While most of the top ten teams were fighting it out for conference championships this past weekend, the Utes of Utah traveled to BYU for their final meet of the year. Great performances from Alabama and Stanford helped jump these two teams up in the rankings and onto closer regional selections. See how the nation's best finished and where they will be regionally seeded.

• How The Top Ten Fared the Weekend of 03-28-2008
  
  

It was a dog fight Saturday night at the Gwinnett center as Top Dawg Georgia defended it's yard against would be spoilers Alabama and Florida. The fans were treated to some of the best collegiate gymnastics in the country and saw Ashley-Claire Kearney of LSU win the ALL AROUND title.

Kearney would share the SEC ATHLETE OF THE YEAR award with Auburn's Lindsey Puckett. FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR went to Georgia's Cassidy McComb, while SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR was awarded to sophomore Rebekah Zaiser of Florida.

A three way tie recognized Rene and Mark Cook of Arkansas, Jeff Thompson of Auburn, and Suzanne Yoculan of Georgia as the SEC's "Coach of the Year"

Check out all the SEC champions....

• SEC Report: From the SEC Championships

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Five Alabama gymnasts earned Southeastern Conference Championship honors it was announced today by the league office.

Sophomores Morgan Dennis, Ricki Lebegern and Casey Overton all earned first team All- SEC honors while sophomore Kassi Price and freshman Kayla Hoffman took home second team All-SEC accolades. Hoffman was also named to the inaugural Freshman All-SEC team.

"To have so many of our ladies honored is indicative of what a great team performance we had at the SEC Championships," head coach Sarah Patterson said. "Those five ladies made up 18 of our 24 routines at the championships, but we had great effort and results from everyone on our team. It was a great meet for us, one that showed tremendous heart by our ladies."

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama Gymnastics team learned today it will travel to Norman, Okla. to compete in the NCAA South Central Regional Championships Saturday, April 12 for a chance to advance to its 26th consecutive NCAA Championship final site.

The No. 4 ranked Crimson Tide is the region's top seed, followed by host school and No. 9 ranked Oklahoma, No. 16 Boise State, No. 19 Arizona State, No. 24 Illinois and No. 36 Southeast Missouri State.

"We're ready to do our job, to go to Oklahoma and advance to the NCAA Championships," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "Oklahoma is a very good team with one of the nation's top young coaches. We've already met Illinois this season and Arizona State has historically been one of the nation's best. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to us giving our best effort and getting to Athens (Ga.) to contend for a national championship."

INDIANAPOLIS---The 2008 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships regional selections were announced today by the NCAA.

Six teams, five all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and one individual event specialist per event [who has a minimum Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 9.4] were named to each of the six regions. The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships in Athens, Georgia, April 24-26, hosted by the University of Georgia.

In addition, the event winners at the regional championships will advance to the national championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers.

The qualifying teams and individuals are listed below. All regionals, except for the Southeast, will be conducted at 6 p.m. local time, Saturday, April 12. The Southeast regional is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern time, Saturday, April 12.

[ Note: We have excerpted the relevent section from the above document and listed it below ]

South Central Region - in Norman, Oklahoma (University of Oklahoma, host)

Teams

1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma
3. Boise State
4. Arizona State
5. Illinois
6. Southeast Missouri State

Kaitlin White starts Bama's bars at 9.80

There was so much excitement and a little melodrama mixed in at the end of another great SEC Championship competition.  Alabama (197.325) looked like they were ready to claim Title #6 only to see the GymDawgs (197.350) reclaim it from the Florida Gators (197.325), who were victorious in 2007 and the defending conference champions. Alabama finished in an impressive 2nd Place tie with the talented Gators and no doubt will review the film and to see where just one step or balance check will need correcting before heading to Regional competition in the next two weeks. In the meantime, hats off to freshman Kayla Hoffman for her outstanding efforts on bars (9.85), floor (9.90) and vault (9.925) in her first SEC Championship as well as the sophomore 1-2-3-4 punch line-up of Kassi Price (39.300 AA), Morgan Dennis (39.575), Ricki Lebegern (9.90 on beam, 9.95 on vault, 9.875 on floor) and Casey Overton (9.80 on bars, 9.90 on beam, 9.75 on vault).  Senior leadership from Kaitlin White on the bars (9.80) and floor (9.75) and junior pluck and grit from Brittany Magee (9.85 on beam, 9.825 on vault) and Ashley O'Neal (9.80 on beam, 9.825 on floor) helped to secure an outstanding finish in this highly competitive meet that should prepare them well for regionals.

Morgan Dennis celebrates her 9.95 VT and SEC co-championship

DULUTH, Ga. - The Alabama Gymnastics team tied for second at the Southeastern Conference Championships held here at The Arena at Gwinnett Place in a meet that went down to the very end and was decided by the smallest margin in championship history.

"There was a range of emotions that went through my mind," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "We took a team that was ranked sixth in the country and fourth in the SEC and came within .025 of winning this title. Our ladies are not about to back down. They are prepared to go regionals and then come back to Athens, Ga. and contend for a national title. I have said all along that you can be fourth at this meet and win a national championship."

Three teams finished within .025 of each other with Georgia winning with a 197.35 and Alabama and Florida sharing second with matching 197.325s.It was Alabama's 18th top-two finish.

Sarah Patterson

DULUTH, Ga. - After 11 regular season meets and more than 300 competitive routines, the Alabama Gymnastics team is ready for the postseason which gets underway Saturday at 4 p.m. with the Southeastern Conference Championships held here in The Arena at Gwinnett Place.

"We're ready," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "Everything we've done this season, everything we've gone through has prepared us for the championship season. The SEC is the toughest conference in the nation. There are seven teams in the top 20 nationally right now and six in the top 13. This meet will be tougher than regionals and tougher than the first night of the national championships."

Alabama comes into the meet having beaten every team in the league at least once with the exception of Georgia, who they faced at midseason. The Crimson Tide, which has finished in the top two at the SEC Championships 17 times since 1985, is coming off its two best performances of the year including a 197.1 against Auburn to close out the regular season, during which the Tide posted a 49.650 on the floor exercise, the third highest floor total in Alabama history.

DULUTH, Ga.. - The Alabama Gymnastics team discovered they will start the 2008 Southeastern Conference Championships on a bye before starting competition on the uneven bars from the championship draw here at the Gwinnett Center.

"You have to be strong on all four events to win this championship, so it really doesn't matter where you start, or where you finish," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "For us to be successful we have to go out and stick our landings and hit our routines. We're looking forward to a great meet."

Senior captain Kaitlin White drew for Alabama, picking the bye. After starting on a bye and then moving to the uneven bars, Alabama will go to the balance beam, followed by a bye, then the floor exercise followed by a third bye before finishing off the meet on the vault.

The team practiced after the draw and the competition is Saturday starting at 4 p.m. ET. The Crimson Tide's radio broadcast of the championships will be on WVUA 90.7-FM in Tuscaloosa and can be heard online. The link for the radio broadcast can be found on www.gymtide.com. A link to live scores can be found on www.gymtide.com and the meet will be televised on a tape delayed basis on Fox Sports South Saturday, April 7 at 6 p.m. CT.

The 2008 Southeastern Conference Gymnastics Draw:

Alabama senior Kaitlin White drew sixth of the seven teams here at the SEC Championships, and the Tide will start on Bye2 at the SEC Championships, competing first on the uneven bars and finish on vault.

• Alabama drew sixth and starts on Bye2 and finishes on Vault
• Arkansas drew fifth and starts on Vault and finishes on Bye1
• Auburn drew fourth and starts on Beam and finishes on Bars
• Florida drew first and starts on Bye3 and finishes on Beam
• Georgia drew third and starts on Floor and finishes on Bye3
• Kentucky drew second and starts on Bye1 and finishes on Floor
• LSU drew seventh and starts on Bars and finishes on Bye2

Ricki Lebegern

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - University of Alabama gymnastics sophomore Ricki Lebegern has been named to the 2008 Southeastern Conference Community Service Team.

