Gymnastics Swings into Action Friday Night at Auburn
1/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Jan. 8, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Just two days after starting classes for the spring semester, the Alabama gymnastics team swings into action Friday night for its first meet of the 2009 season, traveling to Auburn to take on the Tigers in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
Friday's meet, which gets underway at 7 p.m., marks the first time in three years that the Crimson Tide has started the season off on the road. It will also mark the first time Alabama has started the season at Auburn since 1996, though Alabama has faced the Tigers to open the season 11 times over the past 30 years.
Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson, in her 31st season leading the Tide, returns 11 gymnasts, including five All-Americans to this year's team. NCAA Champion and five-time All-American Morgan Dennis is back for her junior season and will be looked to once again to lead the way for the Tide.
Junior and three-time Southeastern Conference Champion Ricki Lebegern could also go in the all-around this weekend. Patterson said that senior All-American Brittany Magee is in the best shape she has been in since her freshman year and will likely see action in the all-around for the first time in her career on Friday.
"I'm so proud of Brittany and where she is in terms of leading our team by example," Patterson said.
A trio of stars from last year's sixth-place NCAA Championship team won't be at full strength to start the season. Junior All-Americans Kassi Price and Casey Overton have both been working through injuries this winter and will likely be limited to one even each to start the season, while sophomore All-American Kayla Hoffman will be worked into the lineup as the season goes along after going through off-season shoulder surgery.
"To me, there are two ways you can start the season," Patterson said. "You can either come out like gangbusters and then try to hold your momentum through the season, putting final touches on routines as you go along, or, and this is where we are this year, you get your starting point and build from there. We knew early on that this would be a year that we would build through the season. There are just some issues that we have to work around and it's challenging right now."
In addition to its veterans, Alabama's roster features six freshmen, including former U.S. National team member Caitlin Sullivan who joined Alabama on December 26, staring her rookie season with classes on Wednesday. The newcomers also include U.S. National team members Ashley Priess and Geralen Stack-Eaton, as well as Jocelyn Fowler, Erika Pearson and Rachel Terry.
"Ashley Priess is someone that fans will notice right away," Patterson said. "At this point her uneven bars routine is going to be one of the most competitive in the country. She is a national-championship caliber athlete on that event. She'll also help us floor exercise and balance beam right away."
And while Friday will be Alabama's first meet of the season, the Tigers got started last weekend at Illinois-Chicago where they put up the highest score in the nation to this point in the season, going 196.375.
"I think it's a huge advantage for Auburn that they started last weekend and that they did great," Patterson said. "They're the highest scoring team in the country right now. For the last couple of years, this meet always seems to come down to the last rotation, with us having to win the meet on the balance beam. This year will be no different, they'll be on floor with the advantage of the home crowd and the added bonus of having been through it before and we have not."
Fans who can't be in Auburn Friday night will be able to follow all the action with the Crimson Tide's radio broadcast, featuring Allen Faul and Leesa Davis, as well as live stats and online commentary at www.rolltide.com and www.gymtide.com. The radio broadcast can be heard on WVUA 90.7-FM in Tuscaloosa and online at www.wvuafm.ua.edu.
Players Mentioned
