BATON ROUGE — The LSU gymnastics team will compete at 2 p.m. CDT in Session I of the Preliminary Round of the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics National Championships held April 22 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“We haven’t seen this team’s best performance since a dual meet with Florida at midseason,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “We have trained hard, we have pushed, and we have let injuries heal. Now, it’s just so mental. It’s between the ears.”
Coming off a second-place finish at the NCAA Region IV Championships held Saturday in the Maravich Assembly Center, LSU looks to meet its season-long goals at this season’s championships.
“It’ll take hitting to advance,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “No rotation is any easier than the other. Because of the crowd factor, it may be a little quieter in the afternoon session and won’t be as hostlie of an environment. There kids just have to decide to put a meet together.”
Also paired with the Tigers in afternoon session are PAC-10 opponents Arizona State, Stanford and UCLA, along with Southeastern Conference rival Alabama and West Virginia.
The evening session includes host Utah, Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Michigan and Penn State, beginning at 9 p.m. CDT. The top three teams from each session advance to the Super Six finals to be held Friday, April 23 at 9 p.m.
The Individual Event Finals will be held Saturday, April 24, and will include the top four finishers from each of the two preliminary sessions on each of the four apparatuses.
LSU is making its 12th appearance in the championships, held annually for the past 18 years. This is the Tigers’ third consecutive trip and its fourth to Salt Lake City for the NCAA Championships.
The Tigers’ highest national finish came in Salt Lake City in 1988 when LSU finished fourth.