No. 8 Alabama Gymnastics Closes Home Slate Saturday against No. 10 Georgia

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 8 Alabama gymnastics team closes out its home schedule this Saturday with Southeastern Conference rival and No. 10-ranked Georgia at 7:15 p.m. in Coleman Coliseum.

The meet also marks a rare regular-season Saturday home contest for the Crimson Tide, with the last one coming on March 8, 2003 against Kentucky. Tickets are on sale through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262) and online at www.rolltide.com.

It is Alabama's fifth home meet of 2020 and Georgia's fifth road contest of the season. The Tide is coming off its fourth 197-plus score of the season and third in the last four meets after posting a 197.200 against Kentucky last Friday. Alabama was paced in its win over the Wildcats by freshman Luisa Blanco, who scored back-to-back 9.95s to post career-best marks on both the balance beam and the floor exercise. Senior Shea Mahoney also came away with a pair of career-best scores on the night with a 9.900 on the vault and a 9.950 on the floor exercise. Georgia scored a 196.500 at home against Florida last week and has a season-best mark of 197.425 that came at home against Auburn on Feb. 2.

The two teams met earlier this season at the Metroplex Challenge in Ft. Worth, Texas, on Jan. 25, with Alabama posting a 196.575 and the Bulldogs going a 196.300.

It was be Senior Night on Saturday, as the Crimson Tide celebrates its three-gymnast senior class of Wynter Childers, Maddie Desch and Mahoney. All three have been named Scholastic All-Americans during their Crimson Tide tenures and Desch and Mahoney have earned All-SEC honors.

Alabama will also be celebrating Big Al's birthday with a cake and cupcake station on the concourse as well as balloon animals and photos with the birthday pachyderm himself, Big Al.

Head Coach Dana Duckworth Says

"We're really just continuing to focus on the details and not get ahead of ourselves. The idea this week is that we can continue to get better and put four strong events together. We want to continue to work on the depth of our lineup and have a healthy competition. We're also excited to honor our seniors - Wynter, Maddie and Shea - but at the same time, these amazing women still have a lot of gymnastics in front of them this season and we're excited for that as well."

Quick Sticks

Alabama is ranked No. 8 nationally this week with a 197.080 National Qualifying Score (NQS) after eight meets, following a 197.200 in a win against Kentucky last week.
The Tide's 197.200 against Kentucky included a season-best 49.550 on the floor exercise, its highest total on the event since March 16, 2018 against Oklahoma.
Alabama is fourth on the floor exercise (49.410), sixth on the uneven bars (49.350), ninth on vault (49.205) and 13th on balance beam (49.235) in the latest national rankings.
Individually, junior Lexi Graber is 18th on the floor exercise, 22nd on the vault and 25th in the all-around. Freshman Makarri Doggette is tied for 12th in the uneven bars rankings while fellow freshman Luisa Blanco is 22nd in the balance beam.
Alabama posted six scores of 9.9-or-better against Kentucky - Mahoney on the vault (9.900), Blanco on the balance beam (9.950), sophomore Shallon Olsen (9.900), Graber (9.900), Blanco (9.950) and Mahoney (9.950) on the floor exercise.
Alabama posted a 49.550 on the floor exercise against Kentucky, making it the fifth week in a row the Tide has posted at least a 49.300 on the event.
With a 49.300 on the vault against Kentucky, Alabama has now scored 49.300-or-better on the event for four straight weeks.
After scoring a 49.350 on the balance beam against the Wildcats, the Tide has now posted four marks of 49.250-or-better on the beam this season.
Blanco scored a pair of career-best 9.950s to lead the Tide on both the balance beam and the floor exercise against Kentucky. Her floor exercise total came in only her third routine on the event for the Tide. She was also named the SEC Specialist of the Week for her performance against the Wildcats.

Up Next

Following Saturday's meet against Georgia, Alabama has one more regular-season meet on the schedule, heading just up the road to Birmingham's Legacy Arena for the sixth-annual Elevate the Stage meet against Auburn on Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m.
The meet will be on the podium, the same setup the Tide will see at the Southeastern Conference Championships the week after Elevate and at the NCAA Championships.

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.