Alabama gymnastics advances to NCAA Championships: What we learned at Tuscaloosa Regional

Alabama gymnastics clinched a spot in the NCAA Championships semifinal Saturday night as the Crimson Tide's score of 197.575 in the Tuscaloosa Regional final was good enough for second place behind Oklahoma.

That performance at Coleman Coliseum allowed Alabama to qualify for the national championship meet in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 15-17.

Here's what we learned:

Fast start on bars

Jensie Givens opened the rotation with a 9.875 on the bars, and Alabama kept building from there. Each of the next five scores on the bars were above a 9.9, including a 9.975 by freshman Shania Adams. This allowed Alabama to build an early lead above the cutoff line.

"We talked about competitive greatness this week, that's about doing your best when your best is needed, and ultimately that was given to me," said Givens.

Unable to capitalize on beam

Unlike the bars, Alabama was never able to get it going on the balance beam. Four of the first five scores for the Crimson Tide were 9.8 or below.

The saving grace for Alabama on beam was Luisa Blanco, whose 9.9 marked her seventh consecutive beam routine with a 9.9 or higher.

Lexi Graber's return from injury

A leg injury kept the senior out of Friday's round and most of Saturday's, but she made one appearance on the vault, Alabama's final rotation of the regional. She scored 9.85, helping the Crimson Tide remedy a rotation that had been the cause of some trouble Friday with the season on the line.

"She pushed through," said Alabama coach Dana Duckworth. "She did everything she possibly could to push forward. She wanted to compete."

What's next

Alabama will next compete April 16 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Crimson Tide will be one of eight teams competing for the national championship.