Alabama gymnast Azaraya Ra-Akbar has been named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Week, according to an announcement from the league office on Tuesday.
Ra-Akbar, who is from Baltimore, Maryland, achieved a career-high vault score of 9.975. She also scored 9.950 on uneven bars and 9.900 on floor during Alabama’s recent meet against No. 8 Arkansas. These performances contributed to Alabama’s season-high team total of 197.950 in their victory over Arkansas.
The freshman won event titles on both vault and bars at the meet, bringing her season total to seven event titles. In Week 6 SEC competition, Ra-Akbar posted the highest vault score among freshmen and tied for the top bars score among rookies. This was her third time this season—and second consecutive meet—scoring at least 9.900 in three events during a single competition, all against top-eight nationally ranked SEC teams.
“This is my second career SEC weekly honor,” said Ra-Akbar. “Jan. 20 – Gymnast of the Week; Feb. 17 – Freshman of the Week.”
She currently ranks No. 2 in the Central Region on both vault and uneven bars and has now recorded three scores of 9.950 or better on bars this season.
Ra-Akbar is also noted as being the first University of Alabama gymnast to earn multiple SEC weekly honors in a single season since Luisa Blanco did so in 2024, when Blanco was recognized as both a program legend and Paris Olympian.
