Alabama and Auburn Gymnastics Advance to NCAA Championships
4/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
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TUSCALOOSA, ALA - The Alabama Gymnastics team will have a chance to defend its 2002 NCAA Championship.
The Crimson Tide earned its 21st consecutive bid to the NCAA Championships here tonight by winning its 19th NCAA Regional title, scoring a 197.550 at the Central Regional. Alabama's total was well ahead of Auburn and Central Michigan's second place 196.350.
"The Regional is the hardest part of the year from a coaching standpoint because you are trying to advance," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "You never feel comfortable until it is over and it's never over until the last routine is in the books."
Since the top two teams from each regional advances from each of the six regions, a tie breaker was used to decide who was the second team to advance. Auburn won the tiebreaker and will go to its first NCAA Championship since 1993 when the Tigers finished fifth.
Second seed Oklahoma was fourth with a 196.300, Michigan State was fifth at 194.650 and Kent State was sixth with a 193.950
Senior Kristin Sterner, in her last meet in Coleman Coliseum, won the all-around with a 39.625, just off her career best. Sterner also won the balance beam with a 9.95. Tide freshman Ashley Miles won the floor exercise with a 10 and the vault with a 9.95. Katie Teft of Central Michigan and Courtney Puckett of Auburn won the uneven bars with a 9.9.
The Tide got things started on the floor exercise, where freshman Ashley Miles put the exclamation point on a stellar series of routines, scoring a 10.0 to lead Alabama to 49.625 team mark, tying its season best floor exercise score tying its second highest score ever.
Miles' 10.0 on the floor exercise was the first perfect score for the Crimson Tide in NCAA Championship competition since the NCAA Individual Finals in 1996 when Kim Kelly posted a 10 to win the NCAA Floor Exercise title. Miles' mark is an NCAA record. It is Alabama's ninth perfect mark in either NCAA Regional or NCAA Championship competition.
Alabama, propelled by 9.9 from sophomore Alexis Brion and Kristin Sterner and a 9.95 from Miles, posted a 49.45 on the vault in the second event. It was Alabama's third highest vault total of the season.
Alabama struggled just a bit on the uneven bars, but still came away with a 48.950, led by freshman Dana Filetti's 9.85.
Alabama's 49.525 on the balance beam was its second highest of the season. It was keyed by a clutch 9.95 from Sterner and 9.9s from sophomore Michelle Reeser, freshman Rachael Delahoussaye and junior Jeana Rice
Delahoussaye's 9.9 on the balance beam, bettered her previous career best of 9.75 against LSU. Tonight's routine was Delahoussaye's third beam routine of the season and first since Feb. 14.
Alabama's final score of 197.550 is the third highest of the season. All three of the Tide's top scores this season have come with Auburn in the meet.
Vault Bars Beam Floor Totals
Alabama 49.450 48.950 49.525 49.625 197.550
Auburn 49.100 48.975 49.125 49.150 196.350 *
Central Michigan 48.900 49.025 49.300 49.125 196.350
Oklahoma 48.950 49.025 49.275 49.050 196.300
Kent State 48.475 48.650 48.275 48.550 193.950
Michigan State 48.625 48.675 48.175 49.175 194.650
* Advanced via the tie-breaker.
