BATON ROUGE — The third-ranked LSU gymnastics team closes out its three week home stand Friday when it welcomes No. 7 Georgia to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for a 7 p.m. dual meet.
The top-10 showdown will be broadcast by FOX Sports Net on a tape delay basis. The first airing is scheduled for Sat., Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. (CT).
“We want to continue to do the same things,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “We want to take everything random out of our gymnastics, stay focused and just do what we do in practice everyday. That has been good enough so far and has allowed us to enjoy a lot of success.”
The Tigers (4-3, 2-1 SEC) are the winners of two straight, having posted the highest score in the SEC (197.250) and two convincing wins over No. 15 Michigan State and No. 13 Arkansas in that span.
LSU has been led by all-arounders April Burkholder and Kelly Phelan. Burkholder, who is ranked 23rd in the nation in the all-around this week, won consecutive individual titles against Alabama and Michigan State, while Phelan posted the first all-around win of her career last week against Arkansas.
Georgia enters the meet with an 8-1 overall record and a 3-1 mark in conference action. The reigning SEC champions are coming off their first loss of the season, narrowly falling to Florida, 195.725-195.600, last week in Athens.
The Gym Dogs posted a season-high 195.850 in their win over Kentucky three weeks ago and are averaging a 195.480 in five meets this season.
“I expect Georgia to come in here and have a great meet. They always do,” said Breaux. “Something about our arena and our team brings out the best in our opponents. Both Florida and Arkansas had their best meets here and I expect that once again. We are just going to have to be that much better.”
The Gym Dogs lead the all-time series with the Tigers 49-14-2, a mark that includes a 9-4-1 record in the Maravich Center.
“I think it is going to come down to sticking landings and who is the most prepared team at this point in the season,” added Breaux.
Following the Georgia meet, LSU hits the road for the first time in nearly a month traveling to Lexington, Ky., Feb. 18 and Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 20 for dual meets with No. 17 Kentucky and No. 23 Ohio State.
Tickets for the LSU vs. Georgia meet can be purchased in person at the LSU Ticket Office, over the phone at 1-800-960-8587 or on the internet at www.LSUsports.net. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 3-12. In addition, all those presenting a ticket stub from Thursday’s LSU vs. Tennessee women’s basketball game will get in for just $1.