BATON ROUGE — A season-high performance wasn’t enough for the ninth-ranked LSU gymnastics team to knock off No. 1 Florida Friday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as the Tigers fell to the Gators, 197.200-197.050, in front of 3,320, the 12th largest crowd in program history.
“We did what we needed to do. We stayed on the floor until the last event with a team that is ranked No. 1 in the nation. All you can do is ask your kids to do their best and I think they did that tonight,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “They are ranked No. 1 for a reason and I think you saw that tonight. You can’t get better gymnