The University of Alabama women’s gymnastics team, ranked third nationally, secured a win over Illinois with a final score of 197.125-196.175 on Sunday at Huff Hall in Champaign, Illinois. The team’s performance on the uneven bars was a key factor, setting a new program record with a score of 49.700. Freshman Azaraya Ra-Akbar led this rotation by earning a perfect 10.000.
Ra-Akbar’s routine marked the first perfect 10 for an Alabama gymnast since the 2024 season and is her fifth event title this year on the uneven bars. It is also the first time since Makarri Doggette’s achievement in 2023 that an Alabama gymnast has received a perfect score on bars. As of Sunday, Alabama’s rotation score ranks second in the nation and leads the Southeastern Conference.
Gabby Gladieux returned to compete in all four events and scored a total of 39.500, which earned her fifth all-around title for the season. She also took first place on vault with a season-high score of 9.925, bringing her to thirteen event titles so far this year. Jamison Sears won floor exercise with a score of 9.925.
Head coach Ashley Johnston commented on her team’s effort: “I’m incredibly proud of how this team started the competition. [Factoring in] back-to-back competitions and a travel day yesterday, we came in with really activated energy. We were sharp and crisp with how we handled bars – coming out with a program-record high score which was unbelievable. I think they continued to carry pretty good momentum throughout the meet. On the final event, though, kind of fell out of the moment, which is something we’re going to put a huge emphasis on this week – figuring out how to help this team compete out of passion and love, and not out of fear, when they go over to beam.
“We learn from every single competition we’re in and I think we gained a lot from this weekend and a lot of experience. We got a lot of people in lineups, and we’re going to keep working towards finding every little way to be relentless in getting better.”
With Sunday’s result, Alabama has now scored at least 197 as a team at every meet during this season.
Chloe LaCoursiere contributed by extending her streak to eleven meets scoring at least 9.925 or higher on uneven bars after earning a 9.975 during Sunday’s contest.
Other highlights included Natalia Pawlak matching her career high with a 9.950 on uneven bars; Gladieux achieving career-best marks on bars (9.900) as well as setting her best vault mark for the season; Matters securing another strong floor performance; and Sears continuing her consistent run by recording scores above 9.900 for nine meets so far.
Alabama will return home for its next meet against Georgia at Coleman Coliseum scheduled for Friday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m., where fans can watch live via SEC Network+.
