GAINESVILLE, Fla. — LSU didn’t get the overall performance it had hoped for Friday, as the seventh-ranked Tigers notched a 195.275 to finish second in a tri-meet behind No. 2 Florida and ahead of No. 16 Penn State in front of 2,602 in the O’Connell Center.
Florida’s team score of 196.150 earned the Gators the team victory, while Penn State finished third with a 193.200.
“The girls are very disappointed,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “They thought they were rested going into this meet and I know they had much higher expectations than this. We blew an opportunity to get a great road score by not sticking some landings and being a little bit tentative.”
LSU senior April Burkholder won a three-way share of the all-around with Florida’s freshman standout Corey Hartung and another Gator in Ashley Reed. All three recorded identical marks of 39.225. Kelly Phelan and Nicki Butler, LSU’s other all-arounders, finished fourth and fifth with marks of 38.975 and 38.850, respectively.
LSU had its first competitor suffer a fall in three of its four events, a fact that Breaux said affected the rest of the lineup.
“That puts the rest of the lineup in a position to be very uptight and very tentative,” she said. “I think based on that alone we did a pretty good job of pushing through the night.”
This meet was set up differently than a normal dual meet, as with three competitors instead of two the Tigers’ rotation order consisted of bars, beam, floor and then vault.
The night did not start out well for the Tigers, as Kelly Lea, their first competitor on bars, fell in her routine. She earned a 9.100 to open the competition. LSU suffered no more falls that rotation, but no performance earned higher than a 9.775, which Lisa Rennie notched in the final spot.
The team received a 48.525 for their efforts. Florida recorded a 49.175 on vault and Penn State a 48.550 on floor in their respective first rotations. Those marks placed LSU in third after the opening events.
The Tigers moved to beam, where their first competitor, Christina Suhr, fell as well. However, several solid performances from the remaining gymnasts gave LSU a team score of 48.525 on the event, led by Burkholder’s 9.900 and Terin Martinjak‘s 9.875.
Those marks were enough to overtake second place from Penn State, who recorded a 48.675 on the vault. Florida maintained its lead with a 48.950 on bars.
LSU’s team mark of 49.025 on floor kept the Tigers in second place headed to the final rotation. Phelan, the nation’s top-ranked floor worker, led with a 9.875. Burkholder notched a 9.850 and Martinjak a 9.800 to follow.
Florida stayed at the top with a 49.125 on beam as Penn State held steady at No. 3 with a 47.925 on bars.
LSU recorded a 48.850 to close out competition in the vault. Ellis led all Tigers scorers with a 9.850. Florida’s 48.900 on floor and Penn State’s 48.050 on beam concluded the scoring for the evening.
The Tigers return home for their final regular-season meet Friday at 7 p.m. against UCLA in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
MEET RESULTS
Team Competition
UF — 196.150 (VT-49.175,UB-48.950,BB-49.125,FX-48.900)
LSU — 195.275 (VT-48.850,UB-48.525,BB-48.875,FX-49.025)
PSU — 193.200 (VT-48.675,UB-47.925,BB-48.050,FX-48.550)
Individual Scoring (winner plus all LSU competitors)
AA — t1. April Burkholder, Corey Hartung (UF), Ashley Reed (UF) — 39.225; 4. Kelly Phelan — 38.975; 5. Nicki Butler — 38.850
VT — 1. Tiffany Murry (UF) — 9.900; t2. Emily Ellis — 9.850; t6. Kelly Phelan, April Burkholder — 9.800; t8. Nicki Butler — 9.775; 16. Teri Gibson — 9.650; 18. Terin Martinjak — 9.275
UB — 1. Samantha Lutz (UF) — 9.875; t3. Lisa Rennie — 9.775; t6. Kelly Phelan — 9.725; t8. April Burkholder — 9.700; t10. Nicki Butler — 9.675; 14. Emily Ellis — 9.650; 17. Kelly Lea — 9.100
BB — t1. April Burkholder – 9.900; t2. Terin Martinjak — 9.875; t8. Lisa Rennie — 9.775; t10. Nicki Butler — 9.750; 14. Kelly Phelan — 9.575; t16. Christina Suhr — 9.200
FX — 1. Corey Hartung (UF) — 9.900; 2. Kelly Phelan — 9.875; t3. April Burkholder — 9.850; t6. Terin Martinjak — 9.800; t8. Emily Ellis, Kelly Lea — 9.750; 14. Nicki Butler — 9.650