BATON ROUGE — Another solid vault performance in its win over Illinois last Friday kept the Tiger gymnastics team ranked No. 1 nationally on the event, while they slipped one spot to 15th in the overall standing released Monday.
LSU sits atop the vault standings for a second straight week with a 49.283 season average. They are also listed among the top 25 on the bars and floor, improving one spot to No. 11 on the bars (48.750), while dropping five positions to No. 25 on the floor (48.442).
The Tigers top-ranked vault squad is anchored by a quartet of athletes that are all ranked individually among the nation’s top 25 on the event.
Junior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney leads the way with a No. 2 national ranking after averaging a near-perfect 9.950 through three meets this season.
Senior Nicki Butler is also listed among the top 10, coming in at No. 8 with a 9.883 average.
In addition, junior Emily Ellis and senior Kelly Phelan are tied at No. 24 with identical 9.842 averages.
As a team, LSU slipped slightly in the overall team standings with a 194.267 season average after posting a 193.850 against the Fighting Illini.
Florida remains as the nation’s top-ranked team for the second straight week, averaging a 196.742 on the year. The Gators hold a slim lead over No. 2 Georgia (196.675), while Utah (196.525), Stanford (196.233) and Alabama (195.675) round out the top five.
The Tigers return to action this Friday when they open up the SEC schedule with a dual meet against No. 14 Arkansas at 7 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
National Rankings ? Jan. 22, 2007
1. Florida 196.742
2. Georgia 196.675
3. Utah 196.525
4. Stanford 196.233
5. Alabama 195.675
6. UCLA 195.660
7. Nebraska 195.462
8. Oklahoma 195.313
9. Iowa State 195.150
10. Auburn 195.000
11. Denver 194.925
12. Michigan 194.812
13. Oregon State 194.600
14. Arkansas 194.575
15. LSU 194.267
16. Arizona 194.025
17. West Virginia 193.975
18. Kent State 193.837
19. Penn State 193.692
20. Kentucky 193.575
21. Michigan State 193.537
22. Missouri 193.492
23. Ohio State 193.437
24. North Carolina State 193.350
25. BYU 193.217