Alabama junior Ashley Miles retains the nation's No. 1 spot on both the vault and floor exercise in the latest gymnastics rankings released today.

Miles is the only individual ranked No. 1 on two different events. She is also ranked 14th on the uneven bars. Freshman Terin Humphrey is ranked sixth on the uneven bars and seventh on the balance beam while junior Mari Bayer is 23rd on the uneven bars.

As a team, Alabama is seventh with a 196.210 regional qualifying score (RQS), just behind No. 6 Florida. Nebraska took the No. 1 spot this week, followed LSU, Utah, UCLA and Michigan. Alabama travels west this weekend to face Stanford Sunday in Palo Alto, Calif.

FAYETTEVILLE, ARK --- The Alabama Gymnastics team beat homestanding Arkansas 194.800-193.750 in front of the Ladybacks' biggest crowd of the year, 4,617.

Freshman Terin Humphrey, making her all-around debut for the Tide, won with a 38.750 followed by a junior Dana Filetti's 38.675. Humphrey also won the uneven bars with a 9.850. Senior Shannon Hrozek won the vault and the balance beam with a 9.900 and 9.850 respectively. Her beam score tied her season best.

"I thought the scoring was extremely tight tonight, for both teams," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "We had some great performances numerous times during the evening and this is a perfect example of when you have to tell your student-athletes to be concerned only with their performance, not their score."

The Alabama gymnastics team heads to Fayetteville, Ark. to face Arkansas in the second of three consecutive road meets.

Friday's meet, which gets underway at 7 p.m. in Barnhill Arena, will be only the second time Alabama has traveled to Fayetteville, but that's not surprising since the Razorbacks are only in their third year of gymnastics.

"If there is a blueprint on how to start a gymnastics program, Arkansas has it," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said of the upstart program. "In only their third year, they are very competitive. They've taken several teams to the wire this year already and they are very tough, especially at home, where they already have great crowds."

We have a new Postmeet Commentary for the Alabama vs Georgia meet

NOTE: We have added audio clips to the Postmeet Commentary. Look for the icons. The icons link to mp3 audio files which most browsers should be able to play directly. (The mp3 files vary in size from 0.5 to 5 meg in size.)

• Alabama vs Georgia (Friday, February 18, 2005)

After posting the league's best all-around score of the year, junior Ashley Miles has once again been named Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week.

Miles, who scored a career best 39.675 to carry the Crimson Tide over No. 7 Georgia in Athens last week, has been named SEC Gymnast of the Week four times in seven weeks so far this season.

"Ashley has been incredible this season and she keeps improving each week," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "She has obviously adjusted very well from competing on three events last season to going all-around this year. We're very proud that she continues to garner this kind of recognition in the nation's top conference."

TUSCALOOSA, Ala - The student-run station at the University of Alabama, New Rock 90.7 FM, announced today that its exclusive coverage of Alabama gymnastics has set a record for the number of listeners for a sports broadcast on WVUA. The first four meets of the 2005 season, which included two in Tuscaloosa and two in Gainesville, Florida, brought in a total of just under 1,700 listeners on the internet alone.

Since New Rock 90.7 FM is a non-commercial station, Arbitron ratings and actual listener numbers are not given.

WVUA-FM began its exclusive coverage of the Alabama Gymtide on January 7th of this year with station sports director, Chad Anderson, and Leesa Davis calling all the action. The sport that many thought would be difficult to translate into an audio format has been successful thus far.

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

• Chalk talk - Monday, February 21, 2005

ATHENS, GA - Led by a career high all-around score from junior Ashley Miles, the Alabama Gymnastics team used its second highest score of the season and its highest road mark to beat archrival Georgia 197.025-196.175 here in Stegeman Coliseum with 9,175 fans looking on.

It was the first time Alabama has beaten the Lady Dogs in Athens since the Crimson Tide won the 2000 Super Six Challenge.

Miles is now five-for-five in the all-around for her career. She won tonight's competition with a career high 39.675. It was a career night for Miles as she won the vault, balance beam and floor exercise. Freshman Terin Humphrey made it an Alabama sweep, winning the uneven bars with a 9.875.

We have a new Postmeet Commentary for the Alabama vs Kentucky meet

NOTE: We have added audio clips to the Postmeet Commentary. Look for the icons. The icons link to mp3 audio files which most browsers should be able to play directly. (The mp3 files vary in size from 0.5 to 5 meg in size.)

