Nashville, Tenn. -- At the end of last year’s Southeastern Conference Championships, the meet was so close, with three teams within .025 of each other, that it took more than 30 minutes before a victor could finally be announced. This year, after finishing second by the smallest margin possible in 2008, the Alabama Gymnastics team left no doubts here tonight, winning its sixth Southeastern Conference Championship by nearly four tenths of a point, with its second-highest score of the year, a 197.300.
“I’m just so proud for our ladies,” Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. “At the end, we just talked about our motto, ‘finish strong’. I’m almost speechless. We weren’t perfect. We had some mistakes, but it was total team work - five scores on each event.”
The Crimson Tide was led by junior Morgan Dennis, who won the floor exercise to cap Alabama’s championship run as well as the vault to start the evening off. She finished second in the all-around with a 39.525. In the team race, Georgia was second with a 196.925, followed by Florida 196.750, LSU 196.550, Auburn 196.350, Arkansas 195.650 and Kentucky 195.000.
“I just think more than anything, when things go perfect it’s a little easier, but sometimes, there is a little more gratification when you have to work hard,” Patterson said.
Alabama started off hot, tying it season high on the vault with a 49.450 and finished off the same way with a season-high floor exercise score of 49.475 led by Dennis’ 9.95. Senior Ashley O’Neal led off on the floor exercise with a 9.85, matching her season-high, followed by a career-high 9.875 from freshman Caitlin Sullivan, a 9.9 from freshman Geralen Stack-Eaton, a 9.85 from junior Ricki Lebegern and a 9.9 from freshman Ashley Priess.
Alabama tied its season high on the vault with a 49.450 to start the meet off. The Tide was led on the vault by Dennis’ 9.95. Sophomore Kayla Hoffman and Priess both scored 9.9s while Stack-Eaton, freshman Rachel Terry and Lebegern all added 9.85s.
The Tide kept things hopping after that, scoring a season-high 49.35 on the uneven bars, led by a 9.925 from Hoffman and 9.875s from Terry and Stack-Eaton. All three scores were career highs.
Alabama then turned in the highest balance beam total of the championship with a 49.025 led by 9.85s from Sullivan and Lebegern. Junior Casey Overton led the Tide off with a 9.8, a score matched by Dennis.
Alabama returns to action in two weeks when they host the NCAA North Central Regional on April 4. Tickets are available through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262) located in Coleman Coliseum.
FINAL TEAM RESULTS
1. Alabama 197.300 2. Georgia 196.925 3. Florida 196.750 4. LSU 196.550 5. Auburn 196.350 6. Arkansas 195.650 7. Kentucky 195.000
2009 SEC GYMNASTICS AWARDS
SEC ATHLETE OF THE YEAR Courtney Kupets, Georgia
SEC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Whitney Rose, Kentucky
SEC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR Grace Taylor, Georgia
SEC COACH OF THE YEAR Suzanne Yoculan, Georgia
QUOTES Ian Rapoport, Birmingham News
ALABAMA COACH SARAH PATTERSON
I’m just so proud for them, I’m trhilled, we just kind of talked about our motto, finish strong, I’m almost speechless, because we weren’t perfect. We had some mistakes, but it was total team work. Five scores on each event. Rachel comes out… you know, our star freshmen misses her bar routine, Rachel comes in after being out and does her best bar routine of the year. Those kind of things. Geralen had to work really hard on the beam routine, she came back on the floor and came to me and said, we can do this. So, I just think more than anything, when things go perfect it’s a little easier. But sometimes, there is a little more gratification when you have to work hard. And Ashley Priess, came to me said, I’m going to make this floor routine. It’s… she’s done extremely well as a freshman, she’s amazing. You could see where the freshmen maybe had jitters in a meet of this magnitude, I said we will learn from this and we will be better at NCAAs
WERE YOU CRYING: Close. Close. My daughter made me cry, probably.
DID YOU KNOW GEORGIA FELL TWICE: I did know, but our team did not know. And we didn’t do anything.. the only thing we talked about was, on the bye before the last rotation, we talked about finishing strong. And I didn’t want Ashley’s beam routine – we had five great scores, Geralen held her composure, and I just told them, without telling them the scores. I said, Guys, we can do this, Just finish strong and do what we practiced and do what we talked about as a team and believe in each other
WAS IT TENSE DURING THE LAST BYE: Actually no. What they’re doing in there right now (screaming) is exactly what they were doing before. They were dancing to the music. And I think with this group, when they have fun, they perform really well. And that was part of it tonight. Trying to remove some of the pressure.
CAITLIN SULLVIAN: Her beam routine, and her floor routine, that’s the best floor routine she’s done. That’s the best floor routine she’s done.
FEEL LIKE IN GOOD SHAPE WITH THE ROTATIONS: it would’ve been OK with me wherever we started. I like being on the floor the last rotation, and I like that we started on a bye. Once we got going, we only stopped twice. When you have to stop three times, it’s a little more difficult. But floor, for us, floor has been an event we’ve struggled with this year. We worked really hard on trying to close the deal at the end
ALL YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN THROUGH: Lost by .025 of a point last year. I remember it well.
CONSIDERING WHAT YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH: Those kids that were on this team last year and had that hardbreak and .025, I’m thrilled. Probably the only one.;.. they knew the heartbreak of defeat. I said guys, if we go out there and do our best and have a great meet, however it ends up, that’s how we want to feel, like we felt last year. I’m just glad we were on the other end.
NOTES
Alabama (Still to come)
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
Georgia (Still to come)
Kentucky
LSU
2009 ATTENDANCE: 5,045
All Time Attendance Counts
2008 Gwinnett Center (Duluth, Ga.) : 9,022 (SEC Championship Neutral Site Record) 2007 Alltel Arena (North Little Rock, Ark.) : 5,134 2006 BJCC Arena (Birmingham, Ala.) : 7,607 2005 Gwinnett Center (Duluth, Ga.) : 7,518 2004 Gwinnett Center (Duluth, Ga.) : 8,570 2003 Bartow Arena (Birmingham, Ala.) : 6,322 2002 Bartow Arena (Birmingham, Ala.) : 7,023 2001 Bartow Arena (Birmingham, Ala.) : 7,455