BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — LSU’s eighth-ranked gymnastics team put the finishes touches on its preparations for Saturday’s SEC Championships with a final workout at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena Friday afternoon.
The Tigers are set to face not only the conference’s best, but also the nation’s best, as each of the seven SEC schools are ranked among the nation’s top 20, including four in the top eight.
Two-time defending champions, Georgia, enter the meet with the nation’s No. 1 ranking and an unblemished 15-0 record. The Gym Dogs are followed by No. 3 Florida, No. 5 Alabama and LSU in the top 10. Auburn, Kentucky and Arkansas round out the field ranked 14th, 18th and 19th, respectively.
“This is the premier conference championship in the country,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “Between the level of competition and the intensity of the competition, I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a better gymnastics meet, outside of possibly the Super Six finals.”
LSU enters the meet with an 11-8 overall record and a 2-4 mark in conference action. The Tigers are coming a off a season-high 196.825 performance, that saw them defeat UCLA in the regular season finale.
“We had one of the most difficult schedules in the country this season, but I think that that has only helped prepare us for this meet and the remainder of the postseason,” said Breaux.
LSU will be in search of its first conference title since the 1981 season. The Tigers just missed out on a championship a year ago, finishing second to Georgia by .275 points.
“Last year we had a great competition, but we were let down and disappointed by the final standings,” said Breaux. “I think that has made us hungry this season.”
LSU will look to it veteran performers in its quest for a SEC title.
Two-time reigning SEC Gymnast of the Year, April Burkholder, will pace the Tigers’ effort. The senior enters the meet ranked seventh in the country in the all-around and has won a team leading seven all-around titles and 22 individual event crowns this season.
Fellow seniors Terin Martinjak and Kelly Lea are also expected to help anchor the squad. Martinjak, a 2005 All-American selection on the beam, is ranked nationally on both the beam and floor this season and has competed on the vault, beam and floor in every meet for the Tigers to date.
Lea has been critical part to the Tigers’ bars and floor lineups, serving as LSU’s leadoff performer on both events.
The senior trio will lead the Tiger squad as it begins competition on the beam on Saturday.
“The rotation is what it is,” said Breaux. “You have to do all the events at some point so you might as well get the most difficult one over with. We are just looking to get off to a solid start.”
Following the beam, the Tigers, will sit out with a bye before competing on the floor. They will then have another bye, compete on the vault, and then sit out with one final bye before wrapping up competition on the bars.
Action from the BJCC Arena is set to kick off at 6 p.m. (CT).
Following the SEC Championships, the Tigers will return to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for one final competition in 2006 as they are set to host the NCAA Central Regional Championships on Fri., April 7 at 6 p.m.