"Alabama Gymnastics is dedicated to performing at the highest level not only in the gym, but in the classroom as well," head coach Sarah Patterson said. "We are also dedicated to making the world around us a better place, which is what this award represents. It is an ideal that Ricki embodies and works tirelessly toward."

The conference sponsors a Community Service Team for each its 20 sports. The Gymnastics Community Service Team represents seven SEC gymnasts, one from each competing institution. The Community Service Team highlights athletes from each school who give back to their community in superior service efforts.

• Postmeet: 2008 Auburn Meet Postmeet Commentary

(Look for the buttons. Note: Click on the HIGH button for the High Quality Video. For slower connections/computers, choose the LOW button for Normal Quality - about 60% the download size as the HIGH Quality Videos. )

The Utes of Utah kept their cool during a spring blizzard and meet delay of over twenty hours in Ann Arbor, Michigan to claim the nation's top team score. Down south, Alabama celebrated the careers of their two seniors Kaitlin White and Terin Humphrey. Having just announced her retirement from gymnastics this week, Terin cheered from the sidelines while Kaitlin set a career and season high score of 9.925 on the floor exercise. Check out this week's "How the Top Ten Fared" on the teams that competed prior to conference championships scheduled the last weekend of March.

• How The Top Ten Fared the Weekend of 03-21-2008
  
  

The crowd in Athens, Georgia saw two 10.0 scores awarded to two different Gymdawgs Friday night. Georgia senior Katie Heenan was the top SEC all-arounder and was perfect on the floor.

The sophomore duo of Morgan Dennis and Ricki Lebegern led Bama to the highest team score in the SEC this past weekend. With Florida and LSU idle, check out the "Best of the SEC" as the conference championship will be contested this Saturday in Gwinnet, Georgia.

• SEC Report: Around The SEC The Week Of 3-21-08

Casey Overton's competitive debut on the uneven bars

The Crimson Tide Gymnastics Team (197.100) made it 94 in a row over the Tigers of Auburn (195.900) and set a new season high on the floor exercise (49.650) in the process. Highlights were many, including sophomore Casey Overton's competitive debut on the uneven bars (9.825) that will pay huge dividends for the Tide in the post-season and senior Kaitlin White's setting of another career high on floor with a 9.925. Morgan Dennis and Ricki Lebegern took home the all around honors, tying at 39.475. It was a great team effort but more will be required of the GymTide next week at the SEC Championships if they are to secure title #6. Here are more notes on the great win over Auburn....

Kaitlin White setting another career high on floor with a 9.925

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -The No. 6 Alabama Gymnastics team closed out the regular season by winning its 10th meet of the year in convincing fashion against 12th ranked Auburn, 197.1-195.900 with a confident performance punctuated by the Crimson Tide's best floor exercise performance of the season.

Sophomores Morgan Dennis and Ricki Lebegern tied for top honors in the all-around scoring 39.45, a season best for Lebegern and just shy of one for Dennis. Dennis also put an exclamation point on Alabama's floor rotation, drilling the final routine with a career-best 9.975.

"My landings felt really, really solid, and when I hit the last pass, the one that I've had some trouble with the last few meets, I knew it might go that high," Dennis said.

TUSCLOOSA, Ala. - The No. 6 ranked Alabama Gymnastics team closes out its regular season Friday against No. 12 Auburn in Coleman Coliseum starting at 7:30 p.m.

"This is our last meet before the championship season and we need to continue to move forward and make progress," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "We had our best meet of the season last week against Penn State, but we need another good performance before SECs."

Tickets for Friday's meet are available through RollTide.com and the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262) located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum. In addition to the Tide's weekly "Best Seat in the House" promotion that includes a free 42-inch plasma television to one lucky ticket holder, another fan will win a year's worth of cable from Comcast, five will win $50.00 Woods & Water gift cards and five more will take home $100.00 Regal Cinema gift cards.

• Postmeet: 2008 Penn State Meet Postmeet Commentary

We have a new Photo album (and slide show) for the 2008 Tide Tykes and Teens Jamboree

• Photo Album: 2008 Tide Tykes and Teens Jamboree
• Slide Show: 2008 Tide Tykes and Teens Jamboree

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

217889 bytes 01 Cassie Martin is intent on getting the A just right

238754 bytes 02 Kaitlin checks out Kate as she signs the Bday card

160751 bytes 03 Jennifer Iovino and Amanda Montgomery

After suffering the loss of superstar Courtney Kupets to a season ending injury and a team loss to Michigan, Georgia rebounds a week later to post the best score in the nation (197.900).

In the process, Sophomore Courtney McCool scored a perfect 10.0 on the floor. Florida and Alabama also enjoyed 197+ competitions. Read how well last week's top ten fared....

• How The Top Ten Fared Week 11 Of The 2008 Season
  
  

The SEC had an excellent week with both Bama and Georgia bouncing back to winning form with 197+ team scores. Georgia's Heenan was tops in the SEC in the all-around. Several SEC gymnasts soared to 9.9+ scores, including Alabama's Kaitlin White (9.90) and Courtney McCool (10.0). Arkansas continued to impress after last weekend's first time upset wins over Alabama and UCLA.

Catch up with all SEC stars in this week's SEC REPORT.

• SEC Report: Around The SEC The Week Of 3-14-08

• Postmeet: 2008 Penn State Meet Postmeet Commentary

• Postmeet: 2008 UCLA, Arkansas,Cal State Fullerton Meet Postmeet Commentary
• Postmeet: 2008 Stanford, Nebraska Meet Postmeet Commentary

Brittany_Magee

The Alabama Crimson Tide literally whipped themselves back into performance shape Friday Night against the Penn State Nittany Lions, scoring 197.300 to 194.675 in front of a respectable 9503 early spring break crowd. Led in the all-around by sophomores Kassi Price (39.475), Morgan Dennis (39.375) and Ricki Lebegern (39.375) as well as freshman Kayla Hoffman on three events and senior Kaitlin White on two (9.90 career high on floor), Bama was able to put last week's West Coast lackluster performances in the rearview mirror and cruise to an easy victory over one of their oldest gymanstics non-conference rivals. Here are more final observations from last night's meet...

Morgan Dennis

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - This was a different team. A week after the Alabama Gymnastics team fell seven times over the course of two meets on the West Coast, the Crimson Tide had its best performance of the season, beating No. 20 Penn State, 197.3-194.675.

"I think the ladies did exceptionally well," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "I told them right before we went into the locker room 'I don't expect us to be absolutely perfect but I expect us to have great intensity and have a great meet.' I think that's what we did."

The sophomore trio of Morgan Dennis, Kassi Price and Ricki Lebegern swept the top-3 spots in the all-around with Price winning after scoring a 39.375. Dennis and Lebegern tied for second at 39.375. It was Lebegern's second highest score of the season.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The No. 6 ranked Alabama Gymnastics team renews its long- standing rivalry against Penn State this Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Coleman Coliseum.

The Crimson Tide has faced the 20th ranked Nittany Lions at least once a year for 24 of the last 25 years, with last season being the first break in the series since 1983. Alabama has met Penn State more than any other non-conference opponent.

"Penn State is a good team and we have enjoyed a long-standing rivalry," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "We recruit quite a bit in that area of the country and we like to go there as much as they like to come down and compete here."

• Postmeet: 2008 UCLA, Arkansas,Cal State Fullerton Meet Postmeet Commentary
• Postmeet: 2008 Stanford, Nebraska Meet Postmeet Commentary

This Friday, in addition to honoring the eight Scholastics All-Americans on this year's team, Alabama Gymnastics is also honoring students from the Tuscaloosa area that have excelled in the classroom and celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday with a book drive for the local library. All this and the No. 6 Crimson Tide returns home to face No. 20 Penn State.

Alabama Gymnastics
vs. Penn State (3/14/08)
7:30 p.m. (doors open - 5:30 pm)

Academic Achievement Night
A/B Honor Roll Students in Tuscaloosa County, City and Private Schools will receive free admission with a voucher. The vouchers will admit two people. The school that uses the most vouchers at the end of the night will win a desktop computer courtesy of Tuscaloosa Toyota

Kid + Book = Free
If a kid brings a book to the meet they will receive free admission.

