dynamic return of freshman Ashley Miles and Alexis Brion. The opening event iced this one early, with the best vaulting performance from the Tide in a long time. They just seemed to feed off each other's success, one booming, stuck vault after another, starting with Jeana Rice's Yurchenko 1/1. The uneven bars and balance beam performances were solid and the floor routines were polished and performed with great confidence. Keep in mind that we are still missing on floor the huge routine from Ashley Miles that the home crowd will hopefully see within the next two weeks, as well as the beautiful and powerful routine of Mari-Christine Bayer, who was all smiles tonight as she bounded around and assisted the coaches and team. Look for her back within the next two weeks. Bama will need to keep pressing forward because this is a very competitive SEC for 2003. We are hoping to break 10,000 for the Kentucky (3/8/02) and UGA (3/15/02) meets over the next two weeks, so please turn out to support this team. You won't be sorry you did! Roll Tide and goodnight from Coleman Coliseum.

Stein of Auburn in third, Sterner in second (39.675) and Rice in first (39.700). Alabama finishes in first as a team with 197.975 and Auburn at 196.600.

Puckett of Auburn in third, Hrozek in second and Sterner-meister in first. Should have been a 10!

go to Stein of Auburn in third, Pierce and Rice in second and Ashley Miles in first with her first collegiate 10.

On the uneven bars, Bama swept these with Sterner and Hrozek in second and Jeana Rice in first.

On the beam Bama sweeps as well with Reeser in third and Sterner and Rice tying for first.

and David are in Captain's Chairs and have to listen to the 10 Reasons Why Alumni Return to the University of Alabama. Everyone is laughing at their comments. Barbara Mack is leading the way with Patti Rice Eggers, and now as they finish up the crowd stands up to give the Pattersons a standing ovation. They are still standing as the alumni give the final awards from themselves to the University Team, a donation to Camp Smile A Mile and to the Post Graduate Scholarship Fund. Roll Tide! What an emotional moment. They are now taking a group photo, all of the alumni and the coaches with several husbands and children thrown in.

floor with a 49.625. Bama's final total is 197.975 and Auburn is at 196.600.

two passes, a double pike and a double tuck; her third pass is a front, front, front tuck. She will throw a fourth pass, a double tuck, which she lands better than the first two! Amazing stamina! She receives a 9.775. Did they not like the music? (he he).

Two booming double pikes, landed perfectly, and the timing overall was just wonderful on all of her dance moves in between. A final score of 9.975.

then throws a switch leap combination as well as a switch leap to a gainer layout; she dismounts with a full twist? Kite gets a 9.90 on floor.

Perfect opening pass of the front, double full to a punch front and the second pass of a front, front full, front layout. Bama is on fire tonight and Stephanie just lit another candle on the cake! Johnson of Auburn gets a 9.825 for her beam routine. Stein is next and will be their final competitor.

and she takes a balance step back on her landing of the layout flight series element (two-footed combination). She throws a front aerial and looks solid so far. She also dismounts with a running front full.

She lands it just a little low and forward but stands it up. Mega difficult second pass of a whip to a 2 1/2, landed well. Now she's rocking and the crowd is getting into it. She finishes with a whip through to a double full! Awesome! Lancaster of Auburn gets a 9.825 for her beam routine.

dance and leap combos. Brion is back with a vengeance! She opens with a superbly high double tuck and almost vaults out of bounds on her second pass because it has such height but holds it well and then finishes with a perfect front, front full to front tuck (no movement on the landing). Holtz gets a 9.80 for her beam routine.

for her beam routine. Danielle Holtz is now up and is looking elegant with her dance moves. She throws a side aerial to another side aerial that ends up turned to the side (therefore a Somi?). Don't know if she meant to do this. Some unique moves including another side Somi. She dismounts with a running front full, nice landing.

She lands that opening pike like a dart and the front, front full to front tuck as well. She is dancing through her straddle and wolf full combinations and will finish with a perfect double tuck. Great job Texas gal!

and Puckett struggled just a bit on the landing of her second flight element (layout) but stayed on. Nice side aerial to a straddle and she dismounts with a running front tuck but takes a step forward.

natives are indeed restless tonight. She opens with a booming front pike (her highest ever). The Ten Troupe standing up and clapping her through this routine. Second pass is completed well and she will finish with a front, front, barani half, layout-stepout. Perfectly timed and landed, including the final dance sequence punch out to the Ten Troupe! They immediately salute her back with a roar of approval.

