Alabama
Arkansas
No. 3 Alabama Goes 197.950 in Victory over No. 8 Arkansas
2/13/2026 10:15:00 PM | Gymnastics
The Crimson Tide posted a season-high 49.500 on vault and tied its season-high 49.425 total on beam to headline its annual Power of Pink meet
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 3 Alabama gymnastics team (4-2, 2-2 SEC) steamrolled to a season-high 197.950-196.900 victory over No. 8 Arkansas (3-3, 2-2 SEC) in Friday night's Power of Pink meet at Coleman Coliseum. The team score is tied for the sixth best in program history and is the highest tally earned by the Crimson Tide since the 2024 season.
UA swept the individual honors, as four different gymnasts accumulated eight event titles, highlighted by three from senior all-arounder Gabby Gladieux (balance beam, floor exercise, all-around). Chloe LaCoursiere shared the uneven bars title with teammate Azaraya Ra-Akbar, who won vault, and also shared balance beam with Gladieux and Jasmine Cawley.
Head Coach Ashley Johnston Said
"What a fun night that was! First, I just want to thank everybody sitting in here and our entire Tuscaloosa community for being so loud and proud tonight. We could really feel the energy in the air and it was just so positive and uplifting. It made a huge difference [for our team], starting from our march in with our fighters and survivors and just carrying it throughout the entire meet. It was really a magical night.
"What I'm most proud of is how our team handled adversity throughout this week. We had our fair share of sickness and some different uncharacteristic things that came up, on top of having a couple of weird mistakes during the meet, but we never let it phase us. And that's been a word that we continue to talk about – being unphased and being relentless. So, I was most proud of how our team really brought that alive [tonight] and was steady throughout the entire competition. We competed with fierce joy, we were focused and mission driven, but we also had a lot of fun tonight. That's the recipe for this team, and we're going to continue to find that blend as we go into this next phase of the season. So overall, huge step in a really exciting direction, and we're hungry for more."
Team Stats
- Alabama's 197.950 is the highest by the Tide since the 2024 campaign and is the sixth-best total in program history
- Freshman duo Ra-Akbar (9.975, career high) and McKenzie Matters (9.925, career debut) propelled UA to a season-high 49.500 rotation score on vault
- Four UA gymnasts earned eight individual event titles:
- Vault – Ra-Akbar – 9.975
- Uneven Bars – LaCoursiere, Ra-Akbar – 9.950
- Balance Beam – Cawley, Gladieux, LaCoursiere – 9.900
- Floor Exercise – Gladieux – 9.975
- All-Around – Gladieux – 39.600
- Including her score on bars (9.950), LaCoursiere has recorded a 9.925-or-higher in all six meets this season
- For the second straight meet, and third overall, Ra-Akbar rattled off 9.900-or-higher scores on all three of her events – 9.975 on vault, 9.950 on bars and a 9.900 on floor
- Five UA gymnasts either tied or set a career-high score on Friday night
- Jasmine Cawley – 9.900, beam – tied career high / 9.875, floor – tied career high
- Gladieux – 9.975, floor – tied career high
- LaCoursiere – 9.925, floor – tied career high / 39.500, all-around – career high
- Matters – 9.925, vault – career high
- Ra-Akbar – 9.975, vault – career high
How it Happened
Vault
- Alabama's rookies stole the show to help lead the Tide to a season-high 49.500 rotation score
- Matters scored a 9.925 in her career debut on the apparatus, as Ra-Akbar anchored with a career-high 9.975
- The feat marks back-to-back weeks that Ra-Akbar has upped her individual vault score (9.950 at Oklahoma, 9.975 vs. Arkansas)
Uneven Bars
- The Crimson Tide's final two gymnasts once again closed the rotation in electric fashion as LaCoursiere (No. 5 spot) and Ra-Akbar (No. 6 spot) tied for the event title with mirroring 9.950 scores
- UA ended with a 49.475 score on the event
Balance Beam
- Alabama saw a trio of gymnasts score a meet-high 9.900 on the apparatus – LaCoursiere (No. 2), Cawley (No. 4) and Gladieux (No. 5)
- The Tide's 49.425 total tied for the highest of the 2026 season
Floor Exercise
- UA anchor Gladieux came close to a 10.0 yet again, tying her career-high mark of a 9.975 in the anchor position
- LaCoursiere (No. 1, 9.925) and Ra-Akbar (No. 4, 9.900) added scores of 9.900-or-higher on the final rotation to give Alabama a 49.550 score
Up Next
- The Tide will travel to Auburn, Ala., next Friday, Feb. 20, for a matchup with its in-state rival
- The meet will begin at 7:45 p.m. CT and will air live on SEC Network
Players Mentioned
