Bama Gymnastics Movin' On Up

The Alabama gymnastics team moved up to third in the national rankings after closing out its regular season with a 197.525 last Friday, which it used to knock off then No. 1 Oklahoma. It was the Crimson Tide’s fifth consecutive 197-plus score.

Rankings are calculated by Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) at this point in the season. The formula takes a team's three highest road scores and its next three highest scores, home or away, drops the highest score and averages the remaining five.

With Alabama’s bounce to No. 3, Michigan moved down to No. 4, while Georgia overtook LSU for the No. 5 spot. The Florida Gators regained the top spot in the nation, while the Sooners dropped one spot to No. 2 this week.

The Southeastern Conference Championships, slated for this Saturday in Little Rock, Ark., also uses RQS for seeding purposes. Florida, Alabama, Georgia and LSU are the top four seeds and will compete in the evening session starting at 6 p.m. CT at Verizon Arena while Auburn, Arkansas, Kentucky and Missouri will compete in the afternoon session.

Overall, the Tide is ranked second on the floor exercise and third on the balance beam and vault, after tying for its best team vault score of the season against Oklahoma. Alabama is also ranked sixth on the uneven bars, following its season-high 49.425 on the event against the Sooners.

Junior Kim Jacob is ranked 25th in the all-around competition, as well as fifth on the floor exercise and eighth on the balance beam. Jacob posted a 9.9 in both the floor and beam against the Sooners, winning the floor exercise.

Junior Diandra Milliner is ranked 12th on vault after tying her season-best score of 9.925 against Oklahoma. Milliner also moved up in the floor exercise to claim the No. 16 spot, while senior Ashley Priess is ranked 14th on balance beam. Junior Sarah DeMeo is No. 18 and senior Ashley Sledge moved up to claim the 25th spot on the uneven bars. Sledge won the uneven bars against Oklahoma, after posting a career-high 9.950 in the event.

After competing at the SEC Championships this Saturday, the Tide returns home as host of the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Championship on April 6. Tickets for the NCAA Regional Championship are available through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262) located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum or online at RollTide.com.