While the Alabama gymnastics team’s win streak against Auburn currently sits at 107, it hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park, especially on the road.
Two years ago, the Crimson Tide escaped by a margin of just .075. In 2010, the team earned a convincing victory in Auburn, but the year before that, the meet came down to the last routine, where Alabama squeaked out a win by .025, the smallest possible margin.
(See also “UA comes back against Georgia“)
No. 5 Alabama expects more of the same Friday, as it will head to No. 12 Auburn for a Valentine’s Day showdown.
“It makes it difficult to compete there, just because we know Auburn’s going to bring their A-game, especially because of how big the rivalry is,” senior Diandra Milliner said. “And the crowd definitely knows it. They always have bigger crowds whenever we’re there, and I think that always adds just that little bit of pressure.”
The Tigers are in the midst of one of their best seasons in school history. They’ve been on a steady climb since hiring coach Jeff Graba in 2010.
“What Auburn has done with their program under Jeff has been amazing,” Alabama coach Sarah Patterson said. “He was hired by [Auburn athletics director] Jay Jacobs to come in and change that program and beat Alabama. I mean, there’s no mistake that that was the focus, to have a contending program. And I think they’ve done an amazing job. And you look at their facility, their facility reached a peak before we did ours.”
Auburn’s new state-of-the-art Auburn Arena opened in 2010, where the gymnastics team competes alongside the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
It’s a much more intimate venue, with a capacity of just 9,121. But, according to AuburnTigers.com, the worst seat in the arena is just 43 feet away from the court.
(See also “The pressure is on: Crimson Tide gymnastics sees record attendance numbers“)
For gymnastics, the vault runway is so close to the student section, the students can nearly reach out and touch you, Patterson said.
“It’s a great arena because of the way it’s configured,” Patterson said. “It’s smaller, but they’re right there on top of you. If I had my choice of an arena, I would pick a smaller one and have them down closer.”
And the rivalry only intensifies those conditions.
“Just being a part of this program is just an honor in itself,” Lora Leigh Frost, a junior UA gymnast from Decatur, said. “But to keep this rivalry going and to have two programs that are great at gymnastics in the state of Alabama, I think that Friday night’s going to be very interesting.”
(See also “Alabama gymnastics team travels to hostile LSU“)
