BATON ROUGE — LSU’s eighth-ranked gymnastics team will take on a top-10 opponent for the third straight week as they host No. 10 UCLA on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The meet, the final home contest of the Tigers’ regular season, will also serve as Senior Night for LSU’s three seniors, Kelly Lea, Terin Martinjak and April Burkholder.
The trio, along with former Tiger and current team manager Megan Durning, will be recognized prior to the meet and then again during the meet’s final rotation.
“It will be my pleasure to honor these seniors for the tremendous contributions they have made to this program each and every year they have been here,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “To have a group of seniors that has been so strong, both academically and athletically, in their four years here has been truly remarkable.”
Burkholder will leave LSU as the most decorated athlete in Tiger gymnastics history. She was named the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2003 before earning SEC Gymnast of the Year and NCAA Central Region Gymnast of the Year honors in both 2004 and 2005. In just three seasons, she has earned a school-record tying nine All-America honors and has been named to the All-SEC team on three separate occasions.
Martinjak has been an integral part of the Tigers’ vault, beam and floor lineups since arriving at LSU. A 2005 All-America selection on the beam, she has won nine individual event titles, been ranked among the nation’s 25 on several occasions and earned a share of the school records on the beam and floor having scored perfect 10.00s on both events.
Lea has been LSU’s lead off performer on the bars each of the last two seasons and has earned a spot in the vault and floor lineups as a senior. She has posted career-bests of 9.950 on the floor, 9.875 on the bars and 9.825 on the vault.
The three seniors will lead the Tigers (10-8) as they look to close out the regular season with a victory on their home floor.
UCLA has established itself as one of the nation’s most dominant programs in the last decade, having won five NCAA titles, including four in the last six years.
The Bruins enters the meet with a 16-4 overall record, but have not competed since March 5 when they finished second in a tri-meet featuring Stanford and San Jose State.
UCLA is ranked two spots below the Tigers with a regional qualifying score of 195.850 and has recorded a high score of 196.675, while averaging a 195.273 on the year.
The Bruins are led by Olympian Kate Richardson and freshman Kristina Comforte.
Richardson, the 2003 NCAA champion on the bars and beam, is ranked fifth nationally in the all-around with a RQS of 39.435. She is also listed among the top 15 on each of the four individual events.
Comforte is ranked 17th in the all-around with an RQS of 39.245.
UCLA holds a 15-2-1 all-time series advantage over the Tigers, including a perfect 4-0-0 mark in Baton Rouge. The two teams last met at the 2004 NCAA Championships where the Bruins defeated the Tigers, 198.125-196.650.
Following the UCLA meet, the Tigers travel to Birmingham, Ala., for the SEC Championships on Sat., March 25, at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex. LSU then returns home to host the NCAA Central Regional Championships at the PMAC on Fri., April 7.