Alabama
Auburn
Gymnastics Beats Auburn, 195.675-195.650
1/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Jan. 9, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. - Friday night, for the second year in a row, the Alabama gymnastics team went to its last event, the balance beam, needing to come from behind to beat in-state rival Auburn in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum and for the second year in a row, the Crimson Tide answered the call, this time finishing ahead of the Tigers by the smallest margin possible, 195.675-195.650.
Alabama used a 49.225, the meet's highest score on any event, to pull ahead of the Tigers. Senior All-American Brittany Magee scored a meet-best 9.875 to lead off the rotation, a score matched by freshman Ashley Priess in the anchor spot. Junior All-American Casey Overton scored a 9.825, as did Lebegern and freshman Geralen Stack-Eaton. Alabama used three freshmen in its balance beam lineup, including Stack-Eaton and Priess in the last two spots. Auburn scored a 48.675 on the beam.
"We had three true freshmen in the balance beam lineup at the end with all that pressure," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "Two of them were in the fifth and sixth spots and the third arrived on campus on December 26th. That's a lot of pressure."
Alabama goes to 1-0 on the season while Auburn falls to 1-1. The win extends the Tide's win streak against the Tigers to 96. The .025 is the smallest margin of victory in the history of the series.
"We talk all the time about the championships that are won by .025 and last year we lost the SEC Championship by .025," Patterson said. "We talk to the ladies all the time, telling them `it's about anything you can do to make a difference and you can't get discouraged if you make a mistake, you have to keep going, because that is what is going to help us.' And to see that in first meet of the season and to see the magnitude of what .025 can do is huge."
Friday was also Auburn's "Flip for the Cause" meet to raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer with both teams wearing pink leotards. In the first all-around of her career, Magee led the Tide with a 39.275 followed by junior Ricki Lebegern's 39.225. Magee and Priess won the balance beam while junior All-American Morgan Dennis won the vault with a 9.825. Stack-Eaton won the uneven bars with a 9.8.
Alabama started the meet off with a 48.9 on the uneven bars led by Stack-Eaton's 9.8. Junior Ricki Lebegern got the rotation started with a 9.775, a score matched by senior Brittany Magee in the second spot. Junior Morgan Dennis and freshman Ashley Priess finished the Tide's rotation off with matching 9.775s. In addition to Stack-Eaton and Priess making their Tide debuts, it was Magee's first time in Alabama's competitive uneven bars lineup. Auburn scored a 48.875 on the bars.
Led by Dennis' 9.925, Alabama scored a 49.050 on the vault. Magee scored a 9.85 while Stack-Eaton posted a 9.775. Junior Alyssa Chapman and sophomore Megan Mashburn both made their debut in Alabama's competitive lineup on the vault, scoring 9.6 and 9.75 respectively. Auburn scored a 48.925 on the vault.
Lebegern posted Alabama's high score on the floor exercise, going 9.875, leading Alabama to a 48.500 team mark. Magee scored a 9.775 while Dennis posted a 9.7 after a one-tenth out of bound deduction. Auburn scored a 49.175 on the floor exercise, led by AJ Mills and Lindsey Pucketts matching 9.9s.
The Tide opens its home season Friday, Jan. 16 against Kentucky starting at 7:30 p.m. For ticket information, go to www.rolltide.com or call the Alabama Ticket Office at 205.348.2262.
Players Mentioned
