For the final floor exercise routine of her career, Alabama gymnast Abby Armbrecht scored a 9.9125 Friday at the 2019 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. That placed Armbrecht seventh in the first session, earning her All-America honors for the first time in her career. She was the only individual competitor to be recognized in such a way on that apparatus during the earlier meet.
Armbrecht ended up throwing a double layout as her first tumbling pass, which is an E-level skill she just started to put out in competition this year.
“I went back and forth all week trying to decide whether to do the double pike or the double layout today, and I’m really glad that I went with the double layout,” Armbrecht said. “I’m just glad that I got to finish out on a strong note and represent Alabama really well.”
Gorgeous routine from start to finish for Abby Armbrecht in her final Crimson Tide turn under the lights of the #NCAAGym Championships!!!#LegacyOfChampions | #RollTide pic.twitter.com/Rw1ni178E9
— Alabama Gymnastics (@BamaGymnastics) April 20, 2019
UCLA’s Kyla Ross, Florida’s Alicia Boren, Denver’s Lynnzee Brown and Oklahoma’s Brenna Dowell all ended up sharing the individual floor title with 9.95s.
Armbrecht, a senior, was the sole member of the Crimson Tide who competed since she qualified as an event specialist out of the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional two weeks ago. Alabama as a team failed to advanced, finishing third.
Armbrecht only needed to participate in the first day of the two-day championships — the semifinals — because it was the only day all eight teams were present, therefore individual champions were determined then.
“Abby really blossomed throughout her career, and this was a true storybook ending for her,” UA coach Dana Duckworth said. “She came in as a shy young woman, who followed her heart to her dream school and, four years later, was able to end her career with an exclamation point with the most beautiful routine of her career, with the most difficulty of her career. It was such a joyous experience being able to watch her do that routine with so much passion, representing the script A and her teammates in that moment.”
Armbrecht is originally from Mobile. This was her fourth NCAAs appearance.
The final four teams moving on and still vying for the ultimate championship title are UCLA, LSU, Oklahoma and Denver. They’ll compete Saturday at 6 p.m. CT in the Fort Worth Convention Center and on ESPNU.
