We've got another slide show and a photo album for the NCAA Nationals (2)

• Slide Show: NCAA Nationals (2)
• Photo Album: NCAA Nationals (2)

Here are a few of the Photos:
(Click on a thumbnail to view a full size picture)

42 kb 01.Ashley Attacks bars like an Aim-9 missile

45 kb 02.Brittany's straddle-mount is deceptive by comparison

86 kb 03.But equally powerful in a routine that didn't miss this year

Alabama head gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson returned to the office this week after successful spinal surgery on April 20. The four-time National Coach of the Year had been increasing her work load over the past two weeks, working mostly from home as her strength returned.

Patterson led the Tide to a third place finish at the 2004 NCAA Championships, its 15th top-3 finish in the past 20 years. Two Alabama gymnasts won three individual NCAA titles - Jeana Rice taking the all-around and Ashley Miles winning the floor exercise and repeating as the vault championship.

Patterson's surgery came just two days after the team returned from the NCAA Championships in Los Angeles.

"It tops off this season and my career. I've been doing this since I was little and I finally feel I can step away from gymnastics because I've accomplished everything that I wanted to accomplish. I feel complete in this aspect of my life. I can move on without looking back." ¹

"With those words, in response to winning the prestigious Honda Award for Gymnastics ², Jeana Rice closed the book on one of the most illustrious careers in the history of college gymnastics. In her four years as a University of Alabama gymnast, Jeana contributed to an SEC and an NCAA team championship, earned numerous SEC and Regional individual event and all-around championships, prevailed as the 2004 NCAA individual all-around National Champion, and earned an NCAA record 18 All-American awards.

Nevertheless, Jeana's path to college gymnastics fame and glory was, at times, neither to too straight, nor too easy. From the very beginning, however, Jeana exhibited two traits that would carry her through all the trials - and the triumphs. First, she had that fierce determination, that never-say-die competitiveness that all the great athletes have. Secondly, it would be a dark road indeed that could not be illuminated by the brilliant light of Jeana's incredible talent. "

University of Alabama All-American gymnast Stephanie Kite was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship the association announced recently.

Kite, who holds a 4.0 grade point average in international marketing, is the 10th Crimson Tide gymnast to earn the award since 1983. Alabama's total leads all gymnastics programs by a large margin. Kite's honor comes one year after Tide All-American Kristin Sterner earned the scholarship, marking the third time Alabama has had back-to-back honorees.

"This is a great, and well deserved honor for Stephanie," assistant head coach David Patterson said. "Stephanie has certainly made the most of her student-athlete experience, excelling in all areas. We are very pleased to see her name added to the long list of Alabama gymnasts who have earned this prestigious honor."

For the fifth time since 1985, an Alabama athlete has earned the Honda Award for Gymnastics.

Senior Jeana Rice, who won the NCAA All-Around title at the recent national championships, earned the award that denotes the nation's top gymnast. The Longwood, Fla. native is now eligible for the Honda-Broderick Cup, given annually to the nation's top female student-athlete. Rice and 11 other sports winners, will gather in New York, NY June 21 when the Cup winner will be announced.

"It tops of this season and my career," Rice said. "I've been doing this since I was little and I finally feel I can step away from gymnastics because I've accomplished everything that I wanted to accomplish. I feel complete in this aspect of my life. I can move on without looking back."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Much of the following article was to have appeared in a 'weblog' during the week of the championship. However, due to circumstances beyond my control (but likely only because I don't know enough about computers!) I was unable to post on a daily basis while in Los Angeles. Better late than never, as they say, here is my Nationals diary:

Saturday, April 10, 2004:
Birmingham, Alabama: We started our quest for Los Angeles and the 2004 Gymnastics National Championships at the Birmingham Airport. As usual, we had carefully and economically packed for our trip by jamming full two huge rolling duffle bags and two right-a-the-size-limit carry-ons. The bag inspector groaned and grunted as he power-lifted the duffles onto the x-ray machine conveyor-belt. The Magic City's terminal had it's usual early morning light crowd. Our gymnastics buddies and traveling companions, Bob, Sara, and their boy, Bert, soon arrived on the scene. Although the weather was threatening a thunderstorm, only a light sprinkle showed up before our plane took off.

