TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The LSU gymnastics team fell short in its bid for its first Super Six appearance, as the Tigers finished fifth in the day session of the NCAA Championships Thursday at the Coleman Coliseum.
The Tigers came up with their highest score ever at the NCAA Championships, posting a 195.850, but were unable to overcome the field of the afternoon session which boasted five of the top eight teams in the nation. The top five teams in the competition came within one point of each other.
“I’ve walked away from this competition disappointed in previous years but that simply isn’t the case this time,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “I felt like we had a great meet and did just about everything we possibly could have. We really didn’t make any mistakes, maybe a few minor things, but nothing that would have cost us. We got beat today by teams that competed near perfect and threw an extremely high amount of difficulty.”
Utah won the afternoon session followed by Georgia and Nebraska, as the top three finishers advanced to Friday evening’s Super Six at 7 p.m.
Michigan finished fourth, followed by LSU and Arizona. Utah, a team LSU beat earlier this season, posted a score of 196.775, Georgia finished with a 196.650, while Nebraska came up with a score of 196.575. Michigan registered a 196.175, while Arizona came up with a score of 194.975. The remainder of the Super Six field was to be determined Thursday night.
The Tigers opened the competition with a respectable showing on bars, posting a 48.750 under tight scoring. Kristin Uransky led the charge with a 9.80, while Marina Degteva was just behind with a 9.775. Beth Boudreaux added a 9.75, while Brooke Cazeaux and Nicki Arnstad came up with scores of 9.725 and 9.70 respectively to get the Tigers off on the right foot.
Breaux knew that heading to beam, her team could not afford to count a fall and her team listened to her message as the Tigers performed admirably. The Tigers hit all six routines and came up with a solid 48.800 on beam and headed to a bye with their two toughest events behind them. After a trio of 9.7s from Lauren Companioni, Brooke Cazeaux and Jade Jenkins, LSU turned it up a notch.
Boudreaux came up with a 9.75, while Arnstad followed with a team-best 9.85 before Rebecca Lightsey put together a solid routine and recorded a 9.80, enabling the Tigers to drop a 9.7.
The Tigers had a two-event total of 97.550 At the same time, however, Nebraska, Utah and Georgia were all off to very fast starts. Nebraska and Utah shared the lead after two rotations with identical scores of 98.375, while Georgia was third with a score of 98.200.
In a very tightly contested competition, all six teams were within one point at midway point of the meet. As was the case in their victory at the NCAA Central Regional Championship two weeks earlier, LSU turned it up a notch as it went to floor.
Arnstad capped off a near perfect rotation with a 9.925 as the Tigers got back into the competition with a 49.375 on floor. Companioni received a 9.90 while Boudreaux capped her collegiate career with a 9.875. Rachel Franzella and Degteva added scores of 9.85 and 9.825 respectively as the Tigers hit on all cylinders.
Arnstad ended up sharing the title in the event while Companioni finished third. The Tigers had a three-event total of 146.925, but still trailed the lead pack by half a point heading into their final rotation.
LSU came up with a 48.925 on vault, but it was not enough to catch the leaders, as the Tigers closed the books on their 2002 season. Degteva led the way with a 9.85, while Arnstad capped her day with a 9.80 to close out a strong outing for the senior All-American.
Arnstad came up with a score of 39.275 to finish eighth in the all-around. Both Arnstad and Companioni qualified for individual finals on floor on Saturday night.
“Nicki and Lauren were nothing short of fantastic and I’m glad they’ll get another shot on Saturday night,” added Breaux.
LSU will lost six seniors off the 2002 squad, as Arnstad, Boudreaux, Adrienne Couret, Degteva, MacEachern and Sharene Mamby all graduate.
“It’s been a fantastic run with this class, they are a very special group,” said Breaux. “I wish they could have ended their careers in the Super Six, but it doesn’t take away from what they’ve accomplished as athletes and as people.”
Final Team Scores (unofficial)
| VAULT | BARS | BEAM | FLOOR | Totals | |
| Utah * | 49.100 | 48.950 | 49.450 | 49.275 | 196.775 |
| Georgia * | 49.200 | 49.000 | 49.300 | 49.150 | 196.650 |
| Nebraska * | 49.300 | 49.150 | 49.050 | 49.075 | 196.575 |
| Michigan | 49.225 | 48.525 | 49.200 | 49.250 | 196.175 |
| LSU | 48.925 | 48.750 | 48.800 | 49.375 | 195.850 |
| Arizona | 48.825 | 48.750 | 48.475 | 48.975 | 195.025 |
* Advanced to Super Six Finals
red text indicates meet-high team score
LSU individual scores only
Vault: 1. Marina Degteva, 9.850; 2. Nicki Arnstad, 9.800; 3. Lauren Companioni, 9.775; 3. Kristin Uransky and Shanyn MacEachern, 9.750; 6. Adrienne Couret, 9.725.
Bars: 1. Kristin Uransky, 9.800; 2. Marina Degteva, 9.775; 3. Beth Boudreaux, 9.750; 4. Brooke Cazeaux, 9.725; 5. Nicki Arnstad 9.700; 6. Sharene Mamby 9.350.
Beam: 1. Nicki Arnstad, 9.850; 2. Rebecca Lightsey, 9.800; 3. Beth Boudreaux, 9.750; 4. Lauren Companioni, Brooke Cazeaux and Jade Jenkins, 9.700.
Floor: 1. Nicki Arnstad, 9.925; 2. Lauren Companioni 9.900; 3. Beth Boudreaux, 9.875; 4. Marina Degteva, 9.850; 5. Rachel Franzella, 9.825; 6. Brooke Cazeaux, 9.800.
All-Around: 1. Nicki Arnstad, 39.275.
Event Champion (afternoon session only)
Vault: Cory Fritzinger (Georgia) and Marline Stephens (Georgia), 9.925
Bars: Julie Houk (Nebraska), 9.900
Beam: Shannon Bowles (Utah) and Theresa Kulikowski (Utah), 9.950
Floor: Nicki Arnstad (LSU) and Calli Ryals (Michigan), 9.925
All-Around: Theresa Kulikowski (Utah), 39.600