NCAA Gymnastics: Tuscaloosa Regional Preview
Beginning Thursday night, Coleman Coliseum will be the home to the NCAA Gymnastics Regional Tournament. The event will start with Eastern Michigan and Maryland battling for a spot in Friday night's second round. The Alabama Crimson Tide will compete on Friday at 1 p.m. against No.10 Arkansas, No.19 Iowa, and No.20 Iowa State.
Alabama will look to continue the momentum from their first SEC Championship Tournament win since 2015 on Friday night. Tuesday night on Tidal Talk, Alabama head coach Dana Duckworth talked about her team's focus heading into this huge Regional matchup.
"You have to be focused on what you're doing right now," Duckworth said. "We talk about the reality of you have to do what you know how to do. We have had a lot of distractions this season, but these women have stayed true to themselves. On Friday we have to stay focused and not worry about getting to Saturday and take things in routine at a time."
Alabama has competed in the regional round every year since its inception in 1982, and leads the NCAA in regional titles with 32.
The Tide will look to continue the big season from sophomore and, SEC Gymnast Of The Year, Luisa Blanco. Blanco leads the team with 18 event titles and not scoring below a 9.875 on balance beam this season.
The regional finals will take place on Saturday, April 3rd at 7 p.m., with the two top teams from Friday and Saturday's semifinals round advancing to the finals. Once that is completed, the top two teams from Saturday's final will compete in the NCAA National Championships in Fort Worth, Texas on April 16th and 17th.
For all of your Alabama Crimson Tide Gymnastics coverage, keep it tuned into Tide 100.9 all season long. You can also listen to Tidal Talk on Tuesday's from 7-10 p.m. and Thursday's from 6-9 p.m.