No. 4 Alabama Gymnastics Travels to No. 14 Missouri for Friday Night Showdown

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 4-ranked Alabama gymnastics team travels to take on No. 14 Missouri in the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo., Friday night. The meet will be streamed live on SEC Network+ starting at 7 p.m. CT, with Nate Gatter and Bri Stephens calling the action.

Head Coach Dana Duckworth Said

"We're excited for this Friday. We definitely started off strong last week against Kentucky, but we know where we need to improve and we're going to focus on those small details that will help us get better. We have more faces to add back into the lineups, more people to get experience and that will only add to the depth and growth of this team."

Friday's Meet

Alabama is coming off a 196.850-195.825 season-opening win over No. 8 Kentucky last Friday in Tuscaloosa, while Missouri opened on the road, falling at No. 7 Georgia, 196.150-194.250.
Alabama and Missouri last met on Feb. 7, 2020 in Tuscaloosa, with the Crimson Tide posting a season-best score in a 197.550-196.850 win
The two teams last met in Columbia on Feb. 1, 2019, with the Tide taking a 196.850-196.550 win over the Tigers

The 2021 Crimson Tide

There are 16 gymnasts on the 2021 roster – two seniors, six juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen
Alabama returns 17 of its 24 routines from its final meet of 2020, a win against Georgia, including its entire balance beam lineup
The Crimson Tide returns one All-American from last year's squad, Makarri Doggette
There is one individual SEC champion on this year's team – Lexi Graber – and one NCAA Regional champion, also Graber
The Tide also returns four gymnasts who have earned All-SEC honors during their careers, Luisa Blanco, Doggette, Graber and Shallon Olsen

Last Time Out

Alabama started the 2021 season with a home win against then-No. 12 Kentucky, scoring 196.850, its highest season opening score since 2014
The Tide had four scores of 9.9-or-better against the Wildcats - Makarri Doggette on the uneven bars (9.900) and balance beam (9.925), Mati Waligora on the balance beam (9.925) and Lexi Graber on the floor exercise (9.900)
Griffin James received a 9.900 from the judges on the floor exercise in her first routine back from a season-ending Achilles injury during last season's Arkansas meet, but incurred a one-tenth deduction from the meet referee after failing to salute at the end of her routine, bringing her final score to a 9.800
Kaylee Quinn, Sania Mitchell, Waligora, Shania Adams and Cam Machado all made their debuts in the Crimson Tide's competitive lineup
Graber scored a 9.925 to win the floor exercise, bringing her streak of consecutive 9.9-or-higher scores on the event to ten
Doggette won the uneven bars and balance beam, sharing top honors on the beam with Waligora

Up Next

Alabama returns home on Jan. 22 to take on in-state rival Auburn starting at 7:30 p.m. CT
The meet will be broadcast live on the SEC Network

For all of the latest information on Alabama gymnastics, follow @BamaGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and head coach Dana Duckworth on Instagram at @UACoachDana.