BATON ROUGE — After three straight home meets the No. 3-ranked LSU gymnastics hits the road for the first time in nearly a month when it travels to Lexington, Ky., Friday for a dual meet with No. 20 Kentucky.
“This meet is going to be all about the process and staying in the zone,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “I feel like the team has been under a microscope since the Florida meet so we’ve made a concerted effort this week to take the pressure off and try to relax a little bit.”
Since the Florida meet on Jan. 14 the Tigers have faced four straight top 20 opponents, posting a 3-1 record, while averaging a 196.900 in that span. The stellar four week stretch has catapulted the Tigers 17 spots in the national rankings to their current position of No. 3.
“The girls have had a tough competition schedule and a tough week in the classroom. I feel like they are a little distracted and tired right now,” said Breaux. “This weekend will be good in that it will allow us to get away and relax. We need to just go in and take care of business.”
The Tigers’ business includes posting a solid road score that can be counted towards the team’s regional qualifying score (RQS) which will be used in determining next week’s national rankings.
A team’s RQS is calculated by taking its top six scores of the season, with no more than three of those scores coming from home meets. The high score of the six is then dropped and the remaining five scores are averaged to achieve the final RQS.
With just two road meets under their belts this year a solid performance over the weekend will help LSU maintain its place among the nation’s elite.
The Tigers will look to do that against a 4-4 Kentucky team that is coming off a 195.525-193.825 loss to Alabama last week in Tuscaloosa. The Wildcats have posted a season high score of 195.525 and are averaging a 194.187 over five meets.
LSU holds a 49-3-0 all-time series lead over UK, a mark that includes a 10-2 record in Lexington.
Following the Kentucky meet, the Tigers will have just a day of rest before taking to the floor again, traveling to Columbus, Ohio, for a dual meet with No. 22 Ohio State on Sunday.