She falls on the second element of her flight series (layout). Switch leap to side switch, then a later wolf to side switch and a front punch to wolf. She dismounts with a cartwheel gainer layout, one step.

is at 148.350.

problems and dismounts with a double full, landing it perfectly. Puckett gets a 9.925 for her floor. Pate throws a double tuck as her opening pass and finishes strongly. Rice gets a 9.925 for her beam routine. Bama has a total score on the beam of 49.300. Auburn has Pate at a 9.90 for her floor routine and a total floor score of 49.325.

and Courtney Puckett is smiling at the judges to some rocking music. She throws mainly front tumbling but does it well: front through to a Rudi, front, front, front, front tuck and then a front, front full front tuck(?). Johnson of Auburn gets a 9.85 for her floor routine.

and Natica Johnson is through her first pass, a double pike. Front, front full to a tuck is her second pass and she ends with three front layouts. Stewart gets a 9.800 for her beam routine and Sterner is on with her punch front, landed nicely. Flight series is perfect and she is working down on the beam; she has two straddle leaps in combo and throws a wolf and then dismounts with a double pike (left out the wolf to standing back pike combination due to Hrozek's fall)and just drilled the landing of that double pike!!! Boy did Bama need that!

but has trouble on her final pass, which looked like a front to a Rudi (landed low and forward, one step to the left). Larissa Stewart is up next for the Tide. Hrozek just received a 9.175 for her beam routine. Stewart is through her flight series, her three leap combo (switch leap, wolf full to tuck full). She completes her two aerials with a little balance check on each but dismounts very well with her running full. Whew!!!

series and will be deducted automatically .5. She is through her leap series but is being too tentative. She will dismount with a double full, one foot forward. Boyte gets a 9.825 for her floor routine. Holtz is up next for the Tigers.

and Boyte is now through her double pike opening pass. Her second and third passes have front tumbling combos. Pierce gets a 9.775 for her beam routine. Let's start getting those scores up Tide.

Dana Pierce is now up for the Tide and pauses after her switch leap and then throws the two straddle leap combination with no problems and then a beautiful two-footed bhs to layout. She bent at the shoulder a bit on a switch leap to wolf jump combo but lands the cartwheel to gainer layout perfectly.

so far. She was a little off center on the Korbut (third element of her flight series) but her recovery was smooth. Kayce Stein is up first on floor for Auburn. She opens with a 2 1/2 twist to Classical Gas and three front layouts as her second pass. She finishes with a double full and the crowd is applauding her efforts.

maximize their score here tonight. The coaches spoke to them this week of the need to turn it up a notch, it's all got to come together this month and next. They've responded very well in the first two events.

scored a 49.150 on the vault. The running score for the Tide is 99.05 and for Auburn 98.125. Auburn's last gymnast on the vault, Hannah Littrell, vaulted a half on pike off and landed it way off center and had to step her right foot down onto the second mat to catch herself and still received a respectable 9.75.

both of her inverts, the Tkatchev release and the reverse tuck dismount off the high bar for a 9.875. Fantastic! Let's keep the pressure on Aubie Bama!

Sterner gets a 9.90 for her bars routine and Oklahoma native Larissa Stewart just threw her own version of a great routine, which included a Tkatchev and two inverted giants and a stuck double layout (she's got that dismount down cold now). She receives a 9.875 for just missing two of her handstands. Jeana Rice just threw a terrific routine as well, for a 9.925.

What a tremendous routine, both major release moves thrown solidly and the handstands reached and a stuck double front dismount. Kayce Stein of Auburn is doing some terrific vaulting of her own, a pike 1/2 twist for a 9.925. Aubie will not go away!

but struggled with her dismount and took a major step back on the double front and even bent down it seems, possibly to the knee to stop her momentum (we couldn't see from the person standing in front). She receives a 9.475.

which had one step back on the landing. Michelle Reeser redeemed herself on bars this week with a fine routine in second position, making her Tkatchev release and her handstands. Danielle Holtz is a freshman for Aubie and she just threw a double full vault and receives a 9.80. Reeser gets a 9.825 for her bars routine.

