The eight SEC gymnastics coaches think today's SEC Championships on the raised podium at the Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., has every bit of the appeal of the NCAA Championships.
"I think this is the best showcase of gymnastics in the country, bar none," Auburn Coach Jeff Graba said.
Gymnastics
SEC Championships
WHEN Today. Session I: 1 p.m. Central. Session II: 5 p.m.
WHERE Arena at the Gwinnett Center, Duluth, Ga.
INTERNET SEC Network plus
TEAMS/RANKINGS No. 2 Florida , No. 3 LSU, No. 5 Alabama, No. 8 Auburn, No. 9 Georgia, No. 18 Arkansas, No. 25 Kentucky, No. 27 Missouri
REGIONAL QUALIFYING SCORES Florida 197.75, LSU 197.63, Alabama 197.425, Auburn 197.025, Georgia 196.875, Arkansas 196.275, Kentucky 195.735, Missouri 195.635
FORMAT Arkansas will compete in the afternoon session with Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri. The 5 p.m. session will feature Florida, LSU, Alabama and Auburn.
NOTEWORTHY Alabama won its eighth SEC championship in the 2014 meet with a score of 197.875 in Birmingham, Ala. … The Razorbacks are tied for No. 13 on the floor (49.24), No. 15 on vault (49.26), No. 19 on bars (49.095) and No. 40 on beam (48.695). … SEC teams ranked in the top 10 on events are No. 2 Florida, No. 3 LSU, No. 6 Alabama, and No. 8 Auburn on the vault; No. 2 Florida, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 LSU and No. 8 Georgia on the uneven bars; No. 2 Florida, No. 3 LSU, No. 5 Alabama, No. 8 Auburn and No. 10 Georgia on the balance beam; No. 1 LSU, No. 3 (tied) Alabama and Florida, and No. 8 (tied) Auburn on the floor exercise.
"I think it's the national championship in a very compacted, faster format," LSU Coach D-D Breaux said. "There's no time to look over your shoulder or look at anything other than the task at hand. This is better than the national championships."
Five of the nation's top nine teams will compete in the two-session meet. No. 18 Arkansas will perform in the 1 p.m. session along with No. 9 and meet host Georgia, No. 25 Kentucky and No. 27 Missouri.
The 5 p.m. session will feature No. 2 Florida, No. 3 LSU, No. 5 Alabama, the defending SEC meet champion, and No. 8 Auburn.
"Our conference is loaded," said Rhonda Faehn, coach of the defending co-national champion Florida Gators.
"It's a great venue and a great competition and it's very exciting, as much as the national championships," Arkansas Coach Mark Cook said.
The Razorbacks have yet to break the 197-point mark but have that plateau in their sights.
"We have really not put a total meet together where we've just rocked, but that's part of the process of learning," Cook said. "It's not how you start the race, it's how you finish the race."
The Razorbacks are led by sophomore Amanda Wellick, who is ranked No. 13 nationally in the all-around, and freshman Paige Zaziski, who is No. 35 in the all-around. Zaziski is Arkansas' first three-time SEC freshman of the week.
Five of the nation's top eight all-around performers -- No. 1 Kytra Hunter of Florida, No. 3 Lauren Beers of Alabama, No. 4 Jessie Jordan of LSU, No. 5 Caitlin Atkinson of Auburn and No. 8 Rheagan Courville of LSU -- will be in action.
Florida, which shared the 2014 NCAA title with Oklahoma, has exceeded 198 three times in its past five meets, including a 198.225 on Feb. 13, but the Gators have proven beatable in dual meets, having lost 197.95 to 197.425 at No. 3 LSU and 198.5 to 198.1 at top-ranked Oklahoma.
"Parity is a wonderful thing," Breaux said. "I'm just real excited it's been such a hard-fought season for everyone and there's so much parity in this conference. There are tenths of points that are separating the teams in the evening session."
"It's the most fun for the ladies because the SEC is such a fun, dominant conference," said first-year Alabama Coach Dana Duckworth. "No matter when you compete against an SEC team, it brings out the best in one another."
Sports on 03/21/2015