No. 7 Alabama gymnastics defeats No. 6 LSU on the road

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CW / Hannah Saad

Katie Windham | @ktwindham5, Staff Reporter

After a fall on beam left Alabama at risk of losing a lead it had held the entire meet, freshman Luisa Blanco and junior Lexi Graber nailed their routines to give the Crimson Tide its first win at LSU in 11 tries.

Alabama, ranked seventh in the country, picked up its first outright win of the season by beating the sixth-ranked Tigers 196.775-196.425 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Friday night.

“This was a great step for us to finish like this under pressure on balance beam,” coach Dana Duckworth said in a press release. “The best part is we still have so much room for improvement and our ladies know it and are determined to put in the work to continue to build the character of this team.”

Freshman Makarri Doggette, who had the team-leading score on bars (9.875) and floor (9.950), placed her hands on the beam during her last leap series to keep her balance, which is counted as a fall and a major deduction.

This left the Crimson Tide more than likely needing two hit routines from the final two gymnasts to beat LSU.

Immediately following the fall, Blanco appeared to have no jitters and scored a 9.900 to lead the team on beam for the fourth meet in a row.

It all came down to Graber, who fell in the anchor spot on beam against Auburn, but clinched the meet this week with a 9.875.

After the fall against Auburn, Graber said she was working to make sure a fall never happened again.

Graber finished second in the all-around with a 39.475.

Alabama had a lead from the very first rotation. LSU struggled on vault, and Alabama started on bars, which has been the strongest rotation for the team this year.

The lead dwindled going into every new rotation, but tying a season-high 49.325 on floor helped pace the Crimson Tide to victory.

“Tonight was absolutely a 100% team effort,” Duckworth said. “Our ladies fought event by event and routine by routine within every performance. They had an opportunity, starting strong and ending with an intensity that will only help us continue to build confidence.”

This was Alabama’s first win in Baton Rouge since 2012.

Up next, Alabama hosts Missouri for the 16th annual Power of Pink meet on Feb. 7.