NORMAN, Okla. – The No. 4 Alabama gymnastics team (3-2, 1-2 SEC) dropped a close battle with the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners (6-0-1, 4-0 SEC), 198.200-197.475, Friday night in Lloyd Noble Center. The Crimson Tide’s floor exercise rotation highlighted the night, as the squad recorded a 49.525 rotation score – its second highest of the season.

Freshman standout Azaraya Ra-Akbar shined for the Tide, registering career-high marks on vault (9.950) and floor (9.950) en route to a share of the vault event title. Teammate Chloe LaCoursiere’s fifth consecutive score of at least a 9.925 on the uneven bars earned her a share of the event title (9.925) as the junior All-American made her season debut in the all-around (39.425, career high).

“A theme for our team has been progress, not perfection, and I think this team showed that they can dig in and fight, continue to chip away even when the stakes are high or in a tough environment. This competition tonight felt like an Elite Eight environment – the pressure was high, and this team really wanted to be great. They did a lot of great things; we just have to continue to dig in and get a little bit better in certain areas. This team wants that, they want to do the work and are eager to do the work, so we’re going to continue to put our head down and do everything we can to be undeniable.

“We’re in this critical time period where we’ve been consistently a mid-197 team, which is a great place to be. But to be excellent – the best in the country, we’ve got to find two to three more tenths on every event. Everybody will be looking in the mirror figuring out ‘how can I contribute to that? What do I need to do?’ and I know this team is going to come in [next week] and be relentless in how they get after that.”

Team Stats

• Alabama’s 197.475 team score is tied for the highest road score of the season for the Tide, first hitting the mark in the season opener against Clemson
• The Tide earned a pair of individual event titles:

  • Uneven Bars – LaCoursiere – 9.925
  • Floor Exercise – Ra-Akbar – 9.950

• Ra-Akbar secured three 9.900-or-higher scores in one meet for the second time this season, both occurring on the road against the then-No. 1 ranked team in the nation – at Florida and at Oklahoma

  • Vault – 9.950
  • Floor Exercise – 9.950
  • Uneven Bars – 9.900

• The freshman’s 9.900 on the uneven bars marked her third meet this season reaching the 9.900-threshold, all occurring on the road
• For the second straight meet, at least three UA gymnasts scored above a 9.900 on the floor exercise, propelling the Tide to its second-highest tally of the season on the event (49.525)
  
• LaCoursiere made her season debut in the all-around, scoring a career-high 39.425
• The junior’s 9.925 on the uneven bars extended her run of five straight meets scoring at least a 9.925 on the apparatus

  • LaCoursiere has now recorded nine scores of a 9.900-or-higher across 16 possible routines

• Sears extended her streak of 9.900-or-higher scores on floor to five after performing a 9.925 against the Sooners
• Jasmine Cawley (9.900) Kylee Kvamme (9.925) tied their respective career highs on the balance beam

How it Happened

Uneven Bars

• Alabama opened the meet with a 49.375 rotation score
• LaCoursiere (9.925) recorded her fifth consecutive score of a 9.925-or-higher
• Ra-Akbar (9.900) earned her third score on the apparatus this season of at least a 9.900 as anchor

Vault

• The Tide logged a 49.350 in its second rotation
• Ra-Akbar highlighted yet another event on the night, posting a career-high 9.950 on the event in the No. 5 spot

Floor Exercise

• Alabama tallied a 49.525 score in its third rotation, its second-highest of the season
• For the second straight meet, at least three UA gymnasts scored above a 9.900 on the apparatus
• Ra-Akbar recorded her second career high of the night with her 9.950 mark in the No. 4 spot

Balance Beam

• The Tide scored a 49.225 on its final rotation
• Kylee Kvamme highlighted the event by tying her career-high mark of a 9.925 in the No. 4 spot, as Jasmine Cawley (No. 2) matched her career high of a 9.900

Up Next

• Alabama will return home Friday, Feb. 13, against the Arkansas Razorbacks for its annual Power of Pink meet
• The contest will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT and will stream live on SEC Network+