooper!

and Ryals is doing a fantastic job with her dance and big skills (double pike was very nice). Bayer gets a 9.65 for her beam, which Bama will have to count after Pierce's fall. Jeana Rice is cleaning up for the Tide.

She almost comes off on the flight series (front aerial, back handspring to Korbut, which she over-rotated a tad). The rest of her elements are looking good so far but she is hesitating on her leap series, where little bobbles will cost her the big score. She nails the dismount of a gainer pike off the end of the beam.

Grieco throws a double pike on her first pass on floor, nice and high. Front, front full to front layout. Jazzy dance. Loose form on the final pass (front, barani out?) but she finishes well with a huge smile for the judges.

Janessa Grieco is up next for the Wolverines.

and throws a solid flight series of flic flac, flic flac layout (huge smile on her face). Two straddle leaps to 1 1/2 turn and the switch side leap, wolf to back pike, perfect. Dismounts with a double pike and lands it with one step back. Nice!

Deiley loses control on her final pass, landing the front tuck almost to the ground but recovers and finishes her dance.

with Spanish music, whip to back handspring to double tuck is her opening pass. Very elegant dance and presentation.

walkover onto the beam and is through her flight series and gymacro series, as well as her hitch kick to sheep jump. Nice switch leap to wolf and she will dismount with a double twist, which she lands well with a small hop back. Clauson receives a 9.825 for her floor routine.

and has to take a step forward on the landing. Pierce gets a 9.325 for her beam routine. Hrozek is next. Beautiful second pass of a double pike from Clauson (gorgeous form in the air).

switch leap to two straddles (air time major). She falls on the layout of her flight series but recovers with a nice side switch leap. Rosella gets a 9.55 for her floor routine.

on her first and third pass. Dana Pierce is up next for the Tide.

music. She opens with a double pike that she stumbles forward on and touches her hands down. Reeser gets a 9.90 for a near flawless routine in the judge's eyes.

Starting off on the balance beam for the Tide is Michelle Reeser. She does not do her press mount to handstand this week. She is through her flight series and dance elements; switch leap to wolf; cartwheel to press down onto the beam is solid and the switch leap to two straddle jumps is through. She dismounts with a back handspring and layout. Nice routine. The crowd is cheering loudly tonight.

as our ladies prepare to attack the balance beam. The Ten Troupe is cheering loudly with their white tees on (huge red 10 in the middle). Let's roll.

Deiley and then Sterner. Looks like Pierce is ready to rock on the balance beam to a huge score.

for her Yurchenko 1/1 vault. Michigan did great on vault overall and tightened the meet. Bama showed they have pluck and grit after losing Ashley on Wednesday, coming out in front of the home crowd with two solid performances on the first events. This will help them prepare for championship season in a huge way.

the other, for a final of 9.975. Way to recover in less than five days junior!

and Filetti a 9.825 for her bars. Jeana Rice just nailed her bars routine and raised her arms in victory with an electric smile! The crowd is standing!

nailing all of her handstands, a booming Gienger release but she takes a large step back on her double front dismount despite awesome distance from the bars.

Sterner gets a 9.90!!!

a booming front with a 1/2 twist, nailing the landing. Larissa Stewart had a great routine going on the bars until her dismount, which she landed low and forward, for a final score of 9.65. Great for a first routine of the year. Ryals just got a 9.775 and Kristin Sterner landed her double front dismount like a dart! The crowd erupts!

routine. Reeser just completed her bars routine with a one step back on the landing of the tuck reverse over the high bar. She gets a 9.825.

and lands it solidly. Form deductions for the bent knees and limited distance (9.85).

Mirkovich gets a 9.75 for her vault and Hrozek just threw a great bars routine, landing the double tuck out of a full pirouette and fighting for that landing.

for the Wolverines. She vaults a front pike and takes two steps forward on the landing. Nice height.

with Ashley's injury and will compete on bars without having thrown an exhibition routine yet this young season. Jeana Rice is striving for perfection during her bars warm up. Filetti is looking good and is trying to nail that dismount, a double front out of a 1 1/2 pirouette. Pierce just warmed up and may exhibit. Bama is at 49.200 and Michigan at 48.975.

team by mid-season to end of the year with the routines we saw tonight. Each routine is a little different, with some unusual release moves and intricate pirouetting combinations. Add Elise Ray back to the line-up and you have a national championship contender.

Sterner's half off front full layout a 9.85 (one step forward, great distance). Rubin gets a 9.70 for her bars routine.

bars routine but almost fell off the low bar as she was transitioning to the high bar but recovered (kind of did a two step on the low bar) and lands her dismount, a full twisting flyaway.

and lands it well. However, she will have some form deductions. Deiley gets a 9.875 for her bars routine and Mirkovich just completed her routine, nice release moves but did not reach any of her handstands and stumbled back a bit out of her double layout with a full twist. Mega difficult routine.

for her bars and Deiley just threw a beautiful routine, effortless, with a double layout that was piked down a bit. Rice gets a 9.925 for her vault.

