In a tight competition for the top spot, Florida came out victorious today, winning their first SEC Championship title since 2013. Although the competition was close the entire time, Florida maintained the top spot during all four rotations and just managed to nudge ahead of Alabama, beating the Tide by a mere .025. Kennedy Baker came out on top as the SEC All-Around Champion, finishing with a huge 39.650. 

We've broken down the main highlights of the competition for you below. 

​Rotation 1: Florida hits vault while LSU struggles on bars

The Gators had a strong start to the meet with a 49.425 on vault. Baker was the highlight here, sticking her 1 1/2 twisting Yurchenko to score a 9.95, tying her season high. Freshman Alicia Boren also performed a big Yurchenko 1 1/2 to score a 9.9.

Auburn was in second place after their first rotation on floor exercise, finishing with a 49.350. Senior Caitlin Atkinson anchored for the team, producing a solid performance to score the team's high - a 9.9. 

Alabama started on beam and finished in 3rd after Rotation 1 with a 49.275. Keely McNeer led the team off with a strong performance, scoring a 9.9. 

LSU had some pressure on them after freshman Sarah Finnegan suffered a fall. Myia Hambrick was the standout performer for the team on this event, scoring a 9.925 with hit handstands and a stuck dismount. The team had small struggles throughout the rest of the rotation, and Hambrick was the only gymnast to score a 9.9 or above, causing LSU to finish with a 49.200.

​Rotation 2: Auburn struggles on vault, Florida and Alabama put up big numbers

​Florida kept the momentum up heading into bars, where Baker led the team off with a strong performance to score a 9.9. Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto and Alex McMurtry put up the high scores for the Gators, both putting up 9.925. McMurtry had huge air in all of her moves, particularly her full-in dismount which she stuck. ​The team finished on bars with a 49.500, their highest score on any event during the meet.

LSU made up some ground on beam, working through a couple of wobbles along the way. They were able to drop their low score of 9.65 from Julianna Cannamela, and Finnegan and Ashleigh Gnat put up big scores of 9.925 and 9.9, respectively. 

Alabama put up huge numbers on floor, with no gymnast scoring lower than a 9.875. Kiana Winston was the highlight of the rotation, scoring a 9.95. Carley Sims, the anchor for the team who has not competed much this season, also had strong tumbling with good landings, scoring a 9.9. 

Auburn had their weakest rotation on vault, where they had to count a few low scores, including a 9.75 from Kelsey Kopec and a 9.775 from Kait Kluz. Both Lexus Demers and MJ Rott stuck their Yurchenko fulls, and Atkinson performed a good Yurchenko 1 1/2, though with a slight hop. Atkinson and Demers had the highest scores, both with 9.85s, but the team's inability to put up anything above 9.9 pushed them down in the rankings. 

Rotation 2 ended with Florida in first with a 98.925, Alabama in second with a 98.775, LSU in third with a 98.575, and Auburn in fourth with a 98.400.

​Rotation 3: The Top Three Separated by Mere Tenths

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Things started to get very close in the third rotation, with Alabama and LSU edging in on Florida. Florida headed to beam, where McMurtry put up a solid performance, including a sky-high double twist dismount to score a 9.95, the highest beam score in the competition. Sloan had an unfortunate fall on her front walkover as the last competitor up, and so they ended up dropping her score. Fortunately, they had put up strong numbers otherwise and finished with a 49.425.​

Alabama tied Florida's 49.425 for the rotation over on vault, where they were able to drop McNeer's 9.75 and went 9.85 or better for the remainder of the rotation. Mackenzie Brannan was the highlight, scoring a 9.95 on her stuck Yurchenko 1 1/2 - also her highest score of the season. 

LSU had a stellar performance on floor, where they scored their highest on any event with a 49.550. Gnat gave a perfect performance once again, scoring yet another 10.00 - her fourth in the last five meets. 

Auburn had one of their best performances of the meet on bars, where every gymnast hit and the low score they dropped was a 9.8. Atkinson's dismount was a highlight of the rotation - a huge, high full-in that she stuck. Kluz gave one of her best performances, scoring the team's high - a 9.9, which was also a career high for her.

At the end of the third rotation, the top three teams were separated by only three tenths. Florida was on top with a 148.350, followed by Alabama with a 148.200, LSU with a 148.125, and Auburn trailing with a 147.725.


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​Rotation 4: It all comes down to one routine

​The final rotation was a nail biter, with every routine and every tenth counting. Auburn headed to beam where they had a few struggles and were forced to count a 9.7 from Krippner. The always-reliable Atkinson scored the highest for the team with a 9.9.​ The team finished with a 49.250 on the event.

LSU went to their best event - the vault - where they are currently ranked #1 in the nation. While this presented a chance for LSU to make up some ground, they unfortunately had little mistakes here and there which added up to one too many deductions. Still, the performance from the team was strong and their low score dropped was a 9.85. Unsurprisingly, Gnat had the highest score of a 9.9 for her double twisting Yurchenko, but a hop back on the landing prevented her from scoring a 10.0 this time. The team finished with a 49.375, lower than their RQS and season average.

Alabama finished on bars and did everything they could to edge out Florida. They put up their highest score of the meet - a 49.550. They had four gymnasts go 9.9 or higher, with Kiana Winston and Katie Bailey putting up 9.95s. It was especially nice to see senior Lauren Beers back in the lineup, and she scored a solid 9.825.

Despite Alabama efforts, Florida matched them on floor. Strong performances came through from McMurtry, Sloan and Baker, all of whom hit 9.9 or higher. The competition then came down to the final competitor for Florida - Bridgette Caquatto. Caquatto needed a 9.85 at least in order to beat Alabama. She had a couple of questionable landings which made everyone uncertain about which way it would go. 

After a long wait for the judges to verify scores, Florida came out on top, with Caquatto scoring a 9.875 to clinch the victory. 

​Final Scores - Combining the Two Sessions

​After combining scores from the two sessions, Florida came out on top with a 197.775. Alabama finished just behind them with a 197.750, followed by LSU with a 197.500, and Auburn with a 196.975. Georgia finished in 5th place with a 196.850, followed by Arkansas with a 196.500, Kentucky with a 196.250, and Missouri with a 195.750​

Florida's Kennedy Baker won the all-around with a 39.650. The high score on vault was a 9.95, achieved by Georgia's Brandie Jay, Alabama's Mackenzie Brannan, and Florida's Kennedy Baker. The high score on bars was a 9.95, achieved by teammates Katie Bailey and Kiana Winston from Alabama. The high score on beam was a 9.95, achieved by Florida's Alex McMurtry. The high score on floor was a 10.00, achieved by LSU's Ashleigh Gnat.

Related:
SEC Championship Session 1 Results: Georgia on Top
SEC Championship Session 2 Results: Florida is victorious