Photo Gallery
(Photos by Rich Schmitt Photography)
LOS ANGELES — All-America performances by April Burkholder and Annie Gagnon still weren’t enough to catapult the LSU gymnastics team into the Super Six team finals Thursday at the NCAA Championships at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.
LSU scored an NCAA Championships all-time best 196.650 to finish fourth in the competition’s evening session and seventh overall. The Tigers’ finish marks their best at the national meet since the 1993 season when they also placed seventh overall.
“All we can do is all we can do,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “We can’t control the judges, but we can control our gymnastics and we did that tonight. This team fought hard, held their position and did everything they could.”
Defending national champion, UCLA, won the second session with a preliminary round-best 197.675. They will be joined by Alabama (197.325) and Utah (196.925) in tomorrow’s Super Six final.
Stanford, Florida and Georgia advanced to the team finals from the morning session as the Cardinal and Gators tied with identical marks of 196.850 and the Gym Dogs followed with a 196.775.
Individually, sophomore April Burkholder and junior Annie Gagnon were sensational for the Tigers. Burkholder, the SEC and Central Region Gymnast of the Year, earned first-team All-America honors for the first time in her career, tying UCLA’s Jeanette Antolin for second place in the all-around with a 39.600.
Burkholder was also named a first-team selection on the vault and beam which will adavnce her to Saturday’s individual event finals in those two events. In addition, Burkholder was recognized as a second-team All-America on the floor.
For the second consecutive year Gagnon earned All-America honors on the uneven bars. This year she added the accolades on the vault as well, posting a 9.900 to earn second-team recognition.
Beginning the meet on the balance beam, the Tigers put forth a solid effort scoring a 48.775 behind a team-best 9.875 by Burkholder. Freshman Kelly Phelan followed with a 9.775 and Gagnon notched a 9.750. After sitting out the second rotation with a bye, LSU moved to floor where it posted a 49.300. The Tigers recorded five scores of 9.825 or better as Burkholder led the way with a 9.900. 2002 All-American Lauren Companioni added a 9.875 and freshmen Lisa Rennie and Kelly Phelan a pair of 9.850s.
The Tigers were exceptional on the vault in the fourth rotation, recording a 49.300. Burkholder once again paced the squad with her 9.950 effort to tie for first place in the session. Gagnon wasn’t far behind with a 9.900, while freshman Nicki Butler added a 9.850 and Rikki L’Heureux and Lindsey Thompson each posted 9.800s.
LSU sat out the fifth rotation with a bye before wrapping up the meet with an impressive 49.275 on the bars. Gagnon notched a team-best 9.900, while Burkholder followed with a 9.875.
Burkholder will wrap up the 2004 season for the Tigers Saturday evening at the individual event finals. Competition begins at 9 p.m. (CDT) from Pauley Pavilion.
TEAM RESULTS
Session I
1. Florida 196.850
1. Stanford 196.850
3. Georgia 196.775
4. Nebraska 196.150
5. Oklahoma 195.750
6. Iowa 194.775
Session II
1. UCLA 197.675
2. Alabama 197.325
3. Utah 196.925
4. LSU 196.650
5. Michigan 196.500
6. Arizona St. 196.300
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS — Session II (Winner plus all LSU competitors)
Vault – t1, Kate Richardson, UCLA, 9.950. t1, April Burkholder, LSU, 9.950. t1, Annabeth Eberle, Utah, 9.950. t5, Annie Gagnon, 9.900. t15, Nicki Butler, 9.850. t29, Rikki L’Heureux, 9.800. t29, Lindsey Thompson, 9.800. 43, Kelly Phelan, 9.250.
Bars – 1, Jamie Dantzscher, UCLA, 9.975. t9. Annie Gagnon, 9.900. t11, April Burkholder, 9.875. t17, Katherine Hilton, 9.850. t22, Nicki Butler, 9.825. t22, Rikki L’Heureux, 9.825. t22, Lisa Rennie, 9.825.
Beam – t1, Jeana Rice, ALA, 9.900. t1, Ashley Kelly, 9.900. t1, Elise Ray, 9.900. t4, April Burkholder, 9.875. t19, Kelly Phelan, 9.775. t26, Annie Gagnon, 9.750. t32, Terin Martinjak, 9.725. t37, Megan Durning, 9.650. t41, Lisa Rennie, 9.225.
Floor – t1, Jeanette Antolin, UCLA, 9.950. t1, Melissa Vituj, Utah, 9.950. t6, April Burkholder, 9.900. t11, Lauren Companioni, 9.875. t16, Kelly Phelan, 9.850. t16, Lisa Rennie, 9.850. t31, Terin Martinjak, 9.825. 39, Brittany Brown, 9.775.
All-Around – 1, Jeana Rice, ALA, 39.650. t2, April Burkholder, LSU, 39.600. t2, Jeanette Antolin, UCLA, 39.600.