Alabama's Luisa Blanco scores multiple 10s on Senior Night
On Senior Night, Luisa Blanco put on a show. The Alabama gymnast scored multiple 10s in her final home meet Friday night as the Crimson Tide won a quad against Illinois, Minnesota and Talladega College.
Blanco’s night started off with the vault, and she put together a strong performance with a one-and-a-half to record the fifth 10.000 of her career and her first in the event. It didn’t stop there, though. She ended the night with a strong floor exercise to get her first 10.000 in that event and the sixth of her college career.
That capped off an impressive showing for Blanco. She went 10, 9.9, 9.95 and 10 as she performed at home for the final time.
Blanco is nearing the end of her fifth and final season at Alabama, and she will soon turn her attention to the 2024 Summer Olympics. She will represent Colombia in Paris after wrapping up an impressive career with the Crimson Tide. Blanco has earned All-American selections each of the last three seasons, including first team championship honors in the uneven bars in 2023.
Her biggest year came in 2021, though, when she was a First Team Championship All-American in the all-around, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. At the NCAA championships that season, Blanco brought home three medals – bronze in the uneven bars, silver in the all-around and gold in the balance beam.
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Alabama has one more meet left in the regular season coming up next week against Oklahoma. Then, the Crimson Tide will get ready for the SEC Championships in New Orleans on March 23 to help set the table for the NCAA Regional Championships April 4-6.
After the season, Luisa Blanco will then turn her attention to the Olympics, which run July 26 through Aug. 11 in Paris. When she qualified in October 2023, she didn’t quite know what to say about the honor.
“Life doesn’t even feel real right now,” Blanco said. “I can’t really process what I just accomplished, but what I do know is that I did not do this alone. I wouldn’t have been able to go out with this level of confidence if it wasn’t for all the moments I’ve had competing with Alabama and representing the Script A.
“It takes a village to do something this amazing, and I just cannot thank my teammates, coaches and support system enough for their endless support toward my goals and for being such an influential part of my journey.”