Bama Crowned 2003 Central Regional Champs With Superior TEAM Effort

Still basking in the glow of their 2003 Southeastern Conference Championship win, the Alabama Crimson Tide marched back home to Tuscaloosa to host the Central Regional Championships on April 12, 2003.  Entering the NCAA National qualifying meet as the top seed in the Central Region, the Tide ironically drew what has become their signature rotation (bye-floor-vault-bye-uneven bars-balance beam].  Feeding off the home crowd's vocal support, Bama proceeded to whack the opposition on all but one event.  Enroute they claimed the all around (Kristin Sterner), vault (Ashley Miles), balance beam (Kristin Sterner) and floor exercise (Ashley Miles) titles as well. Despite their celebrated youth, the Crimson Tide called upon all of their members to forge this victory.  There were several key performances that we'll highlight at this time.

Michelle Reeser

The Monroe, Louisiana native was given the task of starting the team off on their first event, floor exercise.  A little too much adrenaline on her opening double pike tumbling pass sent her scooting backwards out of bounds (9.70).  Fortunately, Michelle more than made up for it later with a super balance beam performance (9.90) that prepared the way for a team total of 49.525 on this event.  Michelle has earned the lead off position on these two events with consistent performances all year long.  And she's only a sophomore!

Lauren Holdefer

Where did that awesome ¼ on ¾ off vault come from (9.85)? Weeks and weeks of perfecting this difficult vault have finally paid off for the Northport junior.  She also had a clutch performance on the floor exercise (9.875) that paved the way for a 49.625 team total on this event.  This was one of her most confident floor routines of the year.

Alexis Brion

You could tell in the vault long warm-ups that Alexis was going to have a good meet.  She achieved incredible height and distance on the pike ½ twist and was rewarded with a 9.90.  She appears to be ready to reenter the line-up on floor exercise as well after throwing a super exhibition routine at Auburn on March 21 (9.875). 

Shannon Hrozek

Returning to the line-up after a knee strain on the vault in early March, Shannon was her steadiest on the uneven bars (9.825).  She faltered on the balance beam (9.300) but her score was thrown out when her teammates rallied around her to post scores of 9.875 or higher.  Shannon is healthy again and prepared to go on floor at nationals and even vault as needed.

Rachael Delahoussaye

Known as the freshman that keeps everyone laughing, Rachael was all business on the balance beam for Regionals.  She followed Michelle's superb opening performance by matching her in score (9.90) and executing some tricky skills with confidence (wolf full; bhs to layout; wolf to immediate Korbut).  Rachael has contributed significantly to the depth on balance beam this year and big things are expected from her in the near future on the other events as well.

Dana Pierce

While Dana's confidence in 2003 sometimes has been up and down, the fact that she has competed on at least one event at each meet this year underscores how important the Advance, Indiana native has become to the team's success.  Having scored as high as a 9.925 on the vault and balance beam and a 9.850 on the uneven bars (9.90 for an exhibition routine), Dana has demonstrated clearly that she has the big skills to keep Alabama competitive at a high level for years to come.  And she hasn't even been called upon to show what she can do on the floor exercise! Yeesh! Pierce vaulted a strong Yurchenko 1/1 (9.80) at Regionals and has consistently scored 9.875 or higher with this vault.  With her power and overall athletic skills, Dana may well be poised to become the next Kristin Sterner for the Crimson Tide. 

Dana Filetti

The 2001 World Team Alternate came through on bars in a big way for this meet, scoring a 9.85 for a routine we thought should have scored no less than a 9.90 when compared to the two routines that did achieve this score. Historically, the uneven bars have been one of Bama's strongest events but new faces and several very difficult dismounts (double fronts) have led to some new gray hairs for David and Bryan.  At Regionals, Filetti's booming Gienger release and her double front dismount garnered incredible distance from the high bar.  This routine will be a critical one for the Tide at Nationals.  With a stuck landing, Dana has the potential to earn first team All America honors on this event.

Stephanie Kite

Call her Ms. Reliability.  Seeing Stephanie's growing confidence on the floor the last three years has been a delight for PBAs.  Her work ethic in the gym matches that of Sterner and Rice.  She has mastered the E opening tumbling pass that now denotes her as one of Bama's best on the floor.  She earned a 9.875 at Regionals and a huge 9.925 score at the SECs that was absolutely critical in the Tide's victory over Georgia. Stephanie's improvement on the balance beam in the off season has increased the Tide's depth on this event and she remains one of the top alternates on the vault, ready to step in at a moment's notice.

