Alabama Gymnastics Competes for National Championship Tonight
4/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
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The University of Alabama Gymnastics
2004 NCAA Super Six Team Finals
Notes Supplement
Friday, April 16, 2004
Los Angeles, Calif. * Pauley Pavilion
- 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.
- Alabama and UCLA have combined to win all four NCAA titles in the decade of 2000, with UCLA winning 2000, 01 and 03 and Alabama winning in 2002.
- The last time the NCAA Championships were held in Los Angeles, in 1998, the Southeastern Conference swept the top three spots on the award stand, with Georgia, Florida and Alabama finishing in that order. Tonight marks the first time all three of those school have been in the Super Six since 1998.
- Last night senior Jeana Rice (Longwood, Fla.) became the fourth Alabama gymnast to win an NCAA All-Around title, scoring a 39.650 to edge LSU's April Burkholder and UCLA's Jeanette Antolin, both of whom scored 39.600.
- Alabama has now won five NCAA All-Around titles: Jeana Rice - 2004; Meredith Willard - 1996; Dee Foster - 1990; Penney Hauschild - 1985 & 1986.
- Rice is the 10th Alabama gymnast to win an NCAA title. Those 10 gymnasts have earned 15 national titles between them.
- Alabama's five NCAA All-Around titles ties Utah for the most by one school.
- Rice also earned five All-American honors on Thursday, boosting her career total to 18, the most in NCAA history by one athlete. She earned five as a freshman, junior and senior and three as a sophomore.
- Alabama's Dee Foster (1990-93) (who was in attendance last night and will be in attendance tonight) and Kentucky's Jenny Hansen (1993-96) held the previous record at 17.
- Foster and Hansen still hold the record for most first team All-American honors in a career with 17. Rice has 11 first team honors and seven second team honors.
- Alabama sophomore Ashley Miles (San Antonio, Texas) earned the right to defend her 2003 NCAA Vault title by advancing to individual event finals Saturday. Miles will also compete on the floor exercise and the uneven bars.
- Rice will compete on the uneven bars and balance beam in Saturday's individual finals while junior Alexis Brion will compete on the floor exercise.
- Alabama junior Shannon Hrozek (The Woodlands, Texas), one of the Tide's two all-arounders along with Rice, injured her shoulder during Wednesday's practice session when she crashed into the vault. Hrozek was able to compete in the Tide's balance beam lineup, posting a 9.775, Alabama's third highest score of the night.
NCAA Championships Preview: Lilly Hudson
Monday, April 14
NCAA Championships Preview: Ashley Johnston & Justin Spring
Monday, April 14
NCAA Regional Final: Gabby Gladieux, Lilly Hudson, Paityn Walker & Coach Johnston
Sunday, April 06
NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Press Conference: Ashley Johnston, Ryan Fuller, Gabby Gladieux & Lilly Hudson
Friday, April 04
