((HT: Rolltide.com))
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 ((pictured, thanks Alabama SID)), 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.
Coverage from Jennifer Iannone and the Athens Banner-Herald is in black...
Those of us at OSG HQ, on some level, pretty much think that Coach Patterson wanted nothing more than to send Coach Yoculan out on a note like that one in Nashville.
Something along the equivalent of "Guess who's Number One???"
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