 Mari-Christine Bayer

When you want nerves of steel or need a clutch performance on the bars or beam, apparently Mari is the new Bama gymnast to call upon.  After the team posted three solid scores on the uneven bars at Regionals (Hrozek: 9.825, Filetti: 9.850, Sterner: 9.825), Bama was cruising to a 49 plus score on this event.  But an uncharacteristic fall from freshman Larissa Stewart (9.325) put junior Jeana Rice in the hot seat and she was able to get out with a 9.75 after struggling during her transition to the low bar.  Mari adjusted her routine that followed by discarding the piked Jaeger release, which reduced her overall start value but still garnered a respectable final score of 9.70.  Bama's goal was to avoid another fall and they were successful. On the beam, Mari followed Shannon's fall and came through in magnificent fashion, earning a 9.875.  Bayer is back in the vaulting line-up and may also be called upon at Nationals to do floor.

Jeana Rice

Though she finished in third place at Regionals in the all around, Jeana posted great scores on the vault (9.85), floor (9.925) and beam (9.90) and was named the Central Regional Gymnast of the Year for 2003.  She finished the regular season ranked #1 in the all around nationally and is currently just behind Nebraska's Richelle Simpson, who edged her after conference championship scores were allowed to be added to the final RQS totals going into Regional Championships.   Jeana has the potential to earn five All America Honors this year but no doubt would rather have another team trophy. 

Larissa Stewart

The freshman from Oklahoma performs Bama's most intricate and difficult uneven bars routine for 2003 and had a great effort going Saturday night until her Tkatchev release was just missed.  She finished strongly with a super double layout and a 9.325 score.  Larissa has shown great improvement on this event in 2003 and is expected to shine here as well as the balance beam and on the floor exercise in the near future.  Her bars routine will also be critical at Nationals.

Ashley Miles

Has she even scored below a 9.90 at all this year? Oh yeah.  On the bars in the early part of the season, she earned a few 9.8s along with a 9.90 performance on this event at Arkansas.  Her 10.00 on the floor at Regionals was well-deserved and the 9.95 for her Yurchenko 1/1 vault reflected the judges' amazement at her height, form and distance on this vault.  Somehow, you just knew that Ashley was not going to sit out Nationals despite what was looking like a season-ending injury back in late January.  She apparently doesn't take well to sitting on the sidelines. Ashley will anchor the Tide on vault and floor at Nationals and may be called upon to compete uneven bars as well.  The future is nothing but bright for the 18 year-old from San Antonio, Texas. 

Kristin Sterner

It's hard to believe that four years have come and just about gone since we first heard about this Level 10 standout from Michigan.  Kristin has more than exceeded early expectations, managing to continuously throw a high level of difficulty on each event while quietly leading her teammates by example.  She won the all around at Regionals with a 49.625 tally and was superb on the balance beam (9.95), floor (9.95) and vault (9.90) and very confident on the uneven bars (9.825), where she throws one of the most difficult routines for the Tide: full twisting Tkatchev, Tkatchev, double front dismount.  Kristin has the opportunity to leave the University with two SEC Championship and two National Championship rings.  She is the Boyd McWhorter SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2003, which makes us extra proud that she chose to compete for the University of Alabama.

Lauren Pruitt

In order to remain on the gymnastics team, this freshman walk-on has to practice each week just like the competing members of the team, prepared to step in at anytime. Lauren's specialty is the vault but her enthusiasm, cheering and support of the ladies on the sideline have been her main contributions this season.  Lauren's determination to perfect her skills will hopefully bring her closer to vaulting for the Tide in the near future.

So, we're on the road again to Lincoln, Nebraska.  Hopefully, that snow we ran into back in January will have melted by the time the Bama Nation rolls into town April 23, 2003.  Once again, you can count on all the highlights being brought to you at www.gymtide.com immediately following the afternoon session on April 24, 2003.  Check with the site to follow the online scoring, which will occur during the meet. Our post-meet commentary will follow soon after. Roll Tide Bama, Bring Home Title #5!