SEASONREVIEW
Th he 20 010 Sea ason in
The Alabama gymnastics team enjoyed yet another outstanding year, one in which the Crimson Tide enjoyed great success in the gym, the classroom and in helping make the community around them a better place. The Regular Season Success came early during the regular season with Alabama knocking off conference rivals Georgia, Florida, Arkansas and Auburn as well as national powerhouses like Arizona and Michigan. The Crimson Tide was a perfect 5-0 at home and 4-1 against teams ranked in the top-10 nationally. Five Tide gymnasts, Morgan Dennis, Kayla Hoffman, Ricki Lebegern, Ashley Priess and Geralen StackEaton, posted a total of 35 regular season all-around performances between them. All told, Alabama gymnasts won 49 individual titles during the regular season. SEC Honors Regular-season success led Tide gymnasts to earn several SEC honors in 2010, including SEC Gymnast of the Week five times, more than twice the total of any other team. Morgan Dennis earned the honor twice while Ricki Lebegern, Geralen Stack-Eaton and Ashley Priess each brought the honor home once. Alabama’s Ashley Sledge earned SEC Freshman Gymnast of the Week to open
94
DID YOU KNOW
?
the year, giving Alabama an SEC accolade in six of the season’s 11 weeks. Sledge earned her SEC honor during the Tide’s season opening win against Auburn, which was Alabama’s 99th in a row over the Tigers. The Tide notched its 100th consecutive win over Auburn at the SEC Championships. Alabama’s win streak over the Tigers spans more than three decades.
Alabama finished off the dual meet season with a season-high 197.575 at home against Michigan. Record Attendance Crimson Tide gymnastics fans filled Coleman Coliseum in record numbers to see Alabama’s winning ways in 2010. The Tide set a new school and SEC record of 13,786
fans per meet, bettering the old mark, set by Alabama in 2006, by more than a 1,000 fans per meet. All five home meets drew over 12,000 fans and the Tide’s annual Power of Pink meet drew 15,075 fans, marking Alabama’s seventh sellout overall and sixth in the past five years. SEC Championships Success In addition to posting its 20th top-two finish at the SEC Championships with a 196.875, Alabama also brought home a slew of conference titles and honors. Ashley Priess made her first SEC title a big one, taking home the all-around as well as the balance beam championship. Morgan Dennis won her third consecutive SEC vault championship and sixth of her career. The Tide’s trio of titles give Alabama 36 individual SEC championships since 2000, including five all-around titles. Head coach Sarah Patterson was named the SEC Coach of the Year for the fourth time, and Priess, Dennis, Ricki Lebegern and Kayla Hoffman earned All-SEC honors, while Kassi Price was named to the SEC Community Service Team. NCAA Regional Title No. 25 When it comes to NCAA Regional Championships, no one does it better, or more often than the Crimson Tide. It was more of the same for Alabama last season
Alabama won its 25th regional championship in 2010, the most in NCAA history, and advanced to its 28th NCAA Championships. The Crimson Tide also swept the individual titles at the Lexington regional. at the NCAA Lexington Regional where the Tide won an NCAAbest 25th regional title, posting a 197.400 and outscoring its nearest opponent by more than a point. The Tide was led by the sophomore duo of Geralen Stack-Eaton and Ashley Priess who finished first and second respectively in the allaround competition. Stack-Eaton and Kayla Hoffman tied for first on the vault and Stack-Eaton and Kassi Price tied for first on the uneven bars. Priess won the balance beam and Morgan Dennis won the floor exercise to give the Tide a clean sweep of the individual events.
Alabama gymnasts earned 10 All-American and four All-SEC honors during the 2010 season.
Most importantly, the regional victory advanced Alabama to its 28th consecutive NCAA Championship. The NCAA Championships The Crimson Tide finished third at the 2010 NCAA Gymnastics Championships held in Gainesville, Fla., coming away with its 23rd ‘final four’ finish, scoring a 197.225, just a fraction of a point out of second place and posting the SEC’s top national finish. Individually, six Tide gymnasts came away with 10 All-American honors to close out the 2010 season. Geralen Stack-Eaton