2024 Gymnastics Roster
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Luisa Blanco
- Position:
- All-Around
- Height:
- 5-2
- Class:
- Graduate Student
- Hometown:
- Dallas, Texas
- High School:
- Lebanon Trail
Bio
Career Bests
| Event | Score | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Vault | 10.000 | March 8, 2024 during Home Quad Meet (Illinois, Minnesota, Talladega College) |
| Uneven Bars | 9.975 | 4x - most recent: March 17, 2024 at Oklahoma |
| Balance Beam | 10.000 | 4x - most recent: March 3, 2023 at Missouri |
| Floor Exercise | 10.000 | March 8, 2024 during Home Quad Meet (Illinois, Minnesota, Talladega College)Â |
| All-Around | 39.850 | March 8, 2024 during Home Quad Meet (Illinois, Minnesota, Talladega College) |
Accolades
- 2024 First-Team Regular Season All-American - Vault, All-Around
- 2024 Second-Team Regular Season All-American - Uneven Bars, Balance Beam
- 2024 All-SEC Team - All-Around, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam
- 2024 AAI Award FinalistÂ
- 2024 SEC Gymnast of the Week (03/19)
- 2024 SEC Gymnast of the Week (01/30)
- 2024 SEC Co-Gymnast of the Week (01/16)
- 2023 AAI Award Finalist Â
- 2023 First-Team Championship All-American - Uneven Bars
- 2023 First-Team Regular Season All-American - Balance Beam and Floor Exercise
- 2023 Second-Team Regular Season All-American - All-AroundÂ
- 2022 First-Team Championship All-American - Vault, Balance Beam
- 2022 First-Team Regular Season All-American - Uneven Bars, Balance Beam
- 2021 NCAA Champion - Balance Beam
- 2021 Honda Award for Gymnastics Finalist
- 2021 First-Team Championship All-American - All-Around, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, Floor Exercise
- 2021 First-Team Regular Season All-American - All-Around, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam
- 2021 Second-Team Regular Season All-American - Vault
- 2021 NCAA Regional Champion - All-Around, Vault, Balance Beam, Floor Exercise
- 2021 WCGA Region 1 Gymnast of the Year
- 2021 SEC Gymnast of the Year
- 2021 SEC Champion - All-Around, Vault, Uneven Bars and Balance Beam
- 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 Scholastic All-American
- 2021, 2022, 2023 All-SEC
- 2021 SEC Gymnast of the Week (02/22, 03/08)
- 2023 SEC Specialist of the Week (03/07)
- 2020 SEC All-Freshman
- 2021, 2022, 2023 SEC Academic Honor Roll
2024
- Earned the event title on uneven bars with a 9.950 and came in second place with an all-around score of 39.550 in the season opener (Mean Girls Super 16 Gymnastics Championships) (Jan. 6)
- Also scored a 9.900 on vaultÂ
- Earned three event titles in the home opener against Missouri: all-around (39.675), uneven bars (9.950) and floor exercise (9.925) (Jan. 12)
- Scored a season-high on floor exercise and balance beam (9.925) and tied her season-high of 9.950 on uneven bars
- Also named SEC Co-Gymnast of the Week (Jan. 16)
- Scored a season-high on vault with a 9.925 to earn the event title against Arkansas (Jan. 19)
- Also represented UA on balance beam lineup with a 9.850Â
- Tied her career best on vault with a 9.950 against Florida (Jan. 26)
- Scored a 9.925 on uneven bars earning her an event title
- Scored a 9.950 on balance beam earning a new season-best
- Represented UA’s floor exercise lineup scoring a 9.875
- Earned the all-around event title (39.700)
- Also awarded SEC Gymnast of the Week (Jan. 30)
- Tied her season best on floor exercise scoring a 9.925 against Kentucky (Feb. 2)
- Scored a 9.875 on both vault and uneven bars
- Also represented the Tide’s balance beam lineup
- Captured three podium finishes (vault |Â 1st |Â 9.950; balance beam |Â 2nd |Â 9.925; all-around |Â 2nd |Â 39.550) against Auburn (Feb. 9)
- Also competed on uneven bars (9.825) and floor exercise (9.850)
- Competed in the all-around (vault | 9.850, uneven bars | 9.875, balance beam | 9.850, floor exercise | 9.875) for UA at the TWU Quad Meet (Feb. 19)
- Earned the all-around event title (39.675) and a share of the uneven bars title (9.950) with Shania Adams against Georgia (Feb. 23)
- Scored a new season high of 9.950 on floor exercise
- Also scored a 9.875 on vault and a 9.900 on balance beam
- Earned three podium finishes (vault | 2nd | 9.900; balance beam | 2nd | 9.925; all-around | 2nd | 39.550) at LSU (March 1)
- Also captured a 9.850 on uneven bars and a 9.875 on floor exercise
