No. 3 Alabama gymnastics ties with No. 4 Arkansas in another top-five SEC matchup

Alabama gymnastics tied on Friday night against Arkansas, with a final score of 197.525-197.525.

It was No. 3 Alabama's second week in a row hosting a top-five matchup, as Arkansas entered the meet ranked No. 4. The meet remained close throughout, as Alabama only led 49.35-49.3 after the first rotation. Another strong performance on the uneven bars stretched the lead in the Tide's favor, but a strong second half by Arkansas led to the tied final.

More: No. 4 Alabama gymnastics bounds past third-ranked Mizzou to open SEC slate

Here are some more takeaways from Alabama-Arkansas:

Alabama makes significant changes to its vault and floor rotations

Freshman Jamison Sears opened Alabama's vault rotation for the season's first two meets, while sophomore Gabby Gladieux served as the closer. This week, Alabama opted for a more experienced lineup, as senior Shania Adams and graduate senior Makarri Doggette replaced those two in the vault rotation, with Doggette going fifth and Adams closing the event.

Meanwhile, Sears did compete in the first floor exercise of her Alabama career. Graduate student Mati Waligora also made her season debut on the floor. The two replaced Adams and Luisa Blanco in last week's floor rotation.

"Luisa Blanco and Gabby Gladieux just had a couple of minor setbacks this week," Alabama coach Ashley Johnston said about the rotation changes. "When somebody is not in the best position to compete, then we want to be able to put somebody else in. It's important that we test those things out so that when we get to the end of the season we can truly have confidence in every single athlete that's competing."

The shift on vault benefitted the Crimson Tide, as they scored a season-high 49.35 on the event. Lilly Hudson scored a personal season-high 9.9, while Blanco's 9.925 tied with Arkansas' Leah Smith for the meet-high. The new-look floor rotation failed to top last week's 49.45, but Hudson scored a meet-high 9.95 as the closer. Johnston said she expects both Blanco and Gladieux back next week.

Crimson Tide's uneven bars rotation maintains its dominant status

Alabama only counted uneven bars scores of 9.9 or above tonight. Chloe LaCoursiere and Cam Machado both scored a 9.9, while Shania Adams and Mati Waligora contributed a 9.925 each. Doggette scored a meet-high 9.95, which also tied Blanco for the team's season-high on the event.

Through Alabama's first two meets, the Tide's uneven bars rotation was tied for first in the country (No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 21 Oregon State) with an average team score of 49.538. After a 49.525 score at the Super 16 in Las Vegas, Alabama improved with a 49.55 against Missouri last week. That improvement continued with a score of 49.6 tonight despite Blanco (9.95 on bars in each of the first meets) not competing in the event.

Lilly Hudson comes up clutch for Alabama after a fall on the beam

Alabama's second beam routine was performed by Hudson, who suffered an early slip-and-fall that knocked her down to a 9.125. As they did in Las Vegas, Alabama's remaining gymnasts ensured that the fall would not affect their final score, as the team finished with a 49.2 score on the event.

Hudson did not let the fall shake her though. She bounced back with a meet-high 9.95 as the closing floor exercise. With the meet coming down to the wire and her floor exercise the last performance of the night, Hudson was absolutely crucial to Alabama recording a tie instead of a loss.

What's next for Alabama gymnastics?

Alabama will travel to Gainesville to take on No. 7 Florida on Jan. 26 in its first true road meet of the season.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama gymnastics ties with Arkansas in top-five SEC matchup