This year’s regional round of the NCAA gymnastics championships has been full of victories, upsets, and heartbreak. Alabama’s gymnastics team advanced out of the Ann Arbor regional to qualify for nationals, but the Crimson Tide realizes that it’s lucky to be in that position. Last year, it was one of the heartbroken teams that was sent home before Fort Worth.
“It’s just a feeling that you never want to have again,” said junior Lilly Hudson. “It lit a fire in us.” The disappointment from last year changed Alabama’s mindset. It inspired growth as individuals and growth as a team.
“It wasn’t that gymnastic-ly we weren’t ready. It was mentally and emotionally we put too much on the moment,” said head coach Ashley Priess-Johnston. So, this year, the Tide focused on controlling the controllables. Priess-Johnston acknowledged that the postseason is tough everywhere around the country, no matter who you’re going up against. But “if you focus on that, it kind of paralyzes you from just being who you are,” said Priess-Johnston. The Tide’s mindset and culture were the focus of this postseason, and that’s what made the difference.
Qualifying for nationals means so much to these gymnasts, especially after what happened last year. That early elimination was especially impactful for Luisa Blanco. “That’s the whole reason I came back for my fifth year,” Blanco said. “Every single day we’ve had that in the back of our mind and we know we want to change the story and we did that today.”
But the work isn’t done yet. Priess-Johnston said that her team will “celebrate tonight, and then we start the planning tomorrow.” Going into Fort Worth, Alabama wants to “make a statement,” the head coach said. The process that got her and her gymnasts this far is the process that they will continue at nationals in two weeks.
“Nationals is a privilege,” said Blanco. “And to just soak it all in and really be free out there, that’s what we’re looking forward to the most.”
READ THIS NEXT: Resiliency Led the Way to Making History for Towson
Article by Emily Lockard
So proud of the tide, they had some ups and downs this season but it’s clear this team has an immense amount of heart and grit and I love seeing them bring the fire to the regionals and I cant wait to see how they do in the Championships