Alabama Wins Big Gym Meet Over Florida

Whew! We almost had a "Dewey Beats Truman" moment, as I came close to stating in the header that Florida won the meet. I'm sure Alabama women's gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson would have been quite upset with me if that had happened! I must also tell Florida Gators fans (shh! I am one of them) that I could find any decent images of their gymnasts on the net so we have to go with the mascot who was probably not in attendance since the meet was in a surprisingly snowy Tuscaloosa, Ala., last night.

The Gators-Tide meet will be broadcast on ESPN 2 at 11:30 a.m. on Sun., Feb. 21.

The Tide won the meet by a 197.425-196.600 score. Before the night's meet, Alabama was ranked #2, and Florida was # 6. New national rankings will be announced on Monday.

In other gym meets last night, West Virginia won over Ohio State, Auburn won over Kentucky and Utah defeated Utah State. Despite two inches of snow in Athens, Ga., the host GymDawgs won over visiting Arkansas.

Sophomore Geralen Stack-Eaton tied her career best score on all four events, and she posted a career high in the all-around competition according to the official web site of Alabama gymnastics.

In spite of the inclement weather, 12,446 fans showed up to the delight of coach Patterson:

"I can't say enough about the 12,000 people that came tonight, even when everything is closed and they are being told to stay home."

Stack-Eaton also expressed delight that she was able to perform exceptionally well Friday night:

"I was trying not to think about it too much all night. But, when I got on floor and I stuck my first pass, I really started feeling good about my chances."

For the Tide, senior Ricki Lebegerm won vault. Stack-Eaton, junior Kayla Hoffman and senior Kassi Price tied for top honors on the uneven bars.

Sophomore Ashley Priess (pictured here) won the balance beam event, while senior Morgan Dennis came in first on the floor exercise.

But, the Gators put in an impressive effort as well in spite of coming up short on the road.

Florida coach Rhonda Faehn told the Florida Gators athletic department that her team performed well in their rivals' home gym:

"I was really proud of our team tonight. They competed aggressively, and did not hold back in this environment."

For the Gators, gymnasts Amanda Castillo and Maranda Smith scored a 9.825 on the uneven bars, and Liz Green scored a 9.875 on the beam.

Both teams are likely contenders for the NCAA Championships which be held on the Gators' home floor in Gainesville, Fla., this April.