In the Air: The flight over was largely uneventful - just one crying baby ( but, Oiy!, what a crier - and right in front of us!). The cloud cover over Birmingham persisted, for the most part, from coast to coast, only breaking up for a short time over Arizona. And the famous "brown LA haze" was in full force over the City of the Angels when we arrived.

The Alabama Gymnastics team was honored at its annual season ending banquet Saturday (April 24) night at the Bryant Conference Center. The banquet is sponsored by the Crimson Tide's booster organization, The Medalist Club.

In addition to celebrating its third place finish at last week's NCAA Championships, senior Jeana Rice and sophomore Ashley Miles were named co-captains of the 2004 squad. Rice was also named "Most Valuable".

Rice won the postseason 'triple crown' by taking top honors in the all-around at the Southeastern Conference Championships, the NCAA West Region Championships and the NCAA Championships. She earned Alabama's fifth NCAA All-Around title. The Longwood, Fla. native also earned five All-American honors on the season, giving her an NCAA record 18 career accolades. Rice set an SEC Championship record in the all-around and tied the school record of 39.850.

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.

We've got a new slide show and a photo album for the NCAA Nationals (1)

• Slide Show: NCAA Nationals (1)
• Photo Album: NCAA Nationals (1)

Here are a few of the Photos:
(Click on a thumbnail to view a full size picture)

96 kb 01. Former Elite Alexis adapts easily to the podium floor

91 kb 02. Ashley demos her floor in warmups

101 kb 03. From any angle Jeana has great style

NCAA All-Around Champion Jeana Rice has been named a finalist for the Honda Award for Gymnastics, given annually to the nation's top gymnast.

Rice is coming off a senior season second to none. In addition to winning the national all-around title, she also won her second consecutive Southeastern Conference All-Around Championship and her third NCAA Regional All-Around title in four years. The Longwood, Fla. native set the NCAA record for career All-American honors this past weekend when her five 2004 honors bumped her total to 18, bettering the previous mark held jointly by Alabama's Dee Foster and Kentucky's Jenny Hansen.

"Jeana has enjoyed a tremendous career," head coach Sarah Patterson said. "And she is obviously highly deserving of this recognition. She really took it to another level this year and that showed in her high level of competition from the season's first week through Saturday night."

The University of Alabama gymnastics Medalist club 2004 Awards Banquet will be Saturday, April 24th 2004 at 7:00 p.m. at the Bryant Conference Center-Sellers Auditorium-Tuscaloosa Alabama. All Medalist club membership will be contacted via phone from a Medalist club board member for reservations. For additional information contact Randy Howell at 556-2108

LOS ANGLES, CALIF - The best just got better. University of Alabama gymnastics sophomore Ashley Miles won her second consecutive NCAA Vault Championship and added a share of the NCAA Floor Exercise title here in Pauley Pavilion tonight.

Miles shares the floor title with UNC freshman Courtney Bumpers, with both women scoring a 9.9375. Miles' winning vault total, a 9.94375 was a tenth of a point better than her winning score from a year ago.

The San Antonio, Texas native becomes the first Alabama gymnast to repeat as national champion on an event since Dana Dobranksy (now the Tide's volunteer coach) went back-to-back on the balance beam in 1992 and 1993, her junior and senior season. She is the first Tide athlete to win two NCAA titles in a single season since Penny Hauschild won the floor exercise and all-around title in 1986.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The University of Alabama Gymnastics team tied the Stanford Cardinal for third place here at the NCAA Championships with a 197.125. The Crimson Tide was led by senior Jeana Rice's 39.65 in the all-around.

UCLA won its fifth NCAA Championship with a Super Six record of 198.125, breaking the 198.025 mark set by Alabama in 1996. Georgia took second with a 197.200 followed by Stanford in third with a 197.125. Florida was fifth at 196.800 and Utah finished sixth with a 195.875.

It was Alabama's third consecutive top-3 finish. In the last rotation, sophomore Ashley Miles scored a 9.950 on the floor exercise to lead Alabama to a 49.475. Rice scored a 9.925 and junior Alexis Brion posted a 9.9. Seniors Lauren Holdefer and Stephanie Kite both posted 9.85s.

