20th Annual Power of Pink Meet on Deck as No. 10 Alabama Takes on No. 18 Georgia

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 10 Alabama gymnastics team will host the No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs Friday night in Coleman Coliseum for the 20^th annual Power of Pink meet. The eighth-consecutive meet featuring a top-20 opponent for the Crimson Tide will begin at 7 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted on SEC Network+.

Friday night's meet will be the eighth contest for Alabama as the Crimson Tide is coming off a season-high team score Monday (197.675) propelled by a season-high mark on the floor exercise (49.550) and a season-high-tying 49.600 on the uneven bars.

Twenty years ago, Alabama legend Sarah Patterson started the Power of Pink initiative during her tenure as head coach to raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer. The simple idea of "Think Pink, Wear Pink and Roll Tide" was an instant success and spread nationwide with nearly every collegiate gymnastics team either hosting or taking part in a "pink" meet in the years since Alabama held its first in 2005.

Promotion - Power of Pink

Balloon animal makers and face painters will be set up around the concourse from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
A performance from Mountain Brook Gymnastics and a Power of Pink celebration will begin at 6:35 p.m.
Giveaway items: Power of Pink pins and shakers

Head Coach Ashley Johnston Said

"This is a valuable week for so many reasons. We strategically designed this schedule to go ahead and simulate what postseason would look like. I'm proud of how the team responded at TWU but now, our attention has shifted to a really good Georgia team. These last few days, we've focused on fine-tuning the smaller details and taking care of things within our control. We're excited to be back in Coleman and are looking forward to a special night for the 20th annual Power of Pink meet."

Friday's Meet

Friday's meet serves as a renewal of what ESPN called one of the best rivalries in collegiate athletics
The two programs have collected 16 NCAA team championships between them, including six for the Tide (1988, 1991, 1996, 2003, 2011, 2012) and 10 from Georgia, with the last coming in 2009
Alabama is led by head coach Ashley Johnston, in her second season at UA, while Courtney Kupets Carter is in her seventh year at the helm of the Bulldogs
The two teams last competed against each other in February of 2023 as Alabama won the meet with a 197.525-197.325 victory over Georgia
Alabama and Georgia have also accounted for 26 Southeastern Conference titles, with the Crimson Tide winning its 10th in 2021 and the Bulldogs winning their 16th in 2008

The Power of Pink

Started by former Alabama gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson during the 2005 season, UA's Power of Pink breast cancer awareness initiative is in its 20^th year
Prior to the meet, Alabama will introduce a group of breast cancer survivors on the floor of Coleman Coliseum, a tradition that started 15 years ago

The Tide in the Rankings

Alabama ranks fifth, nationally, on the uneven bars, while simultaneously posting top-seven rankings on all four events within the SEC (No. 2 – UB; No. 4 – VT; No. 5 – BB; No. 7 – FX)
Individually, Blanco sits at No. 5 nationally on vault, while also holding top-20 rankings in the all-around (No. 13) and uneven bars (No. 16)
Senior Cameron Machado joins Blanco in the uneven bars rankings at No. 17 with an average score of 9.904

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