No. 7 Alabama Gymnastics Travels to Baton Rouge to Face No. 6 LSU on Friday

BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 7 Alabama gymnastics team travels to Baton Rouge, La., this week to face No. 6 LSU on Friday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The meet will be broadcast live on the SEC Network starting at 7:30 p.m. CT.

It will be the Crimson Tide's third road meet of the season and second in a row following last Saturday's second-place finish at the Metroplex Challenge in Ft. Worth, Texas. The Tigers are returning home to the PMAC this weekend after falling to No. 2 Florida last weekend in Gainesville.

The two teams come into this season with 13 Southeastern Conference Championships between them, with the Crimson Tide winning nine and the Tigers bringing home four. The Tide's latest SEC title came in 2015, while LSU's came last season. To this point in the season, by high score, LSU (197.775) is No. 3 nationally and Alabama (197.400) sits at No. 5.

Head Coach Dana Duckworth Says

"Right now, it's about, 'Are you executing what you need to do today the very best you can?' If you are, then build off that, and if you aren't, then change it, fix it, do what you need to do in and out of the gym to be the very best you can be."

The Coaches

Dana Duckworth is in the midst of her sixth season as Alabama's head coach and 25th year with the program overall, a total that also includes four years as a gymnast, nine as a volunteer coach and six as an assistant coach.
LSU is led by D-D Breaux and Jay Clark. Breaux is in her 43rd year as a head coach for the Tigers, while Clark has been with the program for eight years, and is in his first season as co-head coach

Quick Sticks

Alabama is ranked No. 7 nationally this week with a 196.667 average after three meets following a 196.575 at last Saturday's Metroplex Challenge.
The Crimson Tide finished second at the Metroplex Challenge behind reigning national champion and current No. 1 Oklahoma.
Alabama opened the Metroplex Challenge with a 49.45 on the uneven bars, its highest score of the season.
Alabama is fifth on the uneven bars (49.350), ninth on the floor exercise (49.233), 11th on vault (49.075) and 14th on the balance beam (49.008) in the latest rankings.
Individually, freshman Makarri Doggette and sophomore Emily Gaskins are tied for No.1 in the SEC and No. 9 nationally on the uneven bars by season average (9.9), while senior Shea Mahoney sits in a tie for 21st nationally and fifth in the SEC with a 9.875 average.
Freshman Luisa Blanco is 15th on the balance beam and junior Lexi Graber is ranked 16th on floor exercise by season average.
To this point in the season, by high score, Florida (198.375) is No. 1, Oklahoma (198.250) sits at No. 2, LSU (197.775) is No. 3, UCLA (197.425) is No. 4 and Alabama (197.400) is at No. 5.

Inside the Score Sheet

A total of 13 gymnasts have gone in the Tide's competitive lineup this season, with all 13 contributing at least three routines.
The freshman class lead the way for the Tide with Makarri Doggette, Luisa Blanco and Ella Burgess combining for 23 routines over the first three meets.
All three seniors and all three juniors have gone in the lineup this season with the juniors contributing 17 routines and the seniors 16.
Four sophomores have gone in the lineup to this point in the season, chipping in 16 routines.
Junior Lexi Graber leads the Tide with 10 routines this season, including two all-around appearances, while freshman Makarri Doggette is second with nine routines.
Graber has scored a 9.9 or better in four of her 10 routines.
Sophomore Jensie Givens posted a career-best 9.925 on the uneven bars at the Metroplex Challenge.
Sophomore Griffin James made her career debut in the Crimson Tide's competitive lineup at the Auburn meet, scoring a 9.825 on the floor exercise before coming back and posting back-to-back 9.850s against Oklahoma and at the Metroplex Challenge.
After posting a total of six scores of 9.9-or-better on the floor exercise over the last two seasons (three each as a sophomore and junior), senior Maddie Desch opened the 2020 season with back-to-back 9.900s on the floor.
Junior Alonza Klopfer tied her career-best mark of 9.875 on the balance beam against Oklahoma.

Up Next

After Friday's meet, Alabama will come back home to Coleman Coliseum to compete against the No. 20 Missouri Tigers on Friday, February 7 at 7:15 p.m. CT.
The meet will be Alabama's 16th-annual Power of Pink meet, designated to bring awareness in the fight against breast cancer.
Season and individual meet tickets are on sale through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262), located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum, and online at RollTide.com.

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.