[ED: Due to an email mixup on our part, this article is being posted a week late. Our apologies to Salto.]

This year's SEC Championship was gymnastics at its finest. We laughed; we cried; it was an experience. Six ultra-competitive teams trapped in a 'Texas cage-match' with nowhere to run - nowhere to hide. The pressure was palpable from the floor of Bartow Arena to it's very rafters. I've attended intense competitions. I have been to tiny arenas. But this Championship Meet was a combination of both - with a dash of suspense thrown in at the end.

Bama started off with the vault based on their fortunate draw of 'Olympic' rotation for the meet (vault, bars, beam, floor). We continue to miss the dependable, high-scoring Katie Hornecker on this event. Our scores were actually quite good, but we subjected the 49.100 we received to a round of intense 'Monday-morning quarterbacking' after the meet. Georgia, of course, seems to throw '10 start value' after '10 start value' in their vault rotations, while we have a number of '9.9 start value' vaults. Taking the long view, however, we have been very consistent on vault this year. Nationally, we have stayed in the top five for most of the year.

After a bye, Bama moved to the bars, arguably our best event. Once again, the scores were very good, just a little low for the level this competition was beginning to take. We missed the steadily spectacular bar routine of Dara Stewart (I haven't heard anything, but I hope she comes back soon from her injury!). One salient feature of the rotation was Raegan Tomasek's almost unbelievable recovery during her routine. We were some distance away from the bars, but at an excellent angle, quartering from the side and slightly behind the high bar. It appeared to us that Raegan struck her heels on the bar during her release move. However, she had only a moderate 'break' in her rhythm and finished with a 9.75, no small feat. (Sorry, there may be a pun in there!) Raegan's ability to make everything she does look elegant and easy is a true sign of a great gymnast. But on at least two occasions this year she has also shown herself to be a tremendous athlete, avoiding injury when the 'unexpected' occurred. Our 49.325 score for the bars was again a tenth or so less than we might have hoped.

The beam loomed next in the rotation. I was particularly dreading this rotation because our seats were facing one end of the beam. For some reason, this perspective makes me especially nervous! I needn't have worried, as it turned out, because Bama turned in one of its best beam rotations of the year (49.450). Now that Championship season has arrived, it was great to see each gymnast perform with confidence and flair on the 'mean old beam'. It's hard to pick out one routine to feature - they were all good. However, Lissy Smith's routine was among the best, as usual. The Regional Championship in Tuscaloosa on Saturday (April 7th) will feature the last appearances in Coleman Colosseum by our seniors, including Lissy on beam. Next year, it's going to be hard to get used to not seeing Lissy's famous little smile after (another) successful 'flight series'.

I won't try to sugarcoat it; we needed a little help from the Gymdawgs in their fourth rotation, the balance beam. To be honest, I thought this was where the meet would 'even out' a little. We had performed well, especially on beam, but I felt that we had 'left a little out there'. And, Georgia has had problems on beam in the past , so I figured this time would be no different. Boy, was I wrong! Despite the bedlam going on in the 'Bartow Bandbox' as most of the 8000 spectators cheered on the Tide's floor routines, the 'Dawgs' simply refused to give in. And the spectators had a lot to cheer about as Andree', Lauren, Kristin, Raegan, and Jeana each scored 9.90 or better (we had to 'throw out' Robin's -I thought underscored - 9.85!). In the end, Bama wound up about where they started, behind Georgia by about a half a point. So, this season's 'round 4' goes to the Gymdawgs(198.00-197.425).

As I mentioned earlier, next up is the Regional in Tuscaloosa. I'm far too superstitious to speak directly about all the good omens I've noticed in the last few weeks (I once spent an entire football season steadfastly refusing to take part in any superstitions - only to realize that I had become superstitious about not being superstitious!). We have a tough meet ahead, with the likes of Ohio State and Kent State (to name but two) to face. The Regional and, if we are fortunate enough to get there, the first round of the National Championship, are by far the most nerve-wracking meets of the year. However, any team in the Super-Six final on April 20th in Athens will be capable of winning the Championship. Bama doesn't have the highest meet score in the nation this year, in fact, several teams have had higher scores. But I think our 'best meet' is still out there. And, it's not a certainty that it will take anything like a 198.00 to win it all. No matter how it winds up, this has been a remarkable and truly enjoyable year for us Bama gym fans. Roll Tide, and on to the Regional!