In 2005, Team Romania and Carly Patterson were the reigning Olympic champions, the iPhone didn’t exist, and current NCAA vault champion Kailin Chio wasn’t yet born. And in Auburn, Alabama, the NCAA’s top gymnasts gathered to compete for national titles. UCLA entered as the two-time defending national champion, and Utah had led the rankings for all but three weeks of the season. But it was Georgia and Alabama who surged during the Super Six final and ended as national champion and runner-up, respectively.
Alas, the TV coverage of this championship left much to be desired, especially compared to the excellent ESPN coverage gym fans enjoy today. Still, that makes these routines all the more special, and we’ve dug them out of the archives to give them the spotlight they deserve.
Vault
Brittany Comeaux (Alabama)
Comeaux wowed early in Alabama’s vault lineup with this stuck Servente that earned the sophomore a 9.950. The near-perfect score was a career high for her and helped the Tide smash their vault season high by almost two tenths.
Ashley Miles (Alabama)
Junior Miles had already earned a 10 on floor with small hops on two tumbling passes, but her Yurchenko full was a more respectable perfect 10.000, with clean form, good dynamics, and a sticky feet landing.
Bars
Terin Humphrey (Alabama)
The reigning Olympic silver medalist on the event, freshman Humphrey showed her Markelov and consistency to lead the Tide with a 9.900 and later, to take the individual title on bars with the same score.
Kelsey Ericksen (Georgia)
The sophomore clinched the GymDogs’ sixth national title and posted her season high, a 9.950, with this routine that features two single-bar releases and a double Arabian dismount.
Beam
Nikki Childs (Georgia)
Georgia struggled mightily on beam earlier in the season and had to count two falls on the event at regionals. Legendary head coach Suzanne Yoculan’s response? She sent her athletes home with tiny beams to put under their pillows. The unorthodox tactic paid off, as the GymDogs scored 49.350 during the Super Six. A highlight of the rotation was Childs, the freshman and WOGA alum who showed excellent rhythm and difficulty. Don’t miss her switch ring leap and interesting mount in this routine that scored 9.900.
Lindsey Vanden Eykel (UCLA)
Vanden Eykel mounted the beam after a fall on the previous event and a fall by her teammate Christie Tedmon earlier in the lineup. Despite some bobbles, the freshman reacted triumphantly after avoiding a fall in this pressure set, which included rarely seen skills like a Rulfova and attitude turn and scored 9.725.
Floor
Courtney Bumpers (UNC)
In a meet littered with former Olympians and world championship team members, junior Bumpers held her own. After tying Ashley Miles for the title in 2004, she won it outright in 2005 with her thrilling double layout punch front and a perfect 10.000.
Kate Richardson (UCLA)
Although hindered by a thumb injury sustained a few months prior to nationals, senior Richardson continued to compete three events throughout the season. On floor, she posted a 9.900 and showed off the fresh and spunky choreography that’s become iconic – Norah Flatley paid tribute to it in her 2022 routine.
All-Around
Kristen Maloney (UCLA)
In her fifth and final year with the Bruins, Maloney was competing with a metal rod in her leg and was post multiple revision surgeries. But you wouldn’t know that from watching her. She led the Bruins in the Super Six with a perfect 10.000 on floor, she was the all-around runner-up, and she took home the individual titles on vault and beam. She also took advantage of the previous format when, prior to 2016, event champions were crowned during a separate session following team finals, throwing high difficulty skills too risky for team competition. She competed her double-twisting Yurchenko on vault for a 9.937 average and the crown. And although her floor routine was already packed with difficulty that would still be jaw-dropping today – double layout, whip directly to double pike, and triple twist – she decided to up the ante in finals and added a full twist to her opening double layout. Ultimately, Maloney’s performance throughout the meet sealed her status as “a living legend,” as UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos Field called her.
READ THIS NEXT: 15 of the Most Iconic Moments in NCAA Gymnastics History
Article by Diana Scroggins
Roll Tide!
Wasn’t the story of Maloney’s runner up finish that they forgot to move the board on bars or some odd deduction that knocked her down tenth?