• Advancing to tonight's NCAA Super Six Team Finals guarantees that Alabama will finish among the nation's top six for the 21st time in 22 NCAA Championships appearances.
  
  
• Alabama holds the NCAA Super Six scoring record of 198.025, which they posted in winning the 1996 NCAA Championship.
  
  
• Alabama has finished out of the NCAA Super Six Team Finals only once since the current format was introduced in 1993, giving the Crimson Tide 11 Super Six appearances and seven in a row. The Tide's lone Super Six miss came in 1997.
  
  
• Alabama has four NCAA titles, five runner-up finishes and 13 top-3 finishes.
  
  

LOS ANGELES, CALIF - It was the University of Alabama gymnastic team's last routine of the night and senior Jeana Rice's balance beam routine was doubly important here at Pauley Pavilion in the evening session of the NCAA Championships team preliminaries.

If Rice hit her routine, Alabama was guaranteed the second of three slots in tomorrow night's NCAA Super Six Team final and if she hit big, she would win the NCAA All-Around Championship.

She did both, scoring a session best 9.9 on the balance beam to advance the Tide with a 197.325 and score a 39.650 all-around total.

LOS ANGELES -- Practice time is all over for the 2004 Alabama Gymnastics team and all that is left now is the quest for NCAA Championship No. 5 starting tonight here in Pauley Pavilion.

The NCAA Team Preliminaries get underway today (Thursday, April 15) with 12 teams competing in two sessions, all hoping to qualify for Friday's NCAA Super Six Team Finals. Alabama will compete in the evening session, which gets underway at 7 p.m. PDT, includes defending NCAA Champions and host school UCLA, Utah, LSU, Michigan and Arizona State. The Tide will be vying for one of the three spots available in tomorrow's finals.

Alabama has faced LSU and Michigan already this season, beating both of them on the road. UCLA has won four titles all-time, including three in past four years. Utah has won nine NCAA titles, the last coming in 1995. Alabama has four titles, coming in 1988, 1991, 1996 and 2002.

Stanford, Florida Georgia, Iowa, Oklahoma and Nebraska compete this afternoon for one of three spots available from their session.

We've got a new slide show and a photo album for the NCAA West Regionals

• Slide Show: NCAA West Regionals
• Photo Album: NCAA West Regionals

Here are a few of the Photos:
(Click on a thumbnail to view a full size picture)

37 kb 01. Alexis maxes a side-split leap

81 kb 02. Mari's ring leap is golden

50 kb 03. One end of the beam to another for Michelle

[ National Rotation Schedule ] - Adobe Acrobat file

Last Saturday night the University of Alabama gymnastics team earned their 22nd consecutive bid to the NCAA Championships. Sunday they found out who their competition was to advance to the Super Six Finals.

On Thursday, April 15, The Crimson Tide will compete in the evening session (7 p.m. PT) of the team preliminaries in Los Angeles, Calif. along with UCLA, Utah, LSU, Michigan and Arizona State. The top-3 scoring teams from that session will advance to the next night's Super Six.

In the afternoon session (1 p.m. PT), three Super Six finalists will emerge from a group that includes Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Stanford.

Corvallis, Ore. - Things don't get much more pressure packed than this.

Alabama was cruising towards its 22nd consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships when two falls on the uneven bars and a hot vaulting streak by Oregon State brought the NCAA West Region Championships down to Alabama senior Jeana Rice. Oregon State was done and Rice had to score a 9.85 to tie the home standing Beavers and earn a bid to nationals.

But this is Jeana Rice we're talking about, the two-time SEC All-Around Champion, one of the nation's best all-arounders, and an athlete at her best when things are tightest.

CORVALLIS, ORE - A solid practice session behind them, the No. 3 Alabama Gymnastics team is ready to compete here in Gill Coliseum tomorrow night for one of the two bids to the NCAA Championships available out of the NCAA West Region Championship.

After traveling cross country on Wednesday, Alabama took yesterday to see the sights of Oregon, traveling approximately an hour to the state's rugged coastline. Today though, it was back to business as the Crimson Tide worked out for over an hour, getting its first test run on the equipment they will compete on tomorrow night at 6 p.m. PT. Things went smoothly with the gymnasts laughing and smiling between rotations.

