Alabama Gymnasts Receive 2003 SEC Championship Rings At Halftime
9/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
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Download Video of Ring Presentation
(AVI format - 7 MB)
(Expanded Version of Story that Ran in the Alabama-Kentucky Football Game Program)
As Crimson Tide fans know, gymnastics season is a time of accomplishment and accolades at the Capstone and 2003 was no exception. Last season though had a special glow from the very beginning though as Sarah and David Patterson celebrated their 25th season coaching at Alabama and their team responded with a season-long performance worthy of such a milestone.
The Tide went into the season with one of the youngest teams in the nation, with seven freshmen and three sophomores making up the majority of the 14 athletes on the roster. There was no doubt that the Pattersons, along with long-time assistant coach Bryan Raschilla had their work cutout for them. But 'the kids' soon proved they were alright and looking to make a name of their own in the wake of Alabama's 2002 NCAA Championship.
Among the highlights from last season, and there were many, was the induction of Sarah Patterson into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, making her only the sixth woman and the first women's coach to earn a berth in the hall. As a team, Alabama followed up its 2002 national title with a runner-up finish at the 2003 NCAA Championships. The Tide also won its 19th NCAA Regional title.
Individually, freshman sensation Ashley Miles scored a perfect 10 at the NCAA Championships on her way to the Tide's 14th individual national title, taking top honors on the vault. Junior Jeana Rice, the nation's No. 1 ranked all-arounder for much of the second half of the season, was named SEC Gymnast of the Year, marking the fourth straight time an Alabama gymnast has taken home that accolade. She won three SEC titles, including the all-around, and five All-American honors. Senior Kristin Sterner, junior Stephanie Kite, Rice, Miles, freshman Mari Bayer and sophomores Alexis Brion and Shannon Hrozek all earned All-American honors.
In the classroom, Sterner, the 2003 NCAA Central Region All-Around Champion, was named the Southeastern Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year, marking the third time in program history an Alabama gymnast has earned the prestigious honor. Sterner, the Tide's lone senior, also earned an NCAA and SEC Postgraduate Scholarship. She and Kite were named first team Academic All-Americans, making Alabama the only program to have two athletes on that list.
But the biggest highlight from last season, and the reason that the gymnasts will gather at midfield during halftime of tonight's game, came from the Southeastern Conference Championships. Alabama won its fifth league title since 1988 in a slugfest of a meet that went down to the very last competitor on the very last event for both Alabama and the Georgia Bulldogs. When the chalk dust had settled and the scores tallied, the Crimson Tide earned the victory by the slimmest of margins - .05.
With such a narrow margin, everyone in the lineup can lay claim to a hero's role in the victory. Freshman Larissa Stewart posted a career-best score and earned second team All-SEC honors on the uneven bars, an event that Rice won. Rice also won the balance beam, an event led off by sophomore Michelle Reeser, earning All-SEC honors in the process.
In the end though, it came down to the floor exercise. With Georgia sitting on a 197.525 after finishing their vault set moments before, Alabama's last competitor, freshman Ashley Miles, would have to earn a 9.95 or better for the win. It was a lot of pressure for a rookie.
But this was why Miles came to Alabama, to be in the situations and to compete for championships. Her teammates had done their part to give her the chance. Sterner had scored a 9.95 earlier in the rotation to keep Alabama within striking distance and Kite set Miles up for the win with a career best 9.925 in the next to last spot.
Now it was up to Miles.
And she nailed it. Coming away with a 9.975, Miles guaranteed the 2003 squad would have the opportunity to come to Bryant-Denny Stadium tonight and receive their championship rings.
And while Sterner, Erin Holdefer, Kite, Rice, Brion, Hrozek, Reeser, Bayer, Rachael Delahoussaye, Dana Filetti, Miles, Dana Pierce, Lauren Pruitt and Stewart, along with the coaches and staff, receive their rings tonight, the rookies of 2004 will be looking on. Freshmen Brittany Comeaux, Johnna Gay, Meredith Laxton, Erin Rightley may be on the sideline tonight, but they are all looking forward to helping the Tide win another championship, so that next year, they will have the opportunity to stand at midfield on another Crimson Tide football Saturday, hear their name called and receive their own gold ring.
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