No. 6 Alabama Makes First Conference Road Trip of Season

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 6 Alabama gymnastics team will travel to Gainesville, Fla., to take on the No. 8 Florida Gators in Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The Crimson Tide's fourth contest against a top-10 opponent will begin at 6 p.m. CT and will be aired, nationally, on ESPN2.

Friday night's meet will be the fourth contest for Alabama this season as the Crimson Tide is coming off a back-and-forth battle with the then-No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks. For the second-straight meet, Alabama posted three season-high team rotation scores en route to its 197.525-197.525 tie with Arkansas.

Head Coach Ashley Johnston Said

"We have a great opportunity in front of us this week as we head to Gainesville against the reigning SEC champs. We feel confident with the squad we've got to be able to go out and compete in a loud environment that the Florida fans will create. As a collective group, we've talked a lot this week about not being complacent – we have to keep our head down, keep working and keep finding those areas that we can improve in. We're prepared, ready to go and are looking forward to a really great matchup Friday night."

Friday's Meet

Alabama is led by Ashley Johnston, in her second season as UA's head coach, while Jenny Rowland is in her ninth year at the helm of the Gators
The two teams last competed against each other inside Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on January 16, 2022, with Florida taking home a 197.000 - 196.925 win
Both programs are unbeaten in conference play with UA recently tying No. 4 Arkansas via a 197.525-197.52 score and Florida taking home a victory of its own at Auburn via a 197.325-197.025 score

Last Time Out

The Crimson Tide scored a season-high 197.525 score in a tie against the No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks, bettering its team score for the second straight meet against a top-four nationally ranked opponent
The Tide's 49.600 on the uneven bars was only 0.75 away from tying the program apparatus record of 49.675 at the 2021 NCAA Regional Final
Nine season-high scores were recorded by the Tide throughout the four rotations as Chloe LaCoursiere (9.850 – vault) and Ella Burgess (9.950 – balance beam) recorded or tied their respective career bests

The Tide in the Rankings

Alabama sits all alone as the national leader on the uneven bars, with an average score of 49.558, while simultaneously posting top-seven rankings on all four events within the SEC (No. 1 – UB; No. 5 – VT; No. 6 – FX; No. 7 – BB)
Individually, Luisa Blanco is No. 2 nationally on the uneven bars at 9.950. Blanco also holds top-25 rankings on vault (8th - 9.900) and balance beam (24th - 9.883).
Senior Cameron Machado and freshman LaCoursiere both hold a share of the No. 13 national ranking on the uneven bars, averaging a 9.908 through the first three meets of the season

Up Next

Alabama returns home to face the Kentucky Wildcats for the Be the Change meet on Friday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m. CT
The meet will be broadcast live on SEC Network

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University of Alabama Athletics