BATON ROUGE — LSU’s gymnastics team was ranked ninth in the nation in the annual preseason coaches poll, released on Jan. 1. UCLA grabbed 20 first-place votes and the countries No. 1 ranking, while SEC foes Georgia and Alabama were voted second and third, respectively.
The Lady Tigers schedule features eight of the nation’s top-25 teams, including four top-five teams in Georgia, Alabama, No. 4 Utah, and No. 5 Nebraska. LSU will also face eighth-ranked Florida and 16th-ranked Denver at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, while meeting No. 22 Kentucky and No. 25 Maryland on the road.
The Lady Tigers return eight letterwinners, including All-Americans Lauren Companioni and Kristin Uransky, from a team that won the NCAA Central Regional Championships and finished eighth in the nation a year ago.
LSU begins the 2003 campaign Fri., Jan. 10 at the Bahamas Breeze Invitational and will open the home schedule Jan. 31 against Denver.
2003 Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Rank Points (First-place votes)
1. UCLA 752 (20)
2. Georgia 712
3. Alabama 702 (5)
4. Utah 695 (4)
5. Nebraska 645 (1)
6. Michigan 627 (1)
7. Stanford 570
8. Florida 492
9. LSU 486
10. Arizona 444
11. Minnesota 407
12. Oklahoma 388
13. Oregon State 355
14. Iowa 336
15. Arizona State 333
16. Denver 332
17. Washington 268
18. Iowa State 257
19. Penn State 222
20. Missouri 144
21. West Virginia 138
22. Kentucky 92
23. Brigham Young 89
24. North Carolina 65
25. Maryland 62