The 2004 Season in Review

This past weekend in Los Angeles, California, the Alabama Crimson Tide secured a third place showing at the NCAA National Championships.  Senior Jeana Rice shocked the prognosticators by bringing home the coveted All Around Trophy, bypassing home town favorites Jeanette Antolin, Kristen Maloney and Kate Richardson.  Sophomore Ashley Miles successfully defended her individual vault title and grabbed the floor exercise title as well along with sophomore Courtney Bumpers of North Carolina. All in all it was a successful campaign for a team that will return 18 of 24 routines in 2005 and welcome two international elites and a standout Level 10 performer into the fold.  We'll take this opportunity to review the various contributions of Alabama's team members to the success of the 2004 season and what we can expect of them in 2005.

Freshmen

Brittany Comeaux: The Addis, Louisiana, native went 17 for 17 on the uneven bars in 2004 and started to turn in huge scores on the vault by mid-season to increase Bama's national ranking on this event.  Bee is expected to add difficulty to her bars routine in 2005 and Tide fans will likely see her on the floor exercise and balance beam at some point during the season as well.  She has a huge double pike on floor and two front aerials on the beam that have great scoring potential when she hits.

Johnna Gay: Our gal from Mobile, Alabama, turned in solid Yurchenko 1/1 vault exhibitions throughout the year as well as an impressive performance on the floor at LSU in mid-January for a 9.825.  Johnna has an engaging personality that shows up in her floor choreography and she has increased her difficulty on this event to have a realistic chance for competition time next year, throwing a 2 ½ twist, a double twist and a double pike.  With a little more polish and consistency on the balance beam, we may see her exhibit and eventually compete on this event as well. 

Meredith Laxton: All the way from Papillon, Nebraska, Meredith has used 2004 to recuperate from an ACL injury she suffered in the spring of 2003.  She is training all four events now and has made solid strides on the balance beam and bars.  Fall practice will tell us more about her potential to break into the line-up for 2005 on the other events as well.

Erin Rightley: We saw some nerves displayed during Erin's first balance beam exhibition against Penn State but by the next week she was able to exhibit her routine at LSU with the confidence of a veteran.  Consistency will be the key to cracking the balance beam line-up in 2005 but Erin has an even better chance to contribute to Bama's depth on floor exercise with her polished presentation and huge double pike.  The coaches will be refining her technique and skills on the vault and uneven bars to increase her chances to contribute on these events as well.

Sophomores

Mari Bayer: Considered the Tide's most graceful gymnast, the San Jose, California native will be called upon to help anchor the bars, beam and floor exercise in 2005 with the graduation of Jeana Rice.  Mari suffered only one fall on the balance beam in 2004 and just two on the uneven bars.  She stood up all of her floor routines and will be looking to possibly increase her difficulty on at least three events for the upcoming year.  This may include a tucked full in on floor and more difficult dismounts on the bars and beam.  Mari also has competed the Yurchenko 1/1 (high score of 9.90 at Denver) during her freshman year and could see all around action in 2005.

Rachael Delahoussaye: She was replaced in the balance beam line-up only one time this year when her warm-ups were not going well at Michigan but she responded the next week at SECs with a confident set. Rachael appears to have solidified her position on the beam and may provide extra depth on the floor exercise as well, where she will have new music for 2005.

Dana Filetti: Bama's most improved gymnast for 2004 did not accomplish all of her goals but we did see her solidify her positions in the vault and uneven bars line-ups and she exhibited and competed with more confidence on the floor exercise during the regular season.  With the departure of Jeana Rice, Dana will be expected to contribute regularly on the floor in 2005 and may be called upon to showcase her beam routine, where she has some unique moves (side Somi, handstand-layout-bhs) and a more difficult dismount (double full or 2 ½ twist).  Her uneven bars routine may see the addition of a half twist to the double front dismount for maximum scoring potential.

Ashley Miles: Five first team All America honors in two years, including back-to-back individual titles on the vault and the title on floor as well in 2004, will likely just make Ashley hungry for more hardware in 2005.  She will be given the chance to go all around in her junior year with a revamped beam routine that scored a 9.825 at Kentucky (exhibition).  On the floor we expect Ashley will change her music once again to keep her fresh and motivated during her performance on this event.  Don't be surprised if she adds either a fourth pass or a laid-out punch front out of her opening double layout. 

Dana Pierce: She is the only sophomore to have a counting score in each event this year.  Dana was also there for the team during NCAAs when they needed her the most - on bars the first night with Shannon Hrozek having to sit out due to an earlier run-in with the vault.  Dana's floor routine showcased one of the best double pikes we've seen in some time and she landed it every time without requiring a balance step.  She added a punch front to her double twist by the Michigan meet and this was a routine that would have scored well at any point during the post-season if needed.  Dana struggled for consistency on the vault and balance beam throughout the season but clearly has the skills to contribute to Bama's depth on these events for the next two years. 

