Senior Night, Alumni Night on Deck as No. 9 Alabama Closes Home Stretch with Quad Meet

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 9 Alabama gymnastics team will host No. 17 Minnesota, No. 24 Illinois and Talladega College Friday night in Coleman Coliseum for its final home contest of the 2024 regular season. The 10^th-consecutive meet featuring at least one 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 10^th contest for Alabama as the Crimson Tide is coming off its third-highest road score of the season (197.325) and a season-high team performance on the balance beam (49.500) while competing in Baton Rouge, La.

Seven seniors will be honored at the conclusion of Friday's meet: seniors Shania Adams, Cameron Machado and Isabella Martin, as well as super seniors Luisa Blanco, Ella Burgess, Makarri Doggette and Mati Waligora. Prior to the start of the quad meet, Alabama will welcome home its alumni, featuring a special recognition for the 2014 Southeastern Conference Championship-winning squad who will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary.

Promotion – Eras Night | Senior & Alumni Recognition

Balloon animal makers and face painters will be set up around the concourse from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
A performance from the Alabama Dance Team and an Eras Night/Alumni Recognition will begin at 6:35 p.m.
Senior Night festivities will begin at the conclusion of the meet
Giveaway items: Bama Gym friendship bracelets

Head Coach Ashley Johnston Said

"It's really important for us to have a strong performance Friday night. We have a great opportunity in front of us with Senior Night, Alumni Night - there's a lot to rally around and to be excited about [for our fans and our Tuscaloosa community], but most importantly, it's another opportunity for us to get better. And that's important for this group as we move forward and get ready for the SEC Championships and for postseason.

"Our [seven] seniors, they're an incredible group. I can't say enough about all of them and how they have gone the extra mile for this program. They haven't just checked the box, but they've looked for ways to go above and beyond to help themselves and to help their team get better. I cannot wait to celebrate them but, ultimately, this isn't their last meet. There's still more ahead and so I think it's also important to recognize that it's just another meet, just another opportunity to compete and perform."

Friday's Meet

Friday's contest marks the third quad meet for the Crimson Tide as the team prepares for the postseason format
Alabama is led by head coach Ashley Johnston, in her second season at UA, while Jenny Hansen is in her 10th year at the helm of the Minnesota Gophers
Nadalie Walsh is in her seventh season leading Illinois, while Talladega College is led by Aja Sims-Fletcher, who is in her first season at the helm of the Tornadoes

All Roads Lead Back to T-Town

Opponents Illinois, Minnesota and Talladega College all have ties to the Alabama gymnastics program
UA head coach Ashley Johnston began her collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach at Illinois during the 2018 season
Current UA assistant coach Justin Spring was a member of the 2006 Illinois men's gymnastics team that earned runner-up finishes at both the NCAA and Big Ten Championships
- Spring was a 13-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion (2006) while competing with the Fighting Illini before serving as the head coach of the men's team for 12 seasons
Minnesota's assistant coach Geralen Stank-Eaton, alongside Johnston, was part of back-to-back championship teams in 2011 and 2012 at Alabama
- Stank-Eaton was a two-time individual national champion in balance beam and floor exercise and ended her time as a UA gymnast with 12 total All-America honors
Talladega College head coach Aja Sims-Fletcher helped lead the Tide to back-to-back SEC Championship titles in 2013 and 2014, as well as four consecutive NCAA super six finishes
- Sims-Fletcher became the second HBCU gymnastics coach in the nation after getting hired by Talladega College in Feb. 2023

The Tide in the Rankings

Alabama ranks third, nationally, on the uneven bars, while simultaneously posting top-six rankings on all four events within the SEC (No. 1 – UB; No. 4 – VT; No. 5 – BB; No. 6 – FX)
Individually, Blanco sits at No. 11 nationally on vault, while also holding top-20 rankings in the all-around (No. 13), the uneven bars (No. 17) and the balance beam (No. 20)
Junior Lilly Hudson enters Friday with a top-20 national ranking on the floor exercise (9.925 NQS)

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