On the morning of the University of Alabama gymnastics meet against Florida, head coach Dana Duckworth was on her way to the gym when the Black Eyed Peas’ single, “I Got a Feeling” came on the radio. Duckworth took that as a sign that the night would be a good night.
No. 6 Alabama defeated No. 3 Florida 197.825–197.425 in its annual Power of Pink meet, which is dedicated to honoring those affected by breast cancer and to bring awareness to the cause.
“I get a ‘Minute with Maxwell’ every day,” Duckworth said of the video program that promotes mentoring and coaching. “My ‘Minute with Maxwell’ pops up on my email, and guess what the word of the day is? Power.”
Duckworth said she thought the instances weren’t coincidences. She said she also noticed moments such as the quote recited by senior Aja Sims prior to meet, “There is no fear in love,” that convinced her that the competition would go well.
“It just started right, and the ladies were comfortable,” Duckworth said. “They were relaxed. Did we do perfect? No. And we talked about that. Don’t worry about perfect, stay present. They went from one routine to the next, mistake or not, move forward, didn’t let anything bother them.”
This win improved Alabama’s record to 26-0 for the annual Power of Pink meet in Coleman Coliseum. With an attendance of 14, 423, Alabama competed in its best meet of the season.
“When we have fun, we make it easy,” Duckworth said. “When we put so much pressure on ourselves, then we start to self-destruct.”
Alabama scored its season-best 49.400 on the uneven bars after struggling against Auburn the week before. Sims earned a 9.800 in the meet against Florida after earning 9.100 against Auburn.
Junior Kiana Winston received a standing applause from the crowd after earning a perfect 10.000 on her floor routine. This was the first perfect 10 of the season.
“I feel amazing,” Winston said. “It was just good to go out there and just trust my training and have all my sisters behind me and everyone else in the crowd. It felt really good to just go out there and do my gymnastics for someone else.”
Duckworth said she was proud when watching Winston perform. Winston scored a 39.700 all-around.
“My favorite part about watching Kiana is that she was free,” Duckworth said. “She was just free doing what she loves, and there was no doubt she was going to do a great job.”
While senior Amanda Jetter earned a 9.850 on her floor routine, she also praised Winston on the 10.000 performance. Jetter said Winston does 10.000 routines frequently in practice.
“She’s such a hard worker, and she comes in with a smile on her face every day,” Jetter said. “Even though, I’m a senior, I look up to Kiana because of her hard work and dedication.”
Duckworth said she noticed the team’s confidence improve as the night went on.
“If the ladies don’t have confidence now, I’m not quite sure how we can gain it because I am so proud of what we are doing right now,” she said.
Alabama will travel to Lexington, Kentucky, on Feb. 10 to compete against No. 10 Kentucky at 6 p.m.