Alabama
LSU
Alabama Gymnastics Returns Home to Face SEC Rival LSU on Friday
1/24/2019 2:51:00 PM | Gymnastics
The meet gets underway at 8 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on the SEC Network
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A week after opening its Southeastern Conference and road schedule with a win at Georgia, the Alabama gymnastics team is back home Friday, facing off against two-time defending SEC champion LSU. The meet gets underway at 8 p.m. CT and will be aired live on the SEC Network.
"I've said it before, if you want to be the best, you need to compete against the best," UA head coach Dana Duckworth said. "And in the SEC you have to show up every single week, because every team in this league is thriving right now."
Tickets are available through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262), located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum, and online at RollTide.com.
The Crimson Tide comes into the weekend sporting a 6-1-0 record overall and is 1-0-0 in SEC competition. The Tigers are 1-2-0 overall and 0-2-0 in the SEC.
While Alabama's Dana Duckworth, in her fifth season as head coach at her alma mater, has been associated with Alabama gymnastics for 24 years as a gymnast and coach, the Tigers' D-D Breaux is in her 42nd year leading LSU, making her longest-tenured head coach in SEC history in any sport.
Friday is also Alabama's Alumni Meet. In addition to recognizing the more than 60 members of the Crimson Tide's gymnastics family returning to Coleman Coliseum, Alabama will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of its 2009 SEC Championship on Friday.
Other events and promotions associated with Friday's meet include:
- It will be Capes and Crowns night in Coleman Coliseum and fans will be able to take photos with super heroes and princesses on the concourse prior to the meet
- There will also be a Capes and Crowns t-shirt given out at the door while supplies last
- It will be Academic Achievement Night. Tuscaloosa city and county as well as Birmingham city elementary school students have received vouchers that can be redeemed for free admission for two
- Alabama students will get cheesy fries while supplies last
Alabama comes into its second SEC meet on the heels of a thriller in Athens last Friday. The Tide edged Georgia, 196.900-196.875, in Stegeman Coliseum. The meet came down to the last routine for both schools, with sophomore Lexi Graber clinching it for the Tide with a career-best 9.925 to win the balance beam.
Sophomore Alonza Klopfer and freshman Emily Gaskins set the stage for Graber with career-best marks of their own. Klopfer led the rotation off with a 9.85, while Gaskins scored a 9.875 in the fifth spot in the lineup.
Earlier in the meet, freshman Shallon Olsen won the vault with a career-best 9.9, while Gaskins matched her career-best mark of 9.875 to lead the Tide on the uneven bars. Senior Ariana Guerra tied her career-best score to lead Alabama and the meet on the floor exercise with a 9.925.
For all the latest information on Alabama gymnastics, follow BamaGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and head coach Dana Duckworth on Twitter and Instagram at @UACoachDana.
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