January 16, 2004

No. 1 Alabama Gymnastics Upends No. 4 Florida

TUSCALOOSA, ALA -- The No. 1 Alabama Gymnastics team rode the largest crowd in the past four years to the fifth highest score in school history here tonight, downing No. 4 Florida in the process 197.925-196.175. "[...more...]

January 16, 2004

S/P: 2004 Bama vs Penn State

"The old saying that a team improves the most between its first and second outing might have been coined for the GymTide. Any fears that Bama might suffer a letdown after the previous week's emotional Super Six Challenge victory were quickly dispelled as the Tide jumped out to a big lead over first-time-out Penn State, and 'never looked back'." "[...more...]

January 16, 2004

S/P: The 2004 Super Six Challenge

TUSCALOOSA, ALA -- The Alabama Gymnastics team ran their season record up to 6-0 with a win here tonight against Penn State, 197.125-194.600 in front of 8,065 fans. Senior Jeana Rice as she led the Crimson Tide with a 39.6 all-around effort. "[...more...]

January 15, 2004

S/P: The 2004 Super Six Challenge

It seems that every gymnastics season starts out a bit like the weather outside of Coleman Coliseum last Friday night: murky, hazy, indistinct. How will the team perform? Are they ready? What are their strong points? What needs a little work? How will they stack up against the other teams? What about the judging, will the routines score well? Late last week, Coach Sarah Patterson spoke about this in a Birmingham News article by Doug Segrest. " 'I don't know if we're the most talented team, but I like where we stand,' she said. 'At this point, we're not going to get any better until we compete.' " In this regard, Alabama's first-place finish in the 2004 Super Six Challenge was in many ways a perfect victory: lots of great gymnastics, a great score, lots of stuff to work on for next Friday's visit by Penn State. "[...more...]

January 6, 2004

GymTide Wins Super 6 Challenge with 196.725

"TUSCALOOSA, ALA -- Alabama Gymnastics started out 2004 one place better than it ended last season.

The Crimson Tide, NCAA Runner-up last year, won the season opening Super Six Challenge held here in Coleman Coliseum tonight with a 196.725, going nearly a point better than second place Florida�s 195.950. It was the best opening night score in school history. It also marks the third time in the five year history of the Challenge that Alabama has posted the top score. "[...more...]

January 6, 2004

Salto's Perspective: The Countdown is Almost Down to Zero...
"Yes, the PBA's and I couldn't stand it, we had to go by practice one last time before Friday's Super Six Challenge in Tuscaloosa. It was my turn to drive and I must say, I think I managed to scare the living daylights out of 'em!

Be that as it may, one benefit of my (skillful, swift, yet relentlessly law-abiding) driving was that we got to the practice gym fully 10 minutes before anyone else showed up - anyone except the Texas Tumbling Tornado, Stephanie Kite, that is. In ones and two and threes the rest appeared and began assembling, sitting around in a tight little group on the floor x mat. As is our wont, we sat on the floor just to the side of one corner of the floor x mat, trying to blend into the nearby exercise equipment and remain inconspicuous. The PBA's, being relatively small people, managed this pretty well. I, on the other hand. . . "[...more...]

January 6, 2004

Salto's Perspective: The Countdown is Almost Down to Zero...
"Yes, the PBA's and I couldn't stand it, we had to go by practice one last time before Friday's Super Six Challenge in Tuscaloosa. It was my turn to drive and I must say, I think I managed to scare the living daylights out of 'em!

Be that as it may, one benefit of my (skillful, swift, yet relentlessly law-abiding) driving was that we got to the practice gym fully 10 minutes before anyone else showed up - anyone except the Texas Tumbling Tornado, Stephanie Kite, that is. In ones and two and threes the rest appeared and began assembling, sitting around in a tight little group on the floor x mat. As is our wont, we sat on the floor just to the side of one corner of the floor x mat, trying to blend into the nearby exercise equipment and remain inconspicuous. The PBA's, being relatively small people, managed this pretty well. I, on the other hand. . . "[...more...]

January 6, 2004

Defending SEC Champion Alabama Gymnastics Team Opens Season Friday
"The Alabama gymnastics team gets the 2004 season underway with the SUPER SIX CHALLENGE Friday, January 9 at 7 p.m.

The Crimson Tide, which finished second at last year�s NCAA Championships, welcomes Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Denver and Oregon State to Coleman Coliseum for the nation�s premiere "kick-off" event.

"The Super Six Challenge is set up just like the last night of the NCAA Championships, from the number of teams to the way we warm up," Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. "I think it�s good for us to start our season the way we want to finish it. We have a strong field coming in and we are excited to get going."[...more...]

January 6, 2004

2004 Season Preview
"Coming off a Southeastern Conference Championship, an NCAA Regional title and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships, the Crimson Tide finds itself in the enviable position of returning all but one gymnast off last year�s championship squad. Of course, filling in for that one athlete will be tough. Kristin Sterner graduated as an 11-time All-American and two-year captain of the Tide. But Alabama has four freshmen ready to step in and help with the transition, plus 12 veterans ready to improve on last seasons results.

Improve on two postseason titles and a No. 2 national finish? Obviously that will take some doing, but this squad has a definite advantage over last year�s, namely experience. While Alabama is still one of the nation�s youngest team, with 10 athletes in its freshman and sophomore classes, the Tide now has 12 athletes with at least a year of collegiate experience under their belt, as opposed to just seven last year.

Last season the largely revamped lineup was looking to carve out its own identity, this season, with so many returners, the Tide can focus on building on last year�s accomplishments."[...more...]

January 5, 2004

Final Pre-Season Practice Report: January 4, 2004
"PBAs and Salto were present for practice sessions on December 14, 2003 and January 3, 2004 and are ready to give a final report on how the team is looking less than one week before the opening meet (Super Six Challenge, January 9 in Tuscaloosa). Everyone is healthy at this juncture, including freshman Meredith Laxton, who was practicing vault, uneven bars and balance beam on Saturday. We�ll now take this opportunity to highlight each gymnast in terms of their likely contributions on the four events and what skills to expect right out of the chute."[...more...]