Alabama
NCAA Championships - Semis
Gymnast Abby Armbrecht Set for One More Crimson Tide Routine at the NCAA Championships
4/18/2019 3:35:00 PM | Gymnastics
The Crimson Tide senior will compete on the floor exercise Friday in the second session of the NCAA Championships Semifinals, which gets underway at 12 p.m. CT
FORT WORTH, Texas – As a little girl growing up in Mobile, Ala., Abby Armbrecht dreamed of being an Alabama gymnast. She dreamed of wearing the glittery leotard with the script A on it, running out through the iconic BAMA letters onto the arena floor of Coleman Coliseum and standing on the Circle A platform in the spotlight, being introduced to the Alabama faithful.
Flash forward to today, where in Fort Worth, Texas, she went through the last practice of her four-year Crimson Tide career on the eve of her fourth NCAA Championship appearance, having done all that and so much more.
Talk about a dream come true.
It's a dream that isn't done just yet. On Friday, she will don her Alabama leotard for the last time, competing in the first session of the NCAA Championships Semifinals on the floor exercise with a chance to earn All-America honors. Her session, which will be broadcast on ESPN2 and streamed on WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app, gets underway at 12 p.m. CT in the Fort Worth Convention Center.
"I'm really excited that I get to represent Alabama one more time, and I'm really excited that I get to do gymnastics one more time," Armbrecht said. "It's been a huge honor. I grew up in Alabama. I grew up going to Alabama Gymnastics Camp every summer, and it was always my dream to compete for Alabama. It's been the greatest opportunity to be able to be here for four years and compete for the school of my dreams."
Armbrecht has made the most out of her dream career. From her freshman year on, she took on more and more of an important role in the Crimson Tide's lineup, until this season when she grew into a leader not just with the scores she contributed, but, along with her fellow seniors Angelina Giancroce and Ariana Guerra, for the team as a whole.
"It's definitely been a growing journey throughout the entire experience, but I feel like I've learned a little bit more each year and used that to get better each year," Armbrecht said. "I definitely feel like I'm coming out of this a different and better person than when I came in."
Alabama head coach Dana Duckworth echoed that sentiment.
"We talk about how we come in here like a caterpillar, and while we're in college we go into the cocoon and a lot of things happen, and we leave as a unique, one-of-a-kind butterfly," Duckworth said. "That is the goal of every Alabama gymnast that comes through our program and definitely the case with Abby."
Armbrecht's fellow seniors will be in the stands on Friday, cheering Armbrecht on.
"I'm glad I get to finish out my career with them there," Armbrecht said. "I'm excited – it's going to be so much fun. At the same time, it will be bittersweet. I really wish I was going with the full team and it would be way more exciting if it was. But I'm glad I get to go do it one more time."
In the gym, Armbrecht has been on a tear all season long on the floor exercise, where she has posted scores of 9.900 or better in seven of her last nine routines, including every round of the championship season. It was her 9.900 in the second round of the NCAA Championships Ann Arbor Regionals that catapulted her back to the NCAA Championships Semifinals.
The routine she will perform for the last time on Friday is new this season, and it is by far the favorite of her career. It suits her, with its violin-soaked rendition of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven starting things off.
"I love that I get to show my personality and really express myself," Armbrecht said. "It's a little different than the other three events, because you do get to show your personality and who you are through your music and dance. I love that part, and I love that you get to put on a performance."
The routine has been an ongoing collaboration between Armbrecht and Duckworth, with tweaks coming throughout the season to make it the perfect blend of skill and artistry.
"I think if you describe Abby's floor routine, it is fierce grace, it's elegant, it's classical and the judges have really loved her style, but what I know is that it's Abby," Duckworth said. "It's wonderful that that she gets to take that flavor and that style that's really hers and go out and perform one more time with all the heart and passion that she has for this University and this sport."
The days after her final routine will be something of a whirlwind. After earning her bachelor's degree in marketing last spring, the Scholastic All-American and All-SEC gymnast will receive her master's degree in digital and social media marketing in May, before embarking on her professional career.
But for the next 24 hours, she is focused on one more routine, one more time wearing the script A on her leotard and one more performance of a routine she loves, doing a sport she loves, for a school and team she dreamed about joining as little girl.
"Abby has made the most of her Crimson Tide career, pouring her heart, talent and passion into each routine and this sport that she loves so much," Duckworth said. "I can't wait to see her step up on the biggest stage and performing with all heart one last time."
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.