"We're ready," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "We had a good day today. We don't have to be extraordinary tomorrow night to advance. We have to be very good, but we don't have to do anything that is outside our abilities. We just have to keep going the way we have been over the last month of the season and we will advance to the national championships."

"And there's still a hour before the meet starts," said the disbelieving Florida fan to a fellow Gator. They just shook their heads as the sea of Bama fans behind the little knot of Gator faithful continued cheering 'Roll Tide!' and 'Go, Bama!'. It wasn't long, however, before the Gator fans were up doing the 'Gator chomp' taunt and a few '2-4-6-8' cheers of their own. And so it was, from the warm-ups right through to the end of the meet, the atmosphere at the SEC Championship was simply electric.

There was a method to our cheering madness, in that we knew that Bama would need all the energy we could give them as quickly as possible. The Tide found itself in the unenviable position of starting off the first rotation on bars and ending the meet on a bye. The gymnasts and coaches most definitely don't like to be off the competition floor during the last rotation with the meet on the line. However, perhaps even more critical is the tendency of the first rotation to lack the excitement - and high scores - of later rotations. This was further complicated by Georgia, for all intents and purposes, competing at home in the Arena at the Gwinnett Center after drawing a first round bye and Olympic rotation.

The University of Alabama gymnastics Medalist club 2004 Awards Banquet will be Saturday, April 24th 2004 at 7:00 p.m. at the Bryant Conference Center-Sellers Auditorium-Tuscaloosa Alabama. All Medalist club membership will be contacted via phone from a Medalist club board member for reservations. For additional information contact Randy Howell at 556-2108

We've got a new slide show and a photo album for the SEC Championship

• Slide Show: SEC Championship
• Photo Album: SEC Championship

Here are a few of the Photos:
(Click on a thumbnail to view a full size picture)

56 kb 01. Rachael sprints to a dismount in W-U

45 kb 02. Alexis takes a spin on beam

21 kb 03. Stephanie and Jeana cast a spell on floor...

We've got a new slide show and a photo album for the Penn State Meet

• Slide Show: Penn State Meet
• Photo Album: Penn State Meet

Here are a few of the Photos:
(Click on a thumbnail to view a full size picture)

83 kb 01.Alexis displays perfect landing form

79 kb 02.Coach David applauds Dana F's fine effort

72 kb 03.Brittany swings a nice giant to

Usually, a trip from Alabama to Los Angeles, Calif. does not involve a stop in Oregon, but that's just the route the Alabama Gymnastics team is looking to take.

The No. 3 ranked Crimson Tide will travel to Corvallis, Ore. to compete in the NCAA West Region on Saturday, April 3 for one of two spots available from that regional to the NCAA Championships hosted by UCLA.

"We're looking forward to earning our ticket to the NCAA Championships," head coach Sarah Patterson said. "It's a long trip, but we will be on Spring Break, so we're not as crunched in terms of classes and travel. We will go out Wednesday afternoon and use Thursday to adjust."

DULUTH, GA - The Alabama Gymnastics team posted a season best 197.950 at the 2004 Southeastern Conference Championships but fell just short of Georgia's 198.175, finishing second.

It marks the 14th time Alabama has finished in the top-2 since 1985. LSU was third with a 197.275, followed by Florida's 197.225 in fourth and Auburn's 195.925 in fifth. Arkansas finished sixth with a 194.825 while Kentucky took seventh with a 193.850. Alabama's 197.950 was its highest ever at the SEC Championship and fifth highest all-time.

"We didn't beat ourselves tonight," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "We went out there and gave a tremendous performance. We just ran into a red hot team tonight. There were so many great things about what our athletes did tonight that we can use to make us better in NCAA competition."

Despite the sub-freezing temperature outside the Crisler Arena on March 12, 2004, the Alabama gymnasts were putting on a performance indoors that warmed the hearts of Crimson Tide and Wolverine fans alike.  And, regardless of the cold weather and the distance from Tuscaloosa, Bama boasted approximately 50 boisterous fans in attendance, led by Russell Moore.  The trip was worth it, as the Tide netted a decisive 197.725 to 197.025 victory over Michigan, sealing a 12-1 regular season record and a #3 national ranking for the week of March 15th.  Jeana Rice received her second SEC Gymnast of the Week award and is ready to lead her team into the post-season championship run.

