With junior Lauren Beers leading the way, Alabama surged from behind to win its second consecutive SEC gymnastics championship Saturday at Gwinnett Arena.
Beers scored a 39.50 to place third in the all-around competition. The Pennsylvania native had a 9.9 on the vault, the bars and the floor and a 9.8 on the beam. That left her 0.025 points behind LSU’s Rheagan Courville and Jessie Jordan, who shared the all-around title with 39.525.
Beers anchored the Crimson Tide’s team total of 197.525, which put them ahead of LSU with 197.450, Florida with 197.40 and Auburn with 196.925. Georgia, which competed in the first session, finished fifth with 196.0.
Florida look the lead after the first rotation thanks to a strong 49.625 on the vault. Kytra Hunter and Alex McMurtry, the top two vault scorers in the SEC this season, each had a 9.950. LSU began on the bars and used a 9.925 from Courville, who won the event last year, to stay close.
The Gators stayed in front after scoring 49.575 on the bars, thanks to a 10 from Bridget Sloan, giving them a 99.2 total at the halfway mark. But Alabama, bolstered by a career-best 9.95 from Carley Sims on the floor, totaled 49.475 and moved into second place at 98.750.
The biggest shift came when the Gators faltered on the third rotation. Florida had to count a 9.3 and scored only 48.625 on the beam. That gave Alabama an opening, and the Crimson Tide took advantage by counting five scores of 9.875 or better on vault, with Kaitlyn Clark posting a 9.95. That allowed Alabama to take the lead at 148.25, followed by LSU at 147.90 and Florida at 147.825.
Alabama finished on the bars and did not falter. The Tide got 9.9s from Beers and Aja Sims to help the team win its ninth SEC championship.
Georgia was the top finisher in the first session. The No. 9-ranked Bulldogs posted a 196 team score, ahead of Arkansas with a 195.950, with Missouri at 195.7 and Kentucky at 195.025.
The Bulldogs didn’t have a great start. They scored 49.125 on the vault in their first rotation below their average of 49.225. Brandie Jay had the team’s top score of 9.850.
But they picked up the pace in the bars, where they got a pair of 9.9s from Rachel Schick and Brittany Rogers to score 49.375 points, better than their season average of 49.250. Schick had not competed in the last six meets because of a broken thumb and matched her career-best score.
Georgia took another step back on the bars when the dependable Natalie Vaculik fell on the opening routine. Mary Beth Box saved the day when she completed the rotation by scoring a 9.925 that matched her second-best score of the season. The team scored 48.150 points, well below its average of 48.857.
The Bulldogs finished strong with a 49.350 on the floor. Freshman GiGi Marino had a 9.9, the third consecutive competition in which she’s scored at least a 9.9.
The score was less than the season-high 197.450 the Bulldogs scored in a win over No. 4 Utah to end the regular season. At first it appeared Georgia might be able to carry that momentum over to the conference meet.
“For the first two events (before the beam performance) and we picked it up again,” Georgia coach Danna Durante said. “We let it drop a little bit. We were tight there. It happens. So it’s back to the gym, it’s how you get better.”
Georgia used two freshmen and four sophomores Saturday. Durante believes the experience will be beneficial as the team prepares for the NCAA regionals.
“They’ve seen it. They’ve been here,” Durante said. “They’ll learn from this. They’ll be bigger and stronger.”
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