Gymnasts Earn Seven All-Southeastern Conference Honors
3/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
March 24, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - In the wake of winning its sixth Southeastern Conference Championship, six members of the Alabama Gymnastics team earned seven All-SEC honors the league office has announced.
"I'm very proud of our ladies and I think to have so many of them earn conference honors points to what a total team effort winning the championship was," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "Everyone contributed, every routine was key to our success."
Junior Morgan Dennis was named first team All-SEC for the third time in her career after winning both the vault and floor exercise titles and placing second in the all-around at Saturday's conference championships.
Junior Ricki Lebegern also earned All-SEC recognition for the third year in a row, earning second team honors. Sophomore Kayla Hoffman earned second team All-SEC honors for the second time in her career while freshman Ashley Priess was also named second team All-SEC.
Alabama gymnasts made up more than half of the Freshman All-SEC list this season. Priess, Geralen Stack-Eaton and Caitlin Sullivan all made the list. Priess and Stack-Eaton both went all-around for the Tide while Sullivan competed on the balance beam and floor exercise.
"Half our routines at the SEC Championships came from our freshman class," Patterson said. "They have really risen to the occasion this season."
All-SEC teams were based on finish at the SEC Championship. The individual event champions and the top three place finishers in the all-around were named First Team All-SEC, while the event runner-up and next three finishers in the all-around were named to the second team. The top freshman finisher and top three in the all-around were named Freshman All-SEC.
Alabama returns to action Saturday, April 4 when they host the NCAA Northeast Regional. Tickets are available through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262) located in Coleman Coliseum or online at RollTide.com.
Players Mentioned
