Alabama Gymnastics to Battle for the 2014 NCAA Championships

Alabama, LSU, Florida, Oklahoma, Michigan, Penn State, Stanford, Georgia, Nebraska, UCLA, Illinois, and Utah.

Someday in the distant future when ESPN and naive ex-Northwestern quarterbacks are done trying to wreck college football, this might look like the College Football Playoff. But in 2014, these "football schools" will represent the nation's best women athletes who will be jumping, flipping, tumbling, and soaring through the air to grab the NCAA crown as Gymnastics National Championships.

These 12 teams all won their regions and will gather in Birmingham April 18-20 at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center (BJCC). Alabama will compete in the evening session on Friday, April 18 starting at 7 pm CT. They will compete against defending National Champion Florida, Utah, UCLA, Penn State, and Nebraska.

The early session starting at 1 pm CT on Friday is made up of LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma, Stanford, Michigan, and Illinois.

The top three teams from each semifinal will advance to the NCAA Super Six, which gets underway Saturday, April 19 at 6 pm CT (A-Day should be over by 3pm CT; plenty of time to catch a shower, get some dinner, and head over to the BJCC). Tickets can be purchased at www.gymnasticschamps.com.

"We had such amazing support from our fans at the SEC Championships and that gave our ladies a tremendous boost," Coach Sarah Patterson said. "We're looking forward to returning to Birmingham and competing for a national title in front of the best fans in the nation." (That's us! She's talking about us!)

The victory in Seattle gave Patterson the 1,000th win of her career. She is only the second coach in collegiate gymnastics to earn 1,000 wins and she is the fastest to reach that mark. Let's cheer her and the team on to Alabama's 7th NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships!

ROLL TIDE!

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Watch the Super Six Finals LIVE at ESPN3