Alabama Gymnastics Stays on the Road to Face Arkansas
2/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
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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."
Arkansas, under the direction of co-head coaches Mark and Rene Cook, regularly draw over 4,000 fans per meet, making them one of the top-5 draws in collegiate gymnastics. The Crimson Tide is hoping to use a lively environment to post another high road score. The Tide's seeding at the NCAA Regional Championships will depend on its regional qualifying score, or RQS. Right now, counting a low 193 score from the season opening Super Six Challenge, Alabama has the nation's seventh best RQS, a good score against the "Gym'Backs" will push the Tide up the ladder.
RQS is determined by taking a team's top three road scores adding the next three highest scores, dropping the high score and averaging the remaining five scores. That score is used to send teams to the regional championships. There are three seeded teams in each of the six regionals and then the next three highest ranked teams from that region. Alabama is in the Central Region and will host that championship this season.
Leading the way for the Tide will be four-time SEC Gymnast of the Week Ashley Miles who is coming off a career meet against Georgia where she posted a career best 39.675 in the all-around while leading Alabama to a 197.025 team score, the second highest road score in the SEC this season.
After Friday's meet, Alabama has only two left in the regular season, next Sunday at Stanford and then Friday, March 18 at home against UNC.
