Alabama gymnastics fourth in Norman regional final, eliminated from championship contention

No. 8 Alabama gymnastics scored a 197.65 on Saturday on its way to a fourth-place finish in the Norman regional final, ending the Crimson Tide's national championship hopes. No. 1 Oklahoma won the regional with a 198.05, while No. 9 Kentucky also made the cut with a 197.85. Ohio State was also eliminated despite scoring 197.725.

"It was hard. Tonight did not go how we wanted it to go," said Alabama coach Ashley Johnston. "I'm still proud of the team. We're here for each other through the highs and the lows."

Alabama started the meet in an early hole, finishing the first rotation in fourth, but was only two-tenths of a point below the cut line. The Crimson Tide closed the deficit by the halfway point but was still fourth after two rotations.

More: Alabama gymnastics comes in second to Kentucky, advances to NCAA Norman Regional Final

In the third, Alabama got off to another slow start before freshman Gabby Gladieux started a streak of three consecutive scores of 9.9 or better. However, thanks to a perfect 10 from the Sooners' Katherine LeVasseur, the Crimson Tide failed to improve from fourth place in either of the final two rotations.

Here's what we learned:

Subpar start on vault

Alabama did its events in the traditional order Saturday, starting the meet on the vault. While the Crimson Tide made no major mistakes, there was also very little that Alabama did exceptionally. Through four routines, there were no scores higher than a 9.85. Although Luisa Blanco and Shallon Olsen ended the rotation with a 9.875 and a 9.9, respectively, the Crimson Tide were still below the transfer spot heading to the uneven bars.

"I think the team was really excited, and sometimes when you're really excited, you pull back a little bit," said Johnston. "That's something we have to continue to work on."

Rebound from bars mistake

Senior Mati Waligora made the first big mistake of the evening when she scored a 9.275 on the bars. With Alabama's back against the wall, the Crimson Tide reeled off three consecutive 9.9s from Shania Adams, Cameron Machado, and Makarri Doggette. Blanco couldn't extend the streak to four but still closed the routine with a 9.875.

Freshman out of beam lineup

Freshman Rachel Rybicki had typically been in Alabama's balance beam rotation throughout the season, but with the season on the line Saturday, it was Waligora who took her spot. Waligora earned a 9.8 in the Crimson Tide's second beam routine of the meet.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama gymnastics 4th in regional final, eliminated from championship