GAINESVILLE, Fla.- The LSU gymnastics came up just short of its first victory over the Florida in Gainesville since 1990, finishing second to the Gators in a showdown of four nationally ranked teams Friday evening at the Stephen O’Connell Center.
No. 19 Florida came up with a 49.275 on the floor to rally in the final rotation to win the competition with a score of 195.400, while the sixth-ranked Tigers (11-3 overall, 2-2 SEC) came up with a 195.075. No. 11 Iowa State finished third with a score of 194.400 followed by No. 12 North Carolina State with 194.250.
“We didn’t have a great meet tonight,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “195 is a good score, but as a team we were inconsistent, particularly on the beam and on the vault.
The Tigers held the lead after three rotations, but headed to their weakest event to close the competition out while the Gators headed to their strongest event. The Tigers held a .425 advantage heading into the last rotation and managed a modest 48.625 behind scores of 9.80 and 9.775 respectively from sisters Kim and Kerry Descalapoulis, but Florida’s floor rotation was too solid.
LSU put itself in position to win following a 48.950 on the floor behind a trio of 9.85s from Nikki Arnstad, Beth Boudreaux and Stacey Wegener on the third rotation.
The Tigers opened the evening with a 49.100 on the bars behind a 9.90 from sophomore Beth Boudreaux. Abbey Burns and Brooke Cazeaux both came up with identical 9.825s to help the Tigers go over 49 on the bars for the sixth time in eight meets this season.
Boudreaux’s 9.90 was good enough to tie for the title in the event, her fourth title of the year in the event and sixth career title on the bars. But the tempo of the match changed when senior Stephanie Hyett, one of the Tigers’ strongest competitors on the vault, twisted an ankle on the bars.
Burns, who was slated to only compete in three events, stepped in for Hyett on the vault to complete the all-around with an impressive 39.125 to finish second.
“Abbey (Burns) did a great job for us tonight, stepping in for Stephanie (Hyett) and really remaining consistent over four events,” said Breaux.
The Tigers struggled on the beam in the second rotation, however. Burns came up with a solid 9.80, but after a pair of falls, Wegener salvaged a 48.325 for the Tigers with a composed 9.825 with the pressure on.
Wegener continued her torid pace, contributing high scores in three events for the fifth consecutive week, as she went 9.775 on the bars before her critical performances on the beam and floor.
LSU returns to action next Friday with senior night and the final home appearance for the Tigers’ seven highly decorated seniors as SEC rival Auburn comes to Baton Rouge.