The Kentucky Wildcats scored a 197.200 at tonight’s home meet, breaking 197 for the third week in a row and upsetting ninth-ranked Alabama, who scored a 196.800 with a strong performance.
Alex Hyland of Kentucky won the all-around with a 39.525 and the balance beam with a 9.900, while teammate Sidney Dukes placed second in the all-around and won the floor exercise with a 9.925. Danae Davis and Katie Stuart, also Wildcats, tied for first place on the vault with a 9.875.
Starting on vault, the Wildcats performed cleanly to score a total of 49.225. Stuart competed a Yurchenko one-and-a-half to tie for first place. Alex Hyland placed third with a 9.850, and Alaina Kwan placed fifth with a 9.825. On the uneven bars for Alabama, Emily Gaskins stuck a double layout dismount to score a 9.900, winning the event. The Crimson Tide scored a total of 49.200 on the uneven bars, where some form breaks kept the scores limited to the 9.800 range. Ari Guerra scored a 9.850, the third highest score on the uneven bars, but placed fifth due to a three-way tie for second place.
Sidney Dukes performs on the uneven bars for the Kentucky Wildcats against the Alabama Crimson Tide in Lexington, Kentucky/Kentucky Kernel
Alabama started with some rough vaults, having to take steps on landings and lacking some power, but ended with Shallon Olsen’s impressive Yurchenko double full, which scored a 9.800. Gaskins posted the highest vault score for the team with a 9.850, tying for third on the event. The team scored a total of 49.125, which was not enough to overtake Kentucky’s lead. The Wildcats put up a strong performance on the uneven bars, counting five scores over a 9.800 and scoring a 49.300. Kwan, Hyland, and Cally Nixon all scored a 9.875 to tie for second on the event.
Kentucky kept going strong on the balance beam, where Hyland won the event with a 9.900 and helped the team to a total score of 49.275. Stuart and Dukes both scored a 9.875 to tie for third. Aside from a mistake from Mollie Korth, the rest of the lineup performed beautifully under pressure to count four scores of at least a 9.850. After an injury to Alabama’s all-arounder Shea Mahoney in warmups, Tia Kiaku performed a routine that scored a 9.825, showing grace under pressure. The team scored a 49.250, their highest rotation total of the night. Abby Armbrecht scored a 9.900 to tie for third on the event and posted Alabama’s highest floor exercise score. Every score in the lineup was at least a 9.775, showing how solid this team is even with last-minute changes to the lineup.
Ending on the floor exercise, the Wildcats posted their highest rotation total of the night with a 49.400. Dukes and Korth tied for first on the event with a 9.925. Hyland tied for third with a 9.900, and the Wildcats counted two more scores of at least a 9.800. On the balance beam, Armbrecht shone for Alabama, scoring a 9.900 to tie for first place. Every gymnast scored at least a 9.800, helping Alabama cap off a strong performance. Gaskins completed her all-around performance with a 9.850 on beam and tied with Dukes for second place in the all-around with a 39.400.
Tags: Abby Armbrecht, Alabama, Alabama Crimson Tide, Alaina Kwan, Alex Hyland, Ari Guerra, Cally Nixon, Danae Davis, Emily Gaskins, Katie Stuart, Kentucky, Kentucky Wildcats, Mollie Korth, NCAA Gymnastics, SEC, Shallon Olsen, Shea Mahoney, Sidney Dukes, Tia Kiaku