DENTON, Texas — LSU’s eighth-ranked gymnastics team stumbled on the bars and beam but still managed to walk away with the team championship Saturday at the Texas Woman’s quad meet, scoring a 194.050 at Kitty Magee Arena.
Utah State earned the meet’s runner-up honors, scoring a 192.875. Texas Woman’s was third with a 190.475 and Centenary finished with a 188.125.
“We went into this meet with the idea of getting several of the freshmen experience in the lineup,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “Today, in some cases those insertions turned out to be costly, but we need to get them the experience. The only way they will learn how to compete at this level is to compete at this level.”
Utah State’s Jessica Parenti won the individual all-around title with a 39.250. Junior Kelly Phelan, the Tigers’ only all-around performer of the afternoon, finished third with a 37.925.
LSU athletes either won outright or shared individual event titles on three of the four events as Nicki Butler took home top honors on the vault, Terin Martinjak finished first on the beam and Phelan won the floor.
LSU kicked off the meet with a season-high 49.025 effort on the floor exercise to take an early 1.125 team lead. All six Tigers posted season bests as Phelan led the squad with what would prove to be a meet-winning 9.925. Seniors Martinjak and Kelly Lea turned in scores of 9.850 and 9.800, respectively, while a pair of 9.725s by freshmen Lauren Klein and junior Lisa Rennie rounded out the scoring.
Moving to the vault for the second rotation, the Tigers added a 48.825 to extend their lead to 1.725. Butler topped all scorers with a meet-best 9.850. She was followed by sophomore Emily Ellis (9.825) and Phelan (9.750).
LSU stumbled slightly on the bars in the third rotation, notching just a 48.300. Seniors April Burkholder and Lea tallied the team’s top marks, scoring identical 9.775s. Ellis added a career-high 9.750 and Rennie turned in a 9.700.
The Tigers’ jitters continued onto the beam where they scored only a 47.900 after having to count two falls towards the team score. Martinjak, a 2005 All-American on the event, highlighted LSU’s efforts, notching a team-leading 9.850. Rennie followed with a 9.800 and Butler added a 9.775.
The Tigers return to action this Friday when they host the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center beginning at 7 p.m.
TEAM RESULTS
1. LSU — 194.050 (VT — 48.825, UB — 48.300, BB — 47.900, FX — 49.025)
2. Utah State — 192.875 (VT — 48.400, UB — 48.625, BB — 47.250, FX — 48.600)
3. Texas Woman’s — 190.475 (VT — 47.900, UB — 48.225, BB — 47.400, FX — 49.950)
4. Centenary — 188.125 (VT — 47.825, UB — 46.275, BB — 46.725, FX — 47.250)
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Winner plus all LSU competitors)
All-Around — 1, Jessica Parenti, USU, 3, 39.250. Kelly Phelan,
Vault — 1, Nicki Butler, 9.850. t2, Emily Ellis, 9.825. 5, Kelly Phelan, 9.750. 6, Amanda Morales, 9.725. 8, Terin Martinjak, 9.675. 24, Lauren Klein, 9.025.
Bars — 1, Courtney Arno, TWU, 9.850. t2, April Burkholder, Kelly Lea, 9.775. 8, Emily Ellis, 9.750. 9, Lisa Rennie, 9.700. t18, Kelly Phelan, Christina Suhr, 9.300.
Beam — 1, Terin Martinjak, 9.850. t3, Lisa Rennie, 9.800. 5, Nicki Butler, 9.775. t13, Christina Suhr, 9.350. 17, Lauren Klein, 9.125. t19, Kelly Phelan, 8.950.
Floor — 1, Kelly Phelan, 9.925. 3, Terin Martinjak, 9.850. t5, Kelly Lea, 9.800. t8, Lauren Klein, Lisa Rennie, 9.725. 13, Emily Ellis, 9.600.