Alabama
Kentucky
No. 10 Alabama Gymnastics Downs No. 9 Kentucky with a Sizzling 197.650 Friday Night
1/21/2022 9:52:00 PM | Gymnastics
The Crimson Tide posted its highest team score in a home opener Friday night in Coleman Coliseum
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 10-ranked Alabama gymnastics team used the highest home opening score in program history to take down No. 9 Kentucky, 197.650-196.275, Friday night in Coleman Coliseum in front of 10,335 fans.
The Crimson Tide took the lead in the opening rotation and never let up, posting 11 scores of 9.900-or-better throughout the meet.
Rookie Lilly Hudson led Alabama, posting a 39.525 in her all-around debut and just her third meet for the Tide. Alabama also won all four apparatus, with Makarri Doggette taking top honors on the vault and uneven bars, while Hudson and Luisa Blanco shared top honors on the balance beam and Hudson and Lexi Graber won the floor exercise.
Alabama opened with a 49.225 on the vault, led by a career-high 9.925 from Doggette, who went on to lead the Tide on the uneven bars with a 9.950 after back-to-back 9.925s from Cameron Machado and Blanco to close out the rotation with a 49.550. Alabama maintained its lead on the balance beam, totaling 49.250 on the event with Blanco and Hudson posting a pair of 9.925s. Alabama closed out the night and the Wildcats with a 49.625 on floor exercise, capped by back-to-back 9.950s from Hudson and Graber.
Head Coach Dana Duckworth Said
"We showed a lot of progress tonight. We really came out here to be aggressive, to try and increase our stick percentage. I love when I see these ladies feed off the crowd - thank you to the energy our students and crowd brought - it makes such a difference. This group of women, they are special. They have a bond and chemistry that when someone makes a mistake, they absolutely pick their sister up and you saw that tonight."
Inside the Score Sheet
- Alabama posted its highest floor exercise total since March 10, 2017 when the Crimson Tide went 49.650 against Iowa State
- The Crimson Tide's attendance of 10,335 is the second highest total for a home opener in the nation this year and the third highest of the season
- The Tide's 49.625 against Kentucky is its highest floor exercise total in the month of January in program history
- Lilly Hudson's 39.525 in the all-around is the highest by a UA freshman since Lexi Graber went 39.575 in the 2018 NCAA Regional Championships
- Freshman Jordyn Paradise scored a 9.875 in her first routine in Coleman Coliseum and just her second for the Crimson Tide
- Cameron Machado scored 9.925s on both the uneven bars and floor exercise, with her floor routine just the second of her Tide career
- With Lexi Graber's 9.950 on floor exercise, she has scored a 9.9-or-higher in 18 of her last 20 floor routines
- In just her fourth routine in the Crimson Tide's vault lineup and third this season, Makarri Doggette posted a career-best 9.925
- In addition to being the Tide's home opener, Friday night was also Alumni Night and the Crimson Tide celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 2002 NCAA Championship team and the 10th anniversary of the 2012 NCAA Championship squad
Up Next
- After opening its 2022 home slate with Kentucky, Alabama returns to the road, traveling down the interstate for its match-up with Auburn in Auburn Arena on Friday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2
- It will be the Crimson Tide's third road meet of the season and third consecutive SEC contest
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Players Mentioned