University Students Will Win
UA Students will also have a chance to win one of three prizes that are given away at every meet this season: Three UA student names before the 4th Rotation

• One student will win an iMac,
• Another $100 in Bama Cash
• And the third a $100 Book Scholarship

Kassi Price

Bama (195.925) continued to encounter problems with mental fortitude on Sunday afternoon during their West Coast swing but managed to come away with a slightly better performance against two of the three teams they went up against, UCLA (195.800) and Cal-State Fullerton (192.625), while bowing for the first time to new kid on the SEC block, Arkansas (196.425) before approximately 4600 fans in Pauley Pavilion. Nevertheless, there were some bright spots to take away from Sunday's quad meet - Here are some more observations on each routine...

Morgan Dennis

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Alabama Gymnastics team downed UCLA and Cal-State Fullerton here in Pauley Pavilion today, but couldn't overcome having to count two falls on two different events in its total, falling to Arkansas.

The Crimson Tide scored a 195.925 while the LadyBacks totaled a 196.425. UCLA, which also counted two falls, scored a 195.800 while Fullerton closed out the meet with a 192.575.

Alabama dug itself into a hole early starting on the balance beam with falls from junior Amanda Montgomery and sophomore Ricki Lebegern before coming back with a stellar vault rotation, during which Alabama posted a season high, and a floor exercise score that was its second highest of the season, before finishing out with two falls on the uneven bars from junior Cassie Martin and Lebegern.

We've been informed that the URL for the RADIO BROADCAST of this afternoon's meet is SLIGHTLY different from the usual link. Note the extra "-1" at the end of the address. This only matters if you are directly inputting the address into your media player. For everyone else, the link at the right side of these webpages (and that found at MeetCentral) is correct.

• http://broadcastmonsters.com/Alabama/alabama-1.asx

• http://www.allinbroadcasting.com

They appear to be online!

Daylight savings time folks!

Kassi Price

The Alabama Crimson Tide ran into a buzz saw in the first of two meets on the West Coast, coming in third place behind Stanford (196.775) and Nebraska (196.05) after suffering two falls on the balance beam in their final event. Hopefully, the team will rally for the Sunday quad meet against UCLA, Arkansas and Cal-State Fullerton. In the meantime, here are some of the observations from Friday Night's meet....

PALO ALTO, Calif. - The No. 6 Alabama Gymnastics team fell to No. 9 Stanford and No. 16 Nebraska in a tri-meet held here in Maples Pavilion tonight.

The Crimson Tide posted a season-low 195.775, while host school Stanford went a point better at 196.775, its second highest score of the season, and Nebraska tallied a 196.050. It was Alabama's lowest score of the season and the first in which it had to count a fall in its total.

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."

We have a new Photo album (and slide show) for the Georgia Meet

• Photo Album: 2008 Georgia Meet
• Slide Show: 2008 Georgia Meet

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

568484 bytes 01 Amanda Montgomery gets sideways in bars WU

475946 bytes 02 Jac Shealy swings thru an invert-giant

600385 bytes 03 Kassi Price pirouttes

Amanda Leaps To A 9.725 BM

"The GymTide and the reigning SEC Champion Florida Gators entered last Saturday's meet with one loss each for the season, both coming at the hands of the same adversary: the reigning National Champion Georgia GymDogs. Indeed, after a narrow victory before a raucous crowd in Gainesville earlier in the year and a somewhat wider one before a more respectful crowd in Tuscaloosa a little later on, Georgia's head coach Suzanne Yoculan is reported to have remarked that the heated rivalry with Alabama seemingly had been surpassed by that with the surging Gators. Mix in with that the fact that the Tide had not yet breached the 197.000 scoring mark on the season, and that the Gators were averaging scoring more than a full point higher at home than on the road, and it's safe to say that both teams had something to prove."

• Postmeet: 2008 Florida Meet Postmeet Commentary
• Postmeet: 2008 LSU Meet Postmeet Commentary

Note: We think we have the "load" problems with these 2 pages fixed - the pages should load quickly. But note that the video is intended for high bandwitch users (Cable modems or DSL service). Slow Internet connections (or older computers) may have trouble playing the video.