The Alabama Gymnastics team will start the defense of its Southeastern Conference Championship on the uneven bars Saturday night beginning at 7 p.m. ET at The Arena in the Gwinett Center in Duluth, Ga.

The Crimson Tide's rotation order was decided today by a random draw. Starting on the uneven bars, the Tide will move to the balance beam before taking a bye for rotation three. The floor exercise will follow, then another bye before finishing competition on the vault. The Tide will sit on a bye for the seventh and final rotation to see where they will finish the meet.

This is the same rotation Alabama started the season with at the Super Six Challenge, a meet that also featured Georgia and Florida, and one the Tide won.

Alabama senior All-American Jeana Rice was named Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week for the second time this season coming on the heels of a standout performance in the Crimson Tide's regular season finale at Michigan.

Rice tied her career best all-around mark against the Wolverines, posting a 39.750. She rang up scores of 9.950 on the uneven bars and balance beam and 9.925 on the vault and floor exercise. She won the all-around, bars and beam and was second on the vault and floor. Rice shares this week's honor with Florida's junior Erinn Dooley who posted the same all-around score at home in a loss to No. 1 ranked UCLA.

Alabama Gymnastics senior Stephanie Kite is a member of the inaugural Southeastern Conference Gymnastics Good Works Team, which was announced today. The SEC sponsors a Good Works Teams for all 20 sports it sponsors. The Gymnastics Good Works Team represents seven SEC gymnasts, one from each competing institution. The Good Works Team highlights an athlete from each school who gives back to their community in superior service efforts.

"The Crimson Tide has fought through a long season, seven kinds of flu and cold bugs, wind and snow, some nagging injuries, arctic temperatures - and one tough loss - to arrive at just the point in time when they need you the most. Let's all take a solemn vow to show up in droves at the Gwinnett Center Arena this coming Saturday, March 20th for the 2004 SEC Gymnastics Championship."

NOTE: the departure time from Tuscaloosa has changed to 9:30 AM.

From [ our bustrips page ]:

The only other trip this season will be to the SEC Competition in Duluth, GA at the Gwinett Center. This will be March 20, 2004. This WILL NOT be an overnight trip. We will leave the Coleman Coliseum parking lot(east side) at approximately 9:30am, stop in Birmingham at the Sheraton Perimeter (circa 10:30) parking lot to pick up any Birmingham area fans, then continue on to Duluth. We will leave Duluth immediately following the end of the meet and return to Birmingham & Tuscaloosa. The cost of the bus trip is $30.00. You will need to have your own SEC Competition ticket. There is a block of rooms available for anyone who intends to travel by private vechicle at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Duluth at a cost of $55.00+tax & including continental breakfast. You may call their toll-free number 800-426-7866 and ask for the Medalist Club block to reserve. We will make meal stops.

• Lucy Liles at 205-556-1171

[Gwinnett Center map from www.gwinnettcenter.com ]

Gwinnett Center area map from MapQuest

Gwinnett Center is located at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, Georgia 30097. This is located about 10 miles northeast of I-285, just off I-85.

Traveling North of I-285 on I-85 (from Atlanta): Take Exit 108/Sugarloaf Parkway. Turn right off the exit, go back under the Interstate and cross over Satellite Boulevard. The Center will be on your left.

Alternate Route: Take I-85 to Exit 107/Highway 120 West. Turn right on Satellite Boulevard. The Center will be 1/2 mile on your left.

Alternate Concert Route: Take I-85 North to Exit 107, Highway 120 West toward Duluth (Exit will force you into correct direction). Cross over Satellite Blvd. Continue to next light at Meadow Church and take a right. Continue to Sugarloaf Parkway (next light) and turn right. The Arena will be on your right.

From the Gwinnett Place Mall take Satellite Boulevard north 2-1/2 miles. The Center is located on your left.

The Arena is the northernmost large building on the Gwinnett Center campus, and parking is to the north and to the east of the Arena.