Juniors

Alexis Brion: She rededicated herself to the sport of gymnastics in 2004 after Coach Patterson challenged her early last summer when she appeared to have too many distractions from her school and gym work.  The results were positive in that she once again earned All America status on the floor exercise and made the line-up on the balance beam during the second half of the season.  Alexis was one of the top vaulters in the country again in 2004 and just missed her third straight All America honor on this event as well.  She exhibited on uneven bars at Kentucky and is expected to train a more consistent and higher scoring dismount during fall workouts to increase her chances to compete in the all around her senior year.  Alexis recently was interviewed about her floor exercise routine performance (individual event finals at NCAAs) and opined that she would need to increase her difficulty to have a feasible chance of winning this event in 2005 at NCAAs.  She was training a double layout in the fall of 2003 and hopes to master the skill in practice this next year to give her that extra boost in scoring.  

Shannon Hrozek:The Woodlands, Texas native has been remarkably injury free for the majority of her three years at Alabama but tested her good fortune recently while doing a vault run at NCAAs.  Shannon recovered sufficiently to compete on the beam the first night and on three events the second night, inspiring her teammates and Tide fans in the process. Shannon is the Tide's only returning all around gymnast for 2005 (in terms of actual competition) but will likely have company with the advancement of the junior class and the all around skills of the incoming freshman class.  During 2004, Shannon mastered the Yurchenko 1/1 and became the Tide's opening anchor on this event, scoring 9.90 or higher for almost six straight weeks of competition.  Next year we may see her master the full-out dismount on the bars to increase her scoring potential on this event for her senior year.

Michelle Reeser: "Mouse" was sorely missed by Tide fans on the floor this year when a lingering heel injury limited her ability to consistently land the double pike opening pass, thus allowing other team members to bypass her as the season progressed.  We will have more of an idea about her potential to return to the line-up on floor once fall workouts commence.  On the balance beam, she was 16 of 17, falling only at the NCAA prelims.  Her reliability on this event allowed the coaches to experiment more with the line-up during the 2004 season.  Michelle was also ready to go on the bars at NCAAs when Shannon was injured and warmed up very impressively, hitting her handstands and sticking the reverse tuck dismount with more consistency.  We do not expect to see her on the vault given the Tide's depth on this event for the upcoming season.  Michelle's winning attitude and hard work ethic in and out of the gym will be needed in 2005 for the Tide to realize their goals for another SEC and NCAA championship.

Seniors

Lauren Holdefer:It's been a long journey for the Northport, Alabama gal to this point.  She was a tiny gym meet helper in Coleman Coliseum back in the mid-nineties with her sister Erin, helping to turn the score cards and run errands for the judges during Bama competitions.  She contributed to the Tide's vault and floor scores that helped secure the 2002 NCAA Championship and the 2003 SEC Championship titles.  Lauren's family has gone the extra mile to support her and the team over the past four years, attending every meet regardless of distance or weather.  But we won't have to say goodbye to them as Mike Holdefer (daddy) will be serving on the Medalist Club board over the next few years and sister Erin will be continuing to run the Bama Bounders program in Tuscaloosa. 

Stephanie Kite: A 4.0 GPA throughout four years of college is a huge accomplishment for any individual but when you couple this with the demanding rigors of a top tier Division I gymnastics program, it's even more special.  Like Lauren, Stephanie's floor and vault performances helped the Tide secure the 2002 NCAA title and she was even more instrumental in helping the team win the 2003 SEC title with a superb floor routine that garnered a career best 9.925 score.  Stephanie's perseverance and unselfish attitude in the gym earned her a scholarship for her final two years at Alabama.  No doubt Sarah Patterson will now be looking for "the next Stephanie Kite" on her recruiting trips.

Jeana Rice: If anyone has grown leaps and bounds over the past four years, it would have to be J-Rice (as her teammates affectionately call her).  And we're obviously not referring to her height but rather her leadership skills, maturity and overall attitude.  Coach Patterson expressed recently that she never had any problems with Jeana's work ethic in the practice gym or during competitions over the past four years.  The challenge for Jeana during her sophomore year reportedly involved learning how to handle her personal life in such a way as to allow for a balanced, adaptive college experience.  With the help of her parents, teammates and coaches, who never gave up on her, Jeana appears to have conquered this balancing act.  The rewards have been many, including the Individual All Around Title at the 2004 NCAA Championships and an NCAA record of 18 All America Honors, surpassing Dee Foster (UA) and Jenny Hanson (Kentucky).  At the time of this posting, Jeana was one of four finalists for the Honda Award, which is given annually to the country's best collegiate gymnast. Jeana has already won this award as far as her fans are concerned.  And now her name will be writ in crimson flame on the walls of the UA practice gym to commemorate her individual title.  Thanks for never giving up Jeana. 

Thanks to all the Tide gymnasts for a great year of competition.  Have a great summer and come back healthy and motivated for the next season.  And a hearty welcome to the incoming freshmen, Terin Humphrey, Kaitlin White and Mindy Weber.  We'll see you in late September after fall practices commence.