GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Talladega College women's gymnastics made its historic debut Friday night, January 12 on Equality Night at the University of Florida's Stephen C. O'Connell Center (O-Dome). The Tornadoes finished fourth in the quad meet, which was streamed live on SEC Network+.
Florida won the meet in front of 8,775 fans, with an overall score of 197.10, followed by George Washington (194.55), Fisk University (189.95) and Talladega (187.75).
It was the first meet in history to feature two Historical Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) with second-year program Fisk and first-year Talladega.
Twelve Talladega gymnasts competed in the Tornadoes' inaugural meet.
Alondra Maldonado posted the highest scores of the night for Talladega with a Top 10 finish at 9.825 in the floor exercise and a 9.775 on the balance beam.
Alexa Chuy was Talladega's only All-Around finalist with a 36.925 score, finishing sixth of six. She finished 11th in the floor exercise at 9.675. Krystin Johnson also had a Top 15 finish, placing 14th in the vault at 9.650.
"We were excited to get in the gym and show everyone what we have been working on," said Talladega head coach Aja Sims-Fletcher. "We had some early nerves but our young team competed well in a tough environment for their first collegiate competition. We saw some good difficult skills tonight and saw where we can improve. It's only up from here."
It's been 51 years since the University of Florida made its collegiate gymnastics debut, but the Gators made sure to make Talladega feel welcome. Florida Gymnastics released a one-minute video to highlight the historic accomplishment.
"Talladega, Gator nation is extremely honored to support you in your first gymnastics competition in program history," said UF head coach Jenny Rowland.
Talladega (0-3) will now travel to Nashville, Tennessee on Monday, January 15 to compete in the MLK Invitational, hosted by Fisk University at Vanderbilt University's Memorial Gymnasium. Live on
ESPN+, Talladega and Fisk will meet NCAA Division I programs Brown University, Rutgers University, William & Mary University and Iowa State University. It will be the first time ever in the sport an event has featured only African American women head coaches.
The event is set for 3 p.m., with gates opening at 2 p.m. Tickets for the event can be purchased by accessing links via Vanderbilt's athletics website
HERE. Reserved tickets in Sections A-E and Sections 2A-2E are available for $10-20, and general admission tickets can be purchased for $7-15. All college students showing a valid student ID will receive free admission. For those attending, here is the "Know As You Go" link
https://app.vucommodores.com/MLKinvitational
Parking for the event will be available for free in the 25th Avenue Garage.
TALLADEGA PERFORMERS
All-Around (AA)
6.
Alexa Chuy - 36.925 (9.20 V, 8.85 UB, 9.20 BB, 9.675 FX)
Vault (V)
14. Krystin Johnson, 9.650
21. Alex Chuy, 9.200
Uneven Bars (UB)
19. Krystin Johnson, 9.050
Balance Beam (BB)
Floor Exercise (FX)
