SEATTLE — After one final practice at the University of Washington’s Bank of America Arena Friday afternoon, the 14th-ranked LSU gymnastics is ready to challenge some of the nation’s elite competition Saturday, as it contends for a position at the national championships here at the NCAA West Regional Championships.
“This team is at the best that it has been all season,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “If we come in ready and compete hard like we did at the SEC Championships this team has the ability to be one of the 12 teams worthy of a position at the national championships.”
LSU will be challenged by some of the countries top competition as No. 2 Nebraska, No. 11 Washington as well as Boise State, Cal State Fullerton and San Jose State are all vying for a spot at the NCAA Championships to be held in Lincoln, Neb., April 24-26. The meet’s top two teams as well as top-two-all round competitors not on a qualifying team will advance to the national meet.
LSU has already faced the Cornhuskers and the Huskies once this season, meeting them both at the Masters Classic in Lincoln, Neb., on Feb. 23. The Tigers finished third behind both Nebraska and Washington at that meet.
“We didn’t have as good of meet as we would have liked when we were in Lincoln earlier this year,” said Breaux. “Because of that and how much we have improved from that point in the season I think those things give the team some additional motivation to come out and compete hard this weekend.”
The Tigers will relay on a talented crop of underclassmen as well as its few upperclassmen to pace the squad at tomorrow’s meet. April Burkholder, the SEC Freshman of the Year, enters the meet as LSU’s top all-around threat. She has recorded a 39.000 or better in eight of her last nine all-around appearances, including a school record setting performance (39.875) three weeks ago in Shreveport.
For the upperclassmen, lone senior Brooke Cazeaux will pace the Tigers on the uneven bars, while junior Lindsay Beddow will be a solid threat on both the bars and beam.
LSU looks to make its fourth trip to the NCAA Championships in the past five years. Last season, the Tigers won their first NCAA Regional title in 16 years, taking home the Central Regional crown at home in Baton Rouge, to advance to the national meet.
In tomorrow’s meet the Tigers will compete in Olympic order, opening up competition on the vault before sitting out with a bye, competing on the bars and beam, sitting out for one final bye and then concluding the competition on the floor exercise.
Action from UW’s Bank of America Arena and the NCAA West Regional Championships will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST).