Gymnastics Ready to Compete at SEC Championships
3/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ?? The Alabama Gymnastics team's one weekend off from competition this season came at a good time, giving the Crimson Tide a break between its regular season finale and the Southeastern Conference Championships this Saturday, and head coach Sarah Patterson and her charges put it to good use.
"With such a young team, we have a number of young ladies that have never been through a meet like this," Patterson said. "So we used the week off to prepare them for all that goes on at a collegiate championship meet."
That meant warming up in exactly the time allotted at the championships, picking their starting event out of a hat as well as inserting ??byes' into practice.
"We wanted them to know what it felt like to get going, to do an event or two, and then having to sit around for a while," Patterson said. "We want them to be as prepared as possible before we get to the arena."
There are some things though, that both the coaches and athletes will have to learn and adjust to together. This weekend will mark the first time that the conference championship will be held in Little Rock, Ark. after several years going back and forth between Birmingham, Ala. and Duluth, Ga.
"We're excited to compete in Little Rock," Patterson said. "We've heard that they've sold quite a few tickets and it should be a great atmosphere."
The meet, which gets underway at 6 p.m. CT at the Alltel Arena, promises to be one of the most competitive in the history of the event with four SEC teams standing at the top of the national rankings. Florida is No. 1 followed by Georgia, Alabama and LSU. Arkansas is No. 11 and Auburn is No. 17 while Kentucky is one place out of the top-25 at No. 26.
"I don't think there is any meet that will prepare a young team better for the NCAA Championships than the SEC Championships," Patterson said. "We have been tried and tested all season long and then you put us in this meet at the end that is harder even than the first night of the NCAA Championships . . . I don't think there's any question as to why the Southeastern Conference, year in and year out, does so well at nationals.
The SEC has had as many as four teams finish in the top-6 at the NCAA Championships and have had at least two teams in the final six ever year since 1983. The league has also produced 11 NCAA Championships, with Alabama producing four of those (2002, 1996, 1991, 1988).
But for this weekend, it comes down to seven teams looking for one crown.
"This one is always a lot of fun," Patterson said. "It's for bragging rights and jewelry."
The meet will be broadcast live on WVUA 90.7-FM in Tuscaloosa and can be heard online at www.thecapstone.ua.edu. A link to live scores can be found on www.gymtide.com and the meet will be televised on a tape delayed basis on Fox Sports South Saturday, April 7 at 6 p.m. CT.
