Gymnastics Heads to SEC Championships
3/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
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| Ashley Miles |
With a 14-1 regular season behind them, the No. 5 Alabama Gymnastics team opens the postseason with the Southeastern Conference Championships Saturday (March 25) at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex at 6 p.m.
All seven of the conference teams are ranked in the top-20, including three in the top five.
"When you have four of the top 10 teams in the country right in your conference and three of them are ranked one, two and five, I think that says a lot," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said.
It marks the fourth time the SEC Championships have been in the city of Birmingham, though it is the first time they have been housed in the BJCC. The last time the championships were in Birmingham, Alabama won its fifth league title when then freshman Ashley Miles anchored the Tide's floor exercise rotation with a 9.975.
Miles, now a senior, is the three-time defending SEC floor exercise champion and the defending vault and uneven bars champion. Sophomore Terin Humphrey shared the uneven bars title with Miles last year and will be looking to defend it on Saturday.
The meet will be on a raised podium, similar to the ones used in major international competitions, such as the Olympics and World Championships. The last two NCAA Championships have been hosted on podiums, but this year's SEC Championships are the first conference meet to do so.
"I have to give credit to the Southeastern Conference," Patterson said. "We were the first conference that went forward and went to four judges instead of a two-judge panel and the coaches wanted to go forward with the podium. It will help prepare us for the national championship. I think we're the ones setting the tone for the rest of the country and I think it just elevates the status of our meet, shows the importance of our programs and helps our conference lead the way in NCAA gymnastics.
Among the Tide's 14 wins this season are eight against conference teams. The Tide's lone loss on the season came to No. 1 Georgia at midseason by 5/100ths of a point.
And while the Tide won all but one of its meets, going into the championship, Patterson is still looking for a breakout performance from her squad.
"We haven't had that meet where we've just been stellar on all four events," Patterson said. "They're not big mistakes, but there are just things we can do better. Looking back on the SEC Championship we won (in 2003), it takes a stellar performance. It takes accentuation on the details. We've done a really good job all year, but we haven't been a great team yet and I keep thinking this next meet will be the one that we break out and have a few of those performances that push us over the top."
Saturday's championships will be televised by Fox Sports Net on a tape-delayed basis Thursday, March 30 at 6 p.m. Fans can follow the action live on the radio on WVUA-FM 90.7 in Tuscaloosa or online at www.bcmonsters.com. Fans can also follow the scores live on the internet at www.secsports.com/gym.