• Alabama vs Kentucky (Friday, February 11, 2005)

We have also added audio clips to the PostMeet Commentary for the Auburn meet:

• Alabama vs Auburn (Friday, February 04, 2005)

After competing at home four of the last five weeks, the No. 5 ranked Alabama Gymnastics team takes to the road this weekend for the first of three consecutive away meets that will take the Tide almost literally coast to coast.

The Tide opens its road swing with archrival Georgia, currently ranked No. 7, Friday at 7:30 p.m. EST. After that, the Tide heads to Arkansas and then Stanford. The Tide's trip to Athens is its first in two years. The Tide comes into the meet sporting a 7-3-0 overall record and a 3-1-0 Southeastern Conference tally. Georgia, sporting a very young team, is 8-3-0 and 3-2-0.

Alabama is coming off back-to-back conference wins against Auburn and Kentucky at home, while Georgia is coming off three consecutive losses, including the last two on the road against Oklahoma and LSU.

We've got a photo album and slide show for Tide Tykes

• Photo Album: Tide Tykes 2005
• Slide Show: Tide Tykes 2005

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

95000 kb 01.Mari adds a Bama logo to Emma's face

144803 kb 02.Foam blocks fly as the gymnasts join in

101182 kb 03.Kaitlin looks for hidden tykes

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Whatever the reason, when the No. 4 ranked Alabama Gymnastics team takes on No. 17 Kentucky in Tuscaloosa, it's always a tight meet. Friday night, through three rotations, this year was no different.

Alabama actually trailed the Wildcats going into rotation four, but three falls from Kentucky on the balance beam shut down their bid for an upset. The Tide finished off the night with a 49.0 on the floor exercise to win 195.250 to 193.825 in front of 9,178 fans at Coleman Coliseum.

"We won but it wasn't pretty. I think that sums it up," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson. "This meet was sandwiched between Auburn last week and Georgia next week. This is the fifth week of the season and I think it is obvious that the girls are a little tired. I didn't even know if Rachel Delahoussaye would be able to go on beam until about five minutes before hand. We've been in this situation before, trailing going into our last event, and I feel like we'll be in that situation again. I think that did more for us tonight, making us step up and perform well."

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

• Chalk talk - Friday, February 11, 2005

The No. 4 ranked Alabama gymnastics team faces No. 17 Kentucky this Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Coleman Coliseum in its last home meet until mid-March.

The Tide, which upended Auburn last weekend in front of a nation's best 13,299 fans, faces a Wildcat team that has competed very well in Tuscaloosa over the last few years.

"The last two times that Kentucky has been here, the meet has come down to the last event and the last competition," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "This meet could be the same way. This is a very good Kentucky team."

Last Friday (Feb. 4) Alabama Gymnastics drew 13,299 fans to see the Crimson Tide face the Auburn Tigers. It is the largest gymnastics crowd in the nation this year and the sixth largest of the last decade.

The crowd was not only on hand to see the Tide and Tigers face off, but to support Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson's "Target the Cure" initiative, designed to raise awareness for Breast Cancer. A majority of the crowd headed Patterson's request to "Think Pink" and "Wear Pink" making for a very colorful crowd.

The first annual "Think Pink - Wear Pink" Gymnastics Meet between the Tide and Tigers was a rousing success this past Friday Night at Coleman Coliseum, bringing 13,299 fans into the arena for a great competition and a greater cause. Alabama once again was victorious over their cross-state rival, finishing with a 196.900 team score enroute to season-high totals on the vault (49.475) and uneven bars (49.275). Bama moved back into the Top 5 this week (currently #4 nationally) and prepares to clash with the Kentucky Wildcats on February 11th. Kentucky's second-year head coach, Mo Muhammed, is already pumping up his team and fan base for an upset of the Crimson Tide, citing the close calls from 2003 and 2001 as evidence that Bama could be ripe for defeat. You can bet that Alabama's coaches have been preparing their team just as hard this week in practice and will once again have them ready to perform for the home crowd. But for now, let's review some of the highlights from this past weekend's meet.

There's nothing quite like a near capacity crowd to turn a regular season meet into a real 'happening'. Add to that a good cause well supported, a 'throw out the record books' rival, a couple dozen GymTide all-time great alums, numerous crowd-pleasing promotions and productions, and some outstanding gymnastics on top of it, and you've got a meet that will be remembered for years to come.

