No. 7 Alabama Gymnastics Hosts Power of Pink Meet Friday against No. 21 Missouri

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 7-ranked Alabama gymnastics team will be decked out in pink leotards Friday night as they welcome the No. 21 Missouri Tigers to Coleman Coliseum for the Crimson Tide's 16th-annual Power of Pink meet.

The Power of Pink initiative - started by former Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson in 2004 and expanded to include all Alabama women's sports in 2009 - helps raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer.

Friday marks Alabama's fifth meet of the season and second home meet of the year. The Tide opened its Coleman Coliseum slate with a season-high 197.400 against Oklahoma on Jan. 17 and posted a road win against LSU in Baton Rouge last Friday night. Missouri comes into Friday with a season-high 196.650 at Auburn on Jan. 24.

Head Coach Dana Duckworth Says

"The Power of Pink meet is about bringing awareness to the fight against breast cancer. The idea of the Power of Pink is we do gymnastics for something bigger than ourselves. There's nothing like competing in Coleman Coliseum and there is nothing like your performance bringing you the W. At the end of the day, it comes down to how well our ladies execute what they do on a daily basis."

Quick Sticks

Alabama is ranked No. 7 nationally this week with a 196.694 average after four meets following a 196.775 against the LSU Tigers this last week
The Crimson Tide took home the win against LSU 196.775-196.425, marking the Tide's first win in Baton Rouge since 2013
Alabama started off its meet at LSU with a 49.300 on the uneven bars, led by matching 9.875s from senior Shea Mahoney, junior Lexi Graber, and freshman Makarri Doggette
The Tide's uneven bars total in Baton Rouge marked the third week in a row the Tide has scored at least a 49.3 on the event
Alabama is fifth on the uneven bars (49.338), ninth on the floor exercise (49.256), and 12th on vault (49.063) and balance beam (49.038) in the latest national rankings
Individually, freshman Luisa Blanco is tied for 10th nationally on the balance beam with a 9.900 average, Doggette is 12th on the uneven bars (9.894) and Graber is ranked 15th on floor exercise (9.9) by season average

The Power of Pink

Started by the legendary Sarah Patterson during the 2004-05 season, Alabama gymnastics' Power of Pink breast cancer awareness initiative is in its 16th year
For the 11th year in a row, Alabama gymnasts will forgo their usual introductions during the pink meet and will instead come into the spotlight in Coleman Coliseum with a special guest. Tony Giles, Alabama's longtime public address announcer, will introduce each gymnast by name and then introduce a breast cancer survivor
Another aspect of the Tide's breast cancer awareness initiative celebrating its 11th anniversary is the tradition of coloring the town pink
Coloring the town pink started with University of Alabama art professor Craig Wedderspoon and a group from the University lighting the front of Coleman Coliseum pink prior to the 2010 Power of Pink and has grown year-by-year
Wedderspoon and his cohorts, along with Alabama's Facilities & Grounds Operations crew, have once again lit the Coliseum pink, along with several campus and Tuscaloosa landmarks

Up Next

The Crimson Tide remains at home for its next meet, taking on the Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday, February 14 at 5:45 p.m. CT
The meet will also be Alabama's Alumni Night

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.

University of Alabama Athletics