BATON ROUGE — A school record tying 49.475 performance on the balance beam propelled the LSU gymnastics team to its highest score of the season as the Tigers dominated Arkansas, 196.700-193.475, Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
With the win LSU improved to 8-5 on the season and 2-3 in SEC action, while Arkansas dropped to 5-7 overall and 1-5 in the conference.
“I felt the team put forth a great effort tonight,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “I thought we showed real strength of character on the bars and I feel we showed improvement in all areas.”
Arkansas began the meet with a slight edge over LSU, scoring a 48.875 on the bars to LSU’s 49.725 on the vault. Despite the higher team score, Tiger freshmen swept the top three spots on the vault as Rikki L’Heureux recorded the first individual event title of her career with her mark of 9.850. April Burkholder followed in second posting a 9.825, while freshman Megan Durning turned in a 9.750 to tie with Arkansas’ Tiffany Berry for third.
LSU jumped into the lead in the second rotation, 97.900-97.400, scoring an impressive 49.175 on the uneven bars. The Lady Tigers again swept the events top-three spots as senior Brooke Cazeaux and sophomore Annie Gagnon tied for first place with identical marks of 9.850. A quartet of 9.825’s by LSU’s Lindsay Beddow, April Burkholder, Kelly Lea and Arkansas’ Tiffany Berry were good enough for third-place honors.
A school record tying 49.475 performance on the beam by LSU put the meet out of reach for Arkansas as the Tigers took a 147.375-146.275 lead heading into the final rotation. LSU had four athletes record career-high marks on the beam as each turned in a score of 9.900 or better. Durning, Terin Martinjak and Lauren Companioni tied for first-place honors posting near perfect 9.925s, while sophomore Jade Jenkins followed close behind with a 9.900 to finish fourth.
LSU concluded the meet with a stellar 49.325 performance on the floor exercise. Companioni won her first event title of the season on the event dazzling the crowd with her 9.925 performance, while freshmen Brittany Brown and Terin Martinjak tied for second with a pair of 9.875s.
The LSU gymnastics team returns to action Friday, March 7, when it hosts No. 7 Georgia in its final home meet of the 2003 season.
TEAM RESULTS
Total – LSU – 196.700, Arkansas – 193.475
Vault – LSU – 48.725, Arkansas – 48.525
Bars – LSU – 49.175, Arkansas – 48.875
Beam – LSU – 49.475, Arkansas – 47.200
Floor – LSU – 49.325, Arkansas – 48.875
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top three plus LSU finishers)
All-Around – 1, Dana McQuillin, UA, 39.050. 2, Hannah McLeod, UA, 38.500. 3, Tiffany Berry, UA, 37.825.
Vault – 1, Rikki L’Heureux, LSU, 9.850. 2, April Burkholder, LSU, 9.800. 3. Megan Durning, LSU, 9.750. 5, Lauren Companioni, LSU 9.725. 10, Brittany Brown, LSU, 9.575.12, Terin Martinjak, LSU, 9.200.
Bars – 1, Brooke Cazeaux, LSU, Annie Gagnon, LSU, 9.850. 3, Lindsay Beddow, LSU, April Burkholder, LSU, Kelly Lea, LSU, Tiffany Berry, UA, 9.825. 7, Rikki L’Heureux, LSU, 9.775.
Beam – 1, Lauren Companioni, LSU, Megan Durning, LSU, Terin Martinjak, LSU, 9.925. 4, Jade Jenkins, LSU, 9.900. 5, Lindsay Beddow, LSU, 9.800.
Floor – 1, Lauren Companioni, LSU, 9.925. 2, Brittany Brown, LSU, Terin Martinjak, LSU, 9.875. 4, Jade Jenkins, LSU, 9.850. 5, Megan Durning, LSU, Kelly Lea, LSU, 9.800.