- Became the first gymnast in 19 years to receive multiple 10’s on the same night (vault and floor exercise) at Alabama’s home quad meet (March 8)
- Earned four event titles (vault - 10, uneven bars - 9.950, floor exercise - 10, all-around - 39.850) and posted a 9.900 on balance beam
- Earned two event titles on uneven bars (9.975) and balance beam (9.975) against Oklahoma (March 17)
- Also competed on vault (9.900) and floor exercise (9.900) contributing to her second-place all-around score of 39.750
- Earned SEC Gymnast of the Week (March 19)
- Received second place in the all-around (39.675) at the SEC Championships (March 23)
- Scored a 9.900 on vault and floor exercise, a 9.925 on uneven bars and a 9.950 on balance beam
- Recorded the highest uneven bars score of the afternoon session (9.950) and competed on vault (9.875) and balance beam (9.900) at the NCAA Regional Semifinals (April 4)
- Finished second place (39.625) in the all-around at the NCAA Regional Final, scoring a 9.850 on balance beam, a 9.900 on vault, a 9.925 on uneven bars and a 9.950 on floor exercise (April 6)
2023
- Qualified to the NCAA Championships individually on the uneven bars with a season-best 9.975 on the event in the Norman Regional Semifinals
- Finished in second place at the NCAA Championships with a 9.950 on the uneven bars, earning championship All-America accolades
- Named to the All-SEC Team for the third consecutive year
- Scored a perfect 10 on the balance beam three times during the 2023 season, first against Auburn and then at back-to-back meets two weeks later against LSU and at Missouri
- Blanco's three 10.000s on the balance beam in the 2023 season gives her the most perfect scores on the event in program history, with four total in her Crimson Tide Career
- Won 16 individual titles in 2023, leading the Crimson Tide
- Tallied 48 routines and went in the all-around ten times
- Out of the 10 uneven bars routines Blanco competed during the 2023 season, she scored 9.9-or-better seven times
- Tied her career-best of 9.950 on the vault against Auburn
- Scored a 9.900 or better in all four events at the SEC Championships, finishing runner-up in the all-around with a 39.675
- Scored a season-high in the all-around (39.750) against both Auburn on Feb. 3 and at Georgia on Feb. 17
- Finished the 2023 season ranked in the top 10 nationally in the balance beam, floor exercise and the all-around, while holding a No. 1 ranking within the SEC on the balance beam
2022
- Earned WGCA regular season All-America honors in both the uneven bars and balance beam for the second year in a row
- Earned First Team Championship All-America honors on the vault and balance beam at the NCAA Championships, bumping her championship All-America total to six
- Earned All-SEC honors for the second year in a row
- Earned a place on the SEC Academic Honor Roll
- Won 15 individual titles in 2022, leading the Crimson Tide
- Tallied 43 routines and went in the all-around six times
- Tied her career-best of 9.975 on the uneven bars against Arkansas
- Posted a career-best 9.950 to win the vault at Elevate the Stage
- Out of the 14 uneven bars routines Blanco competed during the 2022 season, she scored 9.9-or-better 11 times in a row
- Scored a 9.950 on both vault and uneven bars at the SEC Championships
- Tied her career-best on vault (9.950) at SEC Championships, two weeks after posting it at the Elevate the Stage meet
- Scored a season-high in the all-around (39.725) against Missouri, marking the fourth best score in her career and the second-best regular season all-around tally of her career
- Finished the 2022 season ranked 8th nationally in the uneven bars and 9th in the balance beam
2021
- NCAA Balance Beam champion after posting a 9.9625 at the national championships
- First-Team Championship All-American in the all-around, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise
- First-Team Regular Season All-American in the all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam and second team on vault
- SEC Gymnast of the Year
- WCGA Region 1 Gymnast of the Year
- Honda Award for Gymnastics Finalist
- Scholastic All-American and SEC Academic Honor Roll
- SEC Champion in the all-around, vault, uneven bars and balance beam, making her the fifth gymnast all-time and second Alabama gymnast to win four individual titles in one meet.
