The streamers could have rained down immediately after Nickie Guerrero finished her floor routine. The senior was Alabama gymnastics’ anchor, scoring a career-high 9.95 and solidifying a season-high 49.575 on the event for the Crimson Tide that was worth celebrating. It was a great ending.
Only it wasn’t enough to make up for the damage that had already been done. So, No. 6 Alabama lost to No. 1 Oklahoma, 197.925 to 197.15.
“I was sad for them because I saw it coming,” UA coach Dana Duckworth said. “As a coach, you’re going, ‘OK, if we don’t do this and I know how good they are, we’re just going to be opening up that little gap.’”
That gap opened early on in the meet but truly widened after the third rotation. The Crimson Tide went into the final round of competition down by 0.85.
Not that anyone could tell by the next performances.
Every UA gymnast scored a 9.9 or better on floor. Juniors Abby Armbrecht and Ari Guerra started off the trend with back-to-back 9.9s. Sophomore Maddie Desch and freshman Lexi Graber answered with the same marks. Then, the seniors stole the show. Kiana Winston posted a 9.925. Guerrero closed with the 9.95 that earned her first-place honors.
This was after Alabama posted a 49 on the balance beam, its fourth-lowest score this season, despite Guerrero’s second-place 9.9.
“Honestly, I think it helped for floor,” Guerrero said. “Not that I loved how beam turned out, but you can always just learn that at this point you have nothing to lose. Just realizing that and realizing that we’re just going to end on our favorite event in our house … lay it all out there.”
The floor score is 0.175 higher than UA’s previous season high.
Alabama also tied its season high on vault with a 49.3, which featured a career-high 9.95 from Graber that broke down into a 10 and a 9.9 from the judges.
“I try not to speak to the judging because those are things that are out of your control,” Duckworth said. “… You can do what is called a summary, and I did six summaries this evening because there were several routines where I wanted to know how the difference could be that severe.”
Oklahoma’s Maggie Nichols, the only gymnast to score higher than Graber, received a perfect 10 on vault.
Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide went 49.275 on the uneven bars – saved by Winston’s second-place 9.925 – for another fourth-low like beam.
After all was said and done, there were still streamers. They fell from the ceiling as the Senior Night video wrapped, honoring those who competed – Guerrero and Winston – and those who did not – Mackenzie Brannan and Jennie Loeb.
“It was cool because it was my turn to have the streamers and just hug my seniors,” Winston said. “I said I wasn’t going to cry tonight and I didn’t cry. I probably will cry later when it all hits, but it’s OK because I know the seniors were in the moment with me and that’s what really matters. We were all heart tonight.”
ALABAMA SCORES
Vault
Abby Armbrecht, 9.8
Shea Mahoney, 9.825
Ari Guerra, 9.875
Maddie Desch, 9.8
Lexi Graber, 9.95
Nickie Guerrero, 9.85
Uneven bars
Ari Guerra, 9.825
Anglina Giancroce, 9.775
Shea Mahoney, 9.825
Lexi Graber, 9.85
Kylie Dickson, 9.85
Kiana Winston, 9.925
Balance beam
Abby Armbrecht, 9.825
Maddie Desch, 9.85
Peyton Ernst, 9.55
Lexi Graber, 9.55
Kiana Winston, 9.875
Nickie Guerrero, 9.9
Floor
Abby Armbrecht, 9.9
Ari Guerra, 9.9
Maddie Desch, 9.9
Lexi Graber, 9.9
Kiana Winston, 9.925
Nickie Guerrero, 9.95