First and foremost, the GymTide, who overcame their cross-state rival, Auburn, 196.900-194.350, continued pursuing their goal of taking steps forward each and every meet. This team has just become relentless. Even when they are having an 'off night' on an apparatus, as the Tide did on the balance beam, they refuse to be knocked off-course for very long.

Alabama gymnasts junior Ashley Miles and freshman Terin Humphrey remain ranked No. 1 nationally in their respective events.

For the third week in a row, Miles is first on the vault and floor exercise while Humphrey is again first on the balance beam. Miles also moved up a spot in the all-around rankings to No. 3 and is ranked 10th on the uneven bars. Humphrey is fourth on the uneven bars. Senior Alexis Brion is ninth and junior Mari Bayer is 15th on the floor exercise. Brion is also 23rd on the vault. Senior Michelle Reeser if eighth on the balance beam.

The Southeastern Conference announced today that Alabama junior Ashley Miles was named the SEC Gymnast of the Week.

It is the third time in five weeks Miles has earned the honor. She is the only gymnast to have earned the award more than once this year.

TUSCALOOSA, ALA -- In front of a sea of pink, the Alabama Gymnastics team posted a 196.900 to beat Auburn's 194.350 here in Coleman Coliseum tonight.

More than 13,299 fans were on hand for the inaugural "Target the Cure" night. It was the fourth largest gymnastics crowd in Southeastern Conference and Alabama gymnastics history and the largest since 1999. The "Target the Cure" initiative is aimed at raising awareness and money for breast cancer. Both teams wore pink leotards and more than half of the crowd wore pink in support of the cause.

Junior Ashley Miles won her fourth consecutive all-around title, scoring a career best 39.500 while senior Shannon Hrozek was second, posting a season best 39.350.

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

• Chalk talk - Target the Cure

The Alabama Gymnastics team faces off again Auburn tonight in Coleman Coliseum in one of the most anticipated meets of the Crimson Tide's young season.

The meet gets underway at 7:30 p.m. and plenty of tickets are still available through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.BAMA).

There will be a lot going on in conjunction with the meet, not the least of which will be the Tide's "Target the Cure" initiative which is designed to raise awareness for breast cancer. Everyone coming to the meet is encouraged to "Think Pink" and "Wear Pink" for the meet. Both teams will be wearing pink leotards for the meet, though in different shades, in support of the cause.

TUSCALOOSA, ALA - The McAlisters Delis in Tuscaloosa and Northport have pledged 100% of the sales from their famous sweet tea and lemonade on Friday, Feb. 4 and Saturday, Feb. 5 to the DCH Breast Cancer Fund as part of their support of the Alabama Gymnastics Team's "Target the Cure" initiative.

And to get in the "Think Pink", "Wear Pink" flavor of "Target the Cure", McAlisters will be forgoing their regular lemonade on those two days for pink lemonade.

"This is a great cause and we are happy do our part for it," Charles Evans, McAlisters' marketing director for the Tuscaloosa/Northport area said.

Regardless of the outcome, this Friday's meet between the GymTide and the Auburn GymTigers will be an historic occasion. For the first time ever, the teams will compete in neither their beloved crimson and white nor their time-honored orange and blue. Instead, both teams will don shades of pink in an effort to raise awareness in, and donations for, the battle against breast cancer.

We have Postmeet Commentaries for the Alabama vs Florida meet

• Alabama vs Florida (Friday, January 28, 2005)

We've got a photo album and slide show for the Super Six Competition

• Photo Album: Super Six Competition
• Slide Show: Super Six Competition

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

32218 kb 01.Dana Pierce starts the year with a nice glideover

32009 kb 02.Freshman Kaitlin follows soon after

51870 kb 03.Mari hits a nice undercast to lowbar handstand

Alabama gymnasts again hold down the top spot on three of the four apparatus in the current national rankings.

For the second week in a row, junior Ashley Miles is the nation's No. 1 gymnast on the vault and floor exercise. Freshman Terin Humphrey is No. 1 on the balance beam, also for the second consecutive week.

Miles is also ranked No. 4 in the all-around and 10th on the uneven bars. Humphrey is fifth on the uneven bars. Senior Alexis Brion is ranked second on the floor exercise.