Alabama
NCAA Regional Championships
No. 5 Alabama Gymnastics is Ft. Worth Bound After Huge 198.175 Score at Seattle Regional
4/2/2022 9:35:00 PM | Gymnastics
The Crimson Tide punched its ticket to the NCAA Championships Semifinals in Ft. Worth, Texas with the second-best score in school history and the highest postseason score
SEATTLE – The No. 5-ranked Alabama gymnastics team is headed to Ft. Worth, Texas for the 2022 NCAA Championships Semifinals after punching its ticket with a 198.175 in the finals of the NCAA Seattle Regional Championships Saturday night in Alaska Airline Arena on the University of Washington campus.
It was the second-highest score in school history and the highest in postseason competition. Utah edged the Tide with a 198.200 and will also advance to the national semifinals. Michigan State was third (197.650) and Stanford took fourth (197.250) to round out the regional final.
Alabama got the evening off to a strong start with a 49.500 on the vault paced by 9.950s from Kaylee Quinn and Lilly Hudson. On the uneven bars, UA tallied a 49.400, boosted by a 9.950 from Makarri Doggette.
The Tide roared through its final two rotations to clinch its bid. Alabama scored a 49.625 after matching career-best 9.95s from Ella Burgess, Shania Adams and Hudson. With a bid to the NCAA semifinals on the line, Alabama continued its march to Ft. Worth with a huge 49.650 on the floor exercise led by 9.950s from Emily Gaskins and Lexi Graber.
Head Coach Dana Duckworth Said
"I'm so incredibly proud of their fight tonight, they never gave up, they never looked back. They were fierce, they were intense and they were warriors on every single event. I'm especially thrilled with the way we closed the meet on beam and floor tonight. Those rotations were extraordinary. Our ladies came to play this week, they came to earn their spot in Ft. Worth, and that's just what they did."
Inside the Scoresheet
- The Crimson Tide's balance beam total of 49.625 is its fourth-best in school history while its floor score of 49.650 is the sixth highest for UA
- Kaylee Quinn posted a season-best 9.950, matching her career-best score on the vault
- Lilly Hudson anchored the vault lineup with a career-best matching 9.950
- Emily Gaskins came through with a career-best 9.900 to lead off the Tide's vault rotation and a career-best 9.950 on the floor exercise
- Makarri Doggette tied her season-best mark of 9.950 on the uneven bars for the fifth time this season
- After matching her career-best mark of 9.900 from the leadoff spot in her last six balance beam routines, Ella Burgess posted a new best with a 9.950 on Saturday
- In just her fourth balance beam routine of the season, Shania Adams came through with a career-best 9.950 after tying her previous best of 9.900 during Thursday's session
- Lexi Graber has posted 12-consectuive scores of 9.900-or-better on the floor exercise this season after going 9.950 to close out the Tide's rotation on Saturday
- Griffin James posted a career-best 9.925 on the floor exercise
Moving on to Ft. Worth
- This season marks the 38th time Alabama has advanced to the NCAA Championships final site, the second-highest total in NCAA history
- In addition to Utah, Alabama will be joined in Ft. Worth by Auburn, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Oklahoma, giving the Southeastern Conference half the field
Up Next
- The NCAA Championships Semifinals will be held Thursday, April 14 in Ft. Worth, Texas and will feature two sessions of four teams each
- The top-two from each semifinal will advance to the NCAA Championship Finals, which will be held Saturday, April. 16
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