Gymnastics is Eighth Nationally
2/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Feb. 16, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama Gymnastics team is eighth in the latest national rankings, joining five other Southeastern Conference teams in this week's top 10.
Utah retained the No. 1 spot in the rankings while Georgia moved to No. 2 this week with UCLA falling to third. Stanford remained steady in fourth while Auburn climbed to fifth. The Crimson Tide's next opponent, the Florida Gators, are sixth, followed by Arkansas in seventh. Oregon State checks in at No. 9 and LSU rounds out the top 10.
After being calculated by season average through the first six weeks of the season, the rankings changed to regional qualifying score (RQS) this week. The RQS is computed by taking a team's top three road scores, its next three highest scores, dropping the high score and averaging the remaining scores.
Alabama is the nation's top-ranked team on the balance beam for the fifth week in a row. The Tide is sixth on the vault, seventh on the uneven bars and 17th on the floor exercise.
Individually, junior Ricki Lebegern, who has competed in every event so far this season is ranked 13th in the all-around and 12th on the balance beam. Junior Morgan Dennis is ranked eighth on the vault. Freshman Ashley Priess is the SEC's highest ranked freshman on the balance beam and uneven bars where she stands ninth and 12th in the nation respectively. Freshman Geralen Stack-Eaton is ranked 19th on the balance beam.
Alabama travels to Gainesville, Fla. this Friday to take on the Gators before returning home on Feb. 27 to face the Auburn Tigers in the UA's fifth annual Power of Pink meet. Tickets to the Tide's home meets are available through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262) located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum or online at RollTide.com.
Players Mentioned
