BATON ROUGE- For the first time since 1997, the sixth-ranked LSU gymnastics team will host the No. 1 team in the nation when top-ranked Utah comes to the Maravich Assembly Center Friday night for a 7 p.m. tilt.
“We’re excited about the No. 1 team in the nation coming in here,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “We’re coming off a great performance against Georgia, I think our team has a certain confidence right now and we hope we’ll have a vocal crowd behind us to carry us over the top.”
The Tigers (4-1) have never beaten the perennial power, falling to them on four occasions in dual meets and 20 times overall. Utah (2-0) has won a total of 10 NCAA titles in its 24-year existence, the most of any women’s program and has never finished outside of the top 10.
Utah is the first No. 1 team to come to Baton Rouge since Georgia came here owning the top spot in 1997. The Tigers and Gym Dogs battled to a thrilling 196.425-196.425 tie before better than 4,000 spectators.
The Tigers moved up four places in the national rankings after nearly upsetting powerhouse Georgia in Athens on Sunday. The Tigers scored a season-high 196.225, losing by just .15.
The Utes enter the meet fresh off a pair of blowouts over Minnesota and Utah State in Salt Lake City. Friday evening’s meet will be the first road test of the year for Utah. The Utes bring four All-Americans to Baton Rouge including sophomore Theresa Kulikowski, the 1999 NCAA champion in the all-around and balance beam.
LSU will need a similar performance to last Sunday when it set season-highs on the beam and on the floor, while matching a season-high in the vault. Sophomore Beth Boudreaux came up with a pair of 9.90s on the bars and on the floor to lead the Tigers.
The Utah meet is the second of three consecutive dual meets with the nation’s elite. Following the Tigers’ showdown with the Utes, No. 2 Alabama comes to Baton Rouge next Friday evening.