The Alabama Crimson Tide welcomed second-year program Arkansas to Coleman Coliseum for the first time in a dual meet and claimed another Bama victory in the process: 197.325 to 196.450. It was Senior Night as well for Tide greats Jeana Rice, Stephanie Kite and Lauren Holdefer. Each performed very well for the home crowd as they took their final bow in Tuscaloosa. With this meet, Alabama completed the SEC regular season with a 5-1 record (11-1 overall record for the season) but will have one more meet against Michigan (March 12) before heading to the SEC Championships. The highlights were many so we'll dive right in.

We have a new "Chalk Talk" from Coach Patterson:

• ChalkTalk: Thursday, March 04, 2004

The Alabama Gymnastics team remains in third place in the latest national rankings released today.

The Crimson Tide, which finished its home season last Friday with a win over No. 20 Arkansas, still leads the nation by average score, but holds a 197.325 regional qualifying score, which determines the rankings until the NCAA Championships in April.

UCLA remains No. 1, while Georgia stands just ahead of the Tide at No. 2. LSU jumped six spots in the rankings to land at No. 4 and Stanford is No. 5. Utah stands in sixth, followed by Florida and Iowa State. Arizona and Oklahoma round out the top-10.

"When I finished my 'Salto's Perspective': Despite Loss, Sun Rises the Next Day', I suddenly realized that I had several unrelated 'odds and ends' I wanted to mention, but they just didn't fit in. So, I decided to put them in sort of a separate postscript:"

TUSCALOOSA, ALA - The No. 3 ranked Alabama Gymnastics team closed out its home season with a 197.325-196.450 win over No. 17 Arkansas here in Coleman Coliseum tonight, sending the senior trio of Lauren Holdefer, Stephanie Kite and Jeana Rice with a bang.

It was a teary-eyed moment for those three and senior manager Allison Spidle, as they came together after the last routine with red and white confetti falling all around them for a group hug and one last wave to the home crowd. The 9,138 fans in attendance pushed Alabama's season average to 10,283, the second best in school history and the third best nationally over the past decade.

"This is just a great venue for these ladies," head coach Sarah Patterson said of her seniors. "They have worked really hard and put so much into this program and into performing at their absolute peak for the fans. It was just really, really nice for them to able to go out one last time in Coleman Coliseum and show our fans how much they mean to us."

We've got a new slide show and a photo album for the Tide Tykes & Teens

• Slide Show: Tide Tykes & Teens
• Photo Album: Tide Tykes & Teens

Here are a few of the Photos:
(Click on a thumbnail to view a full size picture)

45 kb 01.Fiesta Time begins with nametag pros Jeana and Lauren

73 kb 02.Lauren, Stephanie and Alexis decorate faces

33 kb 03.Dana F. is all concentration for this fan

For the No. 3 ranked Alabama Gymnastics team, the end of the regular season is right around the corner, and the end of the home season comes this Friday (Feb. 27) night.

The Crimson Tide will face No. 17 Arkansas starting at 7:30 p.m. in the final Coleman Coliseum outing of the season. It is an unusually early ending to the Tide's home season. Alabama hasn't had its last regular season home meet in February since the 2001 season.

It will also be Senior Night with Alabama honoring Lauren Holdefer, Stephanie Kite and Jeana Rice. The trio helped Alabama win the 2002 NCAA Championship and last season's Southeastern Conference title. All three are Scholastic All-Americans and Rice and Kite have earned All-American honors.

"I know, cute headline. Sometimes, however, these 'Clash of the Titans' matches - like Bama vs UGA last Friday night - cause me to lose my perspective. Now, it's true enough, when we win a meet like that I have a tendency to overlook the perspective angle. But after a tough loss, by less than '3 tenths' at home - and to Bama's rival of all rivals, no less - well, I'm ready for anything positive, even if I have to search for the proverbial 'silver lining'."

"Forget silver, a platinum lining showed up in the GymTide's first rotation. Bama's vault team zoomed up to a 49.675; within a tenth the Tide's all-time high of 49.775 set at the historic Baton Rouge Regional in 1996. Especially exciting was Shannon Hrozek's tremendous lead-off vault for a 9.925, her best so far. I think it is safe to say that Shannon has mastered her new Yurchenko 1/1. In fact, I believe that every Bama vaulter tied or bettered her season high except Ashley Miles. (It's a sign of just how amazing Ashley's vaulting truly is that we were a little disappointed when she scored 'only' a 9.95!) Lauren Holdefer and Dana Filetti both look to be just a 'stuck landing' away from the 9.90 zone. And finally, Alexis Brion got the 10.0 she has deserved for quite some time for her 'pike 1/2 twist' vault - alas, from only one judge - never-the-less scoring an outstanding 9.975."

Alabama and Georgia met for the second time this season in Coleman Coliseum on Friday, February 20, 2004, but the Gymdawgs came away with the victory this time after posting very solid team scores on the floor exercise (49.500) and balance beam (49.400).  Alabama started the meet off in similar impressive fashion on the vault (49.675) and uneven bars (49.425) but proved to be a bit too cautious on the balance beam (49.150), where they yielded vital tenths that helped the Dawgs chip away at Bama's slim lead.  Alabama was unable to make up significant ground with their signature event, the floor exercise (49.300) and now will have to wait until the SEC Championships on March 20 to have another shot at their #1 rival.  The good news from Friday night is that the crowd turnout (12, 297) was the largest in several years for a dual meet in Coleman and Alabama is currently leading the NCAA in average attendance as a result.  The third-ranked Crimson Tide will have one more home meet on February 27, 2004 against the #17 Arkansas Ladybacks before a two week competition break ensues.  Bama will finish the regular season against Michigan in Ann Arbor on March 12.  Let's review some of the highlights from the UA-UGA competition at this time.

SEC-TV, Fox Sports Net's live, weekly Southeastern Conference studio program, continues on - Thursday, 2/26 - at 6:30 p.m. EST (re- airs on Friday, 2/27 at 1 a.m.). Dave Neal hosts this week's live half-hour show from FSN's Atlanta studio, where he will be joined by reporter Jenn Hildreth.

On Thursday's show, Hildreth spotlights Alabama gymnast Ashley Miles. Only a sophomore, Miles has helped the team achieve a No. 3 national ranking behind UCLA and Georgia. Not your typical sized gymnast, Miles stands a tall 5-foot-8. She was the 2003 NCAA vault champion and currently ranks second in the country in vault. Out of 45 collegiate routines, 37 of Miles' scores have been a 9.9 or better (.82), and out of 20 vaults, 19 have ranked 9.9 or better (.95). Miles is quite impressive on the floor exercise as well, scoring a 9.9 or better in all 16 of her collegiate floor routines. Coach Sarah Patterson has this to say about Ashley, "She's our exclamation point at the end of a great lineup." The Georgia at Alabama meet airs Saturday, 2/28, on FSN at 6 p.m.

The show will also feature the "Toyota SEC Moment of the Week"- which this week is unranked Alabama upsetting No. 4 Mississippi State in men's basketball action on Saturday.

The Alabama Gymnastics team is third in the latest national rankings, which are figured by regional qualifying score as of this week.

The Crimson Tide, which faces No. 17 Arkansas at home this Friday at 7:30 p.m., is still ranked No. 1 on the vault, with an RQS of 49.460. Alabama is second on the uneven bars with a 49.315 RQS and fourth on both the balance beam and floor exercise with an RQS of 49.145 and 49.385 respectively.

The regional qualifying score is a formula, which takes a team's three highest road scores, adds in the next three highest scores, subtracts the high score, and divides the remainder by five. This formula will dictate the rankings through the conference championships and will be used to seed teams into the NCAA Regional Championships. Alabama's RQS is 197.285.

• UA vs. Kentucky: (Friday, February 13, 2004)

The 12,971 fans in attendance at Coleman Coliseum to see No. 1 Alabama Gymnastics team take on No. 2 Georgia Friday (Feb. 20) night is the largest gymnastics crowd in the nation this year. It also ranks as the sixth largest single meet crowd of the last decade.

The Tide also leads the nation in average attendance, drawing 10,558 fans per meet, over 1,500 fans per meet than the second best drawing team.

Alabama Gymnastics figures prominently in the "biggest crowd" list over the past 10 years. Since 1995, the first year the Crimson Tide broke the 10,000 fan mark for a single meet, Alabama has hosted seven of the 10 highest single meet attendance totals in the nation. Those seven meets include the SEC record of 15,043 in 1997, which is the single largest crowd of the last decade.