- Joins Dana Dobransky (Duckworth) as the only Alabama gymnasts to win both the SEC and NCAA balance beam titles in the same season
- NCAA Regional Champion in the all-around, vault, balance beam and floor exercise, with her 39.800 in the all-around standing as the highest across all four regionals
- Scored a perfect 10 on the balance beam in the NCAA Regional Semifinal
- Ended the regular season ranked in the top-25 on every apparatus and the all-around
- Led the Tide in event titles with 22, including six in the all-around, eight on balance beam, three each on uneven bars and vault and two on floor exercise
- Only gymnast in the nation to score a 39.800-or-higher in the all-around three times, with those scores giving her three of the five highest in school history
- Won the all-around in six straight meets, at Georgia (39.625), vs. LSU (39.825), at Arkansas (39.550), vs. Florida (39.700), at the SEC Championships (39.800) and at the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Championships (39.800)
- Blanco scored career-highs on all four events in back-to-back weeks against Georgia and LSU, with her 39.825 against LSU consisting of a 9.925 on the vault, a 9.950 on the uneven bars and a pair of 9.975s on balance beam and floor exercise.
- Blanco's 39.825 in the all-around vs. LSU was the highest by a UA gymnast since Jeana Rice went 39.850 at the 2004 Southeastern Conference Championships
- Anchored the Tide's balance beam and floor exercise lineups with back-to-back 9.975s vs. LSU, both career-bests at the time
- Won the balance beam at Missouri (9.875), vs. Auburn (9.925), at Georgia (9.950), vs. LSU (9.975), vs. Florida (9.925), at the SEC Championships, Regional Championships and the NCAA Championships (9.9625)
- Won the uneven bars vs. LSU (9.950), vs. Florida (9.950) and at the SEC Championships (9.950)
- Won the vault vs. Arkansas (9.900), vs. Florida (9.925) and at the SEC Championships (9.950)
- Won the floor exercise vs. LSU (9.975) and at the Regional Championships (9.950)
- Competed 43 routines in her sophomore season, completing all without a fall and only scoring below 9.825 four times
- Scored 9.875-or-higher in every balance beam routine in the 2021 season, including a perfect 10 and a 9.975
2020
- Closed a Covid-shortened rookie season with three balance beam and two floor exercise titles
- Finished off the regular season by winning the balance beam and floor exercise against both Kentucky and Georgia
- Competed on the balance beam in nine meets, opening her career with scores of 9.900 and 9.925 at Auburn and against Oklahoma, respectively, and finished her season with a career-best 9.950 against Kentucky and a 9.900 against Georgia
- Won the balance beam with a 9.900 to help clinch Alabama's victory at LSU
- Closed her season with a career-best 9.950 against Kentucky and a 9.925 against Georgia on the floor exercise
- Competed on the vault in nine meets, posting a season-best 9.875 against Arkansas
- Scholastic All-American
- SEC All-Freshman
- Honored as the Newcomer of the Year at the Crimson Tide's annual award's ceremony
- Joined the Crimson Tide in December for the spring semester
Prep Highlights
- Coached by Tatyana Shadenko and Yevgeny Marchenko at World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA)
- USA Junior Olympic National Team member in 2017
- Silver medalist at the 2017 USA Junior Olympic National Championships
- Competed at the 2017 and 2018 US Championships as a Senior International Elite
- Bronze medalist in the all-around at the 2017 Secret Classic as a Senior Elite
- Finished 12th in the all-around at the 2017 USA Championships as a Senior Elite
- Ninth in the all-around at the 2018 GK US Classic as a Senior Elite
- Two-time Region 3 All-Around Champion
- National Honors Society
- Trail Blazer Award for Student leader
Personal Information
- Full Name: Luisa Fernanda Blanco Saavedra
- Daughter of Sandra Saavedra and Mario Blanco
- Brother, Dario Blanco
- Major: Political Science
- Born Nov. 18, 2001
NCAA Championships Preview: Lilly Hudson
Monday, April 14
NCAA Championships Preview: Ashley Johnston & Justin Spring
Monday, April 14
NCAA Regional Final: Gabby Gladieux, Lilly Hudson, Paityn Walker & Coach Johnston
Sunday, April 06
NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Press Conference: Ashley Johnston, Ryan Fuller, Gabby Gladieux & Lilly Hudson
Friday, April 04
