SEC Team Titles Bookend Big Week for Alabama
3/21/2021 6:22:00 PM | Baseball, General, Men's Basketball, Men's Tennis, Softball, Women's Basketball, Rowing, Volleyball, Swimming & Diving, Track & Field, Cross Country
The Crimson Tide has won two SEC team titles, collected bids to both the men’s and women’s NCAA Basketball Tournaments, won individual and relay NCAA titles and posted three top-10 national finishes over the last seven days
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – What a week for Alabama Athletics.
Over the last seven days, the Crimson Tide won two Southeastern Conference team titles, collected bids to both the men's and women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments, won individual and relay NCAA titles, beat the No. 1 team in the nation on the road and posted three top-10 national team finishes. And those were just the highlights of a very, very good week for - as Nate Oats put it at last Sunday - a "Championship School."
On Sunday, March 14, Alabama held off LSU to win its first SEC Men's Basketball Tournament title since 1991. Alabama capped the week on Saturday, March 20 by holding off LSU to win its first SEC Gymnastics Championship since 2015.
Men's basketball downed the Tigers 80-79 in a thriller in Nashville, Tenn. Jahvon Quinerly was named the tournament MVP and Herbert Jones made the all-tournament team. Later that night, Alabama was named a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, matching its best seeding in its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance.
The week also saw men's track and field take seventh at the NCAA Indoor Championships and the women take 16th. Freshman Eliud Kipsang led the men with a silver medal in the mile, while senior Tamara Clark led the way for the women with a silver medal in the 200-meters.
On Monday, March 15, junior Mercy Chelangat won the Tide's first individual NCAA Cross Country Championship while Amaris Tyynismaa finished third, leading the Tide women to eighth place as a team, the second-highest NCAA finish in program history. Chelangat was named the coaches association's Cross Country Athlete of the Year later in the week.
That night, the women's basketball heard "Alabama" called during the NCAA Selection Show, as a No. 7 seed, earning its first berth in the big dance since 1999.
On Tuesday, Bailey Hemphill and Lexi Kilfoyl were named SEC Softball Player and Newcomer of the Week, respectively, following a three-game sweep of Auburn.
Baseball knocked off No. 1 Arkansas, 16-1 in Fayetteville Friday night to open its three-game series with Razorbacks, while men's tennis posted a comeback win over Middle Tennessee State, 4-3 in Tuscaloosa. Friday also saw Rhyan White earn a silver medal in the 100 backstroke at the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, while Alabama volleyball downed Tennessee, 3-1 to open its final home weekend of a COVID-19 lengthened season.
Saturday, March 19 got rolling with No. 11-ranked Alabama rowing knocking off No. 8 Tennessee in the Lady Vols backyard of Oak Ridge, Tenn. That was followed by men's basketball beating Iona in the first round of the NCAA tourney, 68-55. After a spectacular Friday night in Greenville, N.C., that also saw her take fifth in the 100 butterfly, White came back on Saturday to earn another silver, this time in the 200 backstroke. Alabama closed the 2021 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday, March 20 with the quartet of Morgan Scott, Kalia Antoniou, Flora Molnar and Cora Dupre winning the program's first national relay title, taking top honors in the 400 freestyle relay in school-record time. Overall, the Tide women scored a school-record 266 points at the national championships on the way to fifth place, tying the best NCAA finish in school history, which came in 1983.
And then, not even an hour after women's swimming and diving won their national relay title, the gymnastics team capped an extraordinary night in Huntsville, Ala., by winning its 10th SEC Championship and second under head coach Dana Duckworth. Sophomore Luisa Blanco led the way for the Crimson Tide, winning the SEC All-Around title and sharing the vault, uneven bars and balance beam titles. Freshman Shania Adams and sophomore Makarri Doggette shared top honors on the uneven bars with Blanco. Senior Lexi Graber, who took third in the all-around, shared the balance beam title with Blanco.
It was, without a doubt, an extraordinary seven days for The University of Alabama.
#ChampionshipSchool indeed.
Players Mentioned
