TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - For the first time this season, the No. 6 ranked Alabama Gymnastics team will compete twice in one weekend, going against a total of five teams over the course of the two meets during a West Coast road trip.

The Crimson Tide takes on No. 9 Stanford and No. 16 Nebraska on Friday in Palo Alto, Calif. starting at 7 p.m. PT and Sunday they will face No. 8 UCLA, No. 12 Arkansas and Cal-State Fullerton in Los Angeles.

"This will be a great experience for our ladies and it comes at a great time," head coach Sarah Patterson said. "It is the first time this season that they will see more than one team and it will give them a chance to compete in an environment that is closer to they will see in the postseason than anything we've been through this season."

With more than two teams at each venue, all the teams will compete at their own pace instead of, as happens at dual meets, teams alternating routines, taking turns. It will also give the Tide the chance to start on an even other than vault or uneven bars.

"At Stanford we'll start on the floor exercise and finish on the balance beam and at UCLA we'll start on the balance beam and finish on the uneven bars," Patterson said. "That's not something you can replicate in a dual meet. In the postseason we could start on any event, so again, this is good experience for a team that is still very young."

Despite returning all but one gymnast from last year's NCAA Championship squad, the Tide is still getting a majority of its routines from the sophomore class, with 15 of 24 coming from sophomore Kassi Price, Morgan Dennis, Ricki Lebegern and Casey Overton the last two weeks, both wins over top-5 teams. Add rookie Kayla Hoffman's scores into the mix and Alabama is counting on its underclassmen for 18 routines per meet.

"One of the positives of our sophomores having competed so much last season as freshmen is that they gained a lot of great experience," Patterson said. "And they have continued to grow and mature through this season. Three times this season we've had to come from behind on the last rotation to win a meet against some pretty tough competition. A year ago, I don't know that we had the experience to do that."

Alabama beat No. 5 LSU two weeks ago in Baton Rouge, turning in what was then a season best on the balance beam to put the Tigers away. Last Friday against No. 3 Florida, the defending Southeastern Conference Champions, Alabama had to make a quarter of a point deficit on the last rotation to win. The meet came down to the last competitor on each side with Hoffman, Dennis and Price all hitting 9.9-plus routines to seal the win.

"This is not a schedule made out for us to go undefeated," Patterson said. "But it is a schedule to test us and get us ready for the championship season."

The meet at Stanford will be in Maples Pavilion while the meet on the Bruins campus will be in storied Pauley Pavilion starting at 2 p.m. PT. Both meets will be heard on WVUA 90.7 FM in the Tuscaloosa area and online through the link found on RollTide.com.