BATON ROUGE — LSU’s ninth-ranked gymnastics team returns to action this Friday when it takes on Iowa at 7 p.m. in UI’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Tigers are coming off a fourth-place finish at the season-opening Super Six Challenge last week, a meet that saw them notch a 194.075 despite inconsistent performances on the beam and floor.
This meet will serve as the season opener for the Hawkeyes. They enter the competition unranked in the Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing the 2006 campaign with a 4-17 record and failing to advance to a NCAA regional meet.
“At this point is the season this is just another meet for us,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “We could be competing against (defending national champion) Georgia, but our goals wouldn’t change. We are looking to improve on our team score from the first meet and find some consistency in our lineup.”
The Tigers will likely change up the lineup slightly from the first meet due to a sprained ankle suffered by freshman Susan Jackson in practice and several members of the team recovering from a illness that has run through the squad this week.
“Everyone has been sick,” said Breaux on her team’s health. “But the upside of that is that we have still managed to work hard and train through it. Friday we’ll compete the athletes that are healthy and ready to go.”
Jackson’s ankle sprain will open three spots in the lineup from a week ago as she competed on the bars, beam and floor at the Super Six Challenge.
Athletes looking make their season debuts against Iowa include senior Lisa Rennie and freshman Yvette Triay. Rennie, a two-time All-American on the bars, could see action on that event as well as the beam, while Triay could make her collegiate debut on the floor.
Freshman Sabrina Franceschelli could also see additional competition this week. The Roslindale, Mass., native competed on just the vault at the Super Six Challenge, but could be in as many as three events this week.
Following the Iowa meet LSU returns to Baton Rouge where it will open the home schedule Friday, Jan. 19, against Illinois.