DULUTH, Ga. | The Alabama gymnastics team discovered it will start the 2008 Southeastern Conference Championships on a bye today before starting competition on the uneven bars from the championship draw at the Gwinnett Center.

“You have to be strong on all four events to win this championship, so it really doesn’t matter where you start, or where you finish,” Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. “For us to be successful we have to go out and stick our landings and hit our routines. We’re looking forward to a great meet.”

Senior captain Kaitlin White drew for Alabama, picking the bye. After starting on a bye and then moving to the uneven bars, Alabama will go to the balance beam, followed by a bye, then the floor exercise followed by a third bye before finishing off the meet on the vault.

The UA team practiced after the draw and the competition is Saturday starting at 3 p.m. CT. The Crimson Tide’s radio broadcast of the championships will be on WVUA 90.7-FM in Tuscaloosa and can be heard online. The link for the radio broadcast can be found on GymTide.com.

A link to live scores can be found on www.gymtide.com and the meet will be televised on a tape delayed basis on Fox Sports South on Saturday, April 7, at 6 p.m.