taking a step forward on the landing for a 9.75. Shannon Hrozek just threw a super routine on bars, including a Gienger release and the full turn to double tuck dismount, landed with no steps and chest high. She gets a 9.90!

and may be throwing at least 4-5 10 vaults tonight. Our judges tonight are: Sheryl Burcker, Cindy McLane, Donna Meineke, Gail Tourtellotte.

and we are ready for Rotation Two. Auburn has a total of 48.975 on the uneven bars and Alabama a 49.625 on the vault.

when she landed that vault. Sheer joy! The Bama Nation is so fortunate to have her back when we initially thought she was gone for the season just four short weeks ago.

with a 49.625. That's close to their record back in 1996 when they won the National Championship (#3).

and got a 9.625. Mainly she got stuck on the high bar and bent at the elbows and then just had to bail and transition to the low bar, no major release moves being thrown and leg separations at two points. She dismounted with a nice double layout (Auburn's signature dismount this year). Freshman Natica Johnson just threw a nice routine, reminiscent of Andree Pickens. She has one leg heavily bandaged at the knee and ankle but is competing despite this. Good job.

A Yurchenko 1/1, with one step to the right, a little off center. And Miss Ashley Miles, just threw the most awesome vault, and it gets a well-deserved 10! The guy sitting next to me is taking notes and had no idea who she was but he knows now!!!

Dana Pierce just nailed her Yurchenko 1/1 and received a 9.925. Stein of Auburn gets a 9.75 for her bars routine and Lancaster just completed her routine, which included a straddle Jaeger and beautiful extension on her uprises. She threw a toe-on with a half dismount and landed it well.

and Brion a 9.875! Mary Nell Pate just finished her bars routine, which included a Gienger that she caught a little too close to the high bar and subsequently had almost no momentum transitioning to the low bar and almost had to stop. But she finishes well with a double layout, piked down but good distance and one step on the landing. Sterner went next with a wonderful vault and landed it beautifully! She receives a 9.875. Pate gets a 9.725 for her bars routine.

A superb pike front 1/2 vault, slightest shift of her foot on the landing. Amazing. Rice got a 9.95 for her vault, by the way. Is this team on fire or what?

Oh my! No movement on that vault! Annie Jenkins just went for the Tigers on the bars and did a nice job with a double layout dismount.

it looks like we will see Shannon Hrozek, Ashley Miles and Alexis Brion in the line-up, all throwing 10 vaults tonight. Yowza!

And now for the fashion report. Auburn is dressed in a Navy Blue and white outfit, with contrasting velveteen (dark Navy)and spandex (white streak)and Navy sheer sleeves with sequins dotted throughout. Alabama is dressed in their 2002 Nationals outfit (for opening night), the deep crimson velveteen with sheer sleeves and upper bodice, highlighted by the silver sequins covering the sweetheart bodice. Coach Sarah Patterson is dressed in a sleeveless silk black top with silk gray slacks. Coach Jeff Thompson is wearing his signature black pants with a cream mock turtleneck and a loden green sport jacket.

as the lights remain off. There are lots of cameras here tonight and this meet will be covered by CSS on a local affiliate.

as the fireworks continue to hiss at the announcement of each gymnast. Bama has their "prom" hairdos going with Alexis Brion and Lauren Pruitt. The rest of the fashion report will be coming shortly.

Those fireworks are trying to take Big Al out! B-A-M-A - BAMA!!!!

and the Tide and Tigers are getting ready to rumble. Auburn is introduced first. Auburn has only two seniors, Cheryl Lancaster and Mary Nell Pate.

over the years has been decidedly one-sided in terms of wins and losses. Sarah Patterson has never lost to the Auburn Tigers in her 24 years of coaching for the Tide but this year promises to be one of the most competitive meets between these two teams since 1993. Auburn is boasting three 196 plus scores in the past three weeks and their confidence is growing with each year under the tutelage of Jeff Thompson. But enough of this mutual admiration thing. This is WAR!! And IT'S SHOWTIME!!!

with the cheerleaders and the crowd is slowly trickling in from the baseball game that just ended a short while ago.

Well, it took us awhile to get on line for the second week in a row but we're ready to rock and roll to a great gymnastics meet here at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. There are several youth cheerleading squads who are exhibiting in front of the crowd and they are leaving for Orlando next week to compete in a national competition, so let's wish them the best. Great routines!