Calli Ryals is next and has good extension, toe point, a Tkatchev release, which is very smooth and a double layout dismount, one step forward (excellent distance). Jeana just nailed her Yurchenko 1/1 and is enveloped by the crowd and her team mates!

to stop her progress. She has nice distance and height and receives a 9.775.

but misses her handstands in two spots and does a toe on half tuck twist dismount. Nice routine.

Bayer throws a Yurchenko 1/1 and moves one foot to stop her backward progress. She receives a 9.825 and Grieco a 9.175.

and more are coming in as we get ready to start the meet. Lauren vaults a front pike for Linda Morton and Anne Vogel, the two judges on this event who will be critiquing her performance. The crowd is ready for her to hit a big one. She lands with right foot forward. Grieco is up first on the bars and just hit the bar on her Tkatchev release and had to take an extra swing. She dismounts with a double tuck out of a full pirouette.

Jeana Rice just had her final touch and threw a beautiful 1/1. Let's hope she repeats that in the competition. Let's roll!

Michigan is dressed in Alabama's Championship Night outfit (swirl with contrasting velveteen and a sheer upper bodice) in a deep blue. Alabama is wearing their outfit from the first night of Super Six Championships back in April, crimson velveteen with a large silver trim on the bodice and a sheer nylon contrast on the sleeves and upper bodice.

Vault: Holdefer, Bayer, Hrozek, Rice, Kite, Sterner
Bars: Hrozek, Reeser, Stewart, Sterner, Filetti, Rice
Beam: Reeser, Pierce, Hrozek, Sterner, Bayer, Rice
Floor: Holdefer, Bayer, Reeser, Rice, Kite, Sterner

Michigan:

Vault: Mirkovich, Grieco, Clauson, Ryals, Kroll, Deiley
Bars: Grieco, Kroll, Ryals, Deiley, Mirkovich, Rubin
Beam: Rosella, Clauson, Deiley, Grieco, Ryals, Mirkovich
Floor: Rosella, Clauson, Deiley, Grieco, Ryals, Kroll

Alabama Glee Club sang these lines, literally, with our new fireworks display! Awesome.

released to the roaring crowd's approval and we are ready to sing the national anthem.

and was introduced with her two assistants. Now the Tide is being introduced.

The lights are down and Tony Giles is ready to introduce the judges before the teams. Carole Smitherman, Anne Vogel, Evelyn Chandler, Mark Welch, Linda Morton are the judges for tonight. Michigan is being introduced.

is playing Crazy Horse and Big Al is boogeying on the big A circle.

Big Al is dressed in a new outfit. A silver lame shirt with crimson trim on the hem and a huge A and his name on the back. Always a dapper man.

is exhibiting their floor tumbling under the watchful eye of their Coach Helen Burgin, former Tide gymnast.

website about Ashley Miles' injury, which she sustained in practice on Wednesday. It is a right knee injury involving the patella bone pulling slightly away from the connecting tissue but they will not know the extent of this until the swelling goes down and she can be thoroughly examined (x-ray, MRI, etc.). She is in good spirits, walking on crutches with the knee brace and cheering her team on. Let's all pray Tide fans for a healthy recovery for our Ashley, regardless of how long this may take.

M-C Bayer! She seems ready to add to her difficulty on the floor. We have 1:06 left in the warm-ups and then it will soon be lights out! We are told there will be fireworks in Coleman Coliseum tonight to welcome the ladies home in a big way.

across the way near the floor. Nice double pike from Lauren Holdefer, who does not appear to have any lingering effects from her vault warm-up problems at Nebraska this past Sunday. A fine double pike from Michelle Reeser as well. Bama is going for those landings.

taking three weeks off from pounding to try and solidify the healing from her post-season surgery on her ankle. She is cheering the ladies on the floor, especially Kristin Sterner.

events tonight, including balance beam. Stephanie just nailed the opening pass with her punch front! Yahoo.

Mari-Christine Bayer, Kristin Sterner, and JEANA RICE go through their floor work-outs. A nice 2 1/2 twist by freshman Dana Filetti and a foo foo landing on the difficult front to double full punch front from Miss Stephanie Kite! She popped back up with a smile for Bryan.

Gosh, it's great to be back in Coleman Coliseum for the home debut of the Alabama Crimson Tide, the defending NCAA Champions, after being on the road for the past three weeks. We are watching final warm-ups on the floor and balance beam for UA and Michigan respectively.