TUSCALOOSA, ALA -- The No. 1 ranked Alabama Gymnastics team got off to a hot start here in Coleman Coliseum tonight against No. 2 Georgia and in front of 12,971, the largest crowd in the country this year, but in the end, the Bulldogs had the better night, winning 197.825-197.550.

Junior Shannon Hrozek posted a career best 39.500 to win the all-around, tying with Georgia's Chelsea Bryd and Kelsey Ericksen.

"Well, I'm glad they are not handing out a championship trophy tonight," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "I am disappointed that we didn't win, but I am more disappointed that we didn't perform to the best of our ability."

It will be a show down second to none Friday night when No. 1 Alabama Gymnastics team takes on No. 2 Georgia at 7:30 p.m. in Coleman Coliseum.

The biggest rivalry in collegiate gymnastics would be a big deal even without the rankings, but throw in the fact that the meet is likely to be the only 1 vs. 2 match-up of the regular season and Friday night promises to take on epic proportions.

Tickets are available through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262) located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum or online through www.rolltide.com. The meet is sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.

"Alabama Crimson Tide, returns home this Friday to face their arch-rival and number two in the country, the Georgia GymDogs. Also on hand will be a large contingent of former Bama greats returning to Tuscaloosa for Alumnae Night."

"The sojourn to the hinterlands of East Alabama and Northeast Kentucky was not without a fair amount of drama - not to mention some notable routines by some 'old hands' and some new faces. I will briefly attempt to hit some of the high points, but bear in mind that I'm leaving a lot out that probably doesn't deserve to be."

"More than 5000 were on hand at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum in Auburn on February 6th to cheer on the Tide and Tigers, with about 2000 of that number wearing Crimson and White. We were not disappointed as both teams seemed determined to put their best foot forward."

Friday night's show down between No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia is previewed by USAToday's Andy Gardiner, giving even more credence to the fact that all eyes will be on Tuscaloosa starting at 7:30 p.m.

• Alabama-Georgia rivalry goes to gym

The rankings are out and it is official - this Friday night in Coleman Coliseum, the two top ranked gymnastics teams in the nation will clash as No. 1 Alabama will face No. 2 Georgia starting at 7:30 p.m.

Alabama is in its fourth week as the nation's No. 1 team while Georgia climbs to No. 2 this week, jumping back over UCLA, on the strength of the nation's top score last weekend against LSU. Defending NCAA Champion UCLA is third, Utah is fourth and Florida rounds out the top-5.

The Crimson Tide is undefeated coming into this weekend's showdown and that 10-0 record includes a win over Georgia in the season opening Super Six Challenge.

We've got a new slide show and a photo album for the Supersix Challenge

• Slide Show: Supersix Challenge
• Photo Album: Supersix Challenge

Here are a few of the Photos:
(Click on a thumbnail to view a full size picture)

47 kb 01 Jeana and David are ready for the season to begin

64 kb 02 Ashley preps her floor

53 kb 03 Alexis is a blur to her teammates

LEXINGTON, KY - It was a busy night for Alabama junior Shannon Hrozek as the No. 1 ranked Alabama Gymnastics squad beat Kentucky here in Memorial Coliseum, 197.075-195.075.

For the first time this season, The Woodlands, Texas native went all four events, posting a 39.300 all-around score. A regular on the three events through the first five meets of the season, Hrozek added in the floor exercise tonight.

"Shannon did a great job," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "She performed very well for her first all-around of the season. What I liked about tonight is that we moved different people in and out of the lineup, changed things around during the meet and we still came away with another 197 score."

The No. 1 ranked Alabama Gymnastics team is back on the road this Friday (Feb. 13), traveling to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats at 7:30 pm ET in Memorial Coliseum.

The meet will be Alabama's second road trip in a row and third of the season. In addition to holding the top spot in the rankings, the Crimson Tide is also undefeated, sporting a 9-0 overall mark and a 3-0 Southeastern Conference record. Kentucky is ranked 36th and sports a 1-8, 0-3 record.

Alabama coach Sarah Patterson will continue to juggle her lineup this week, giving some athletes, like senior Jeana Rice and sophomore Ashley Miles, a rest in some events, while giving other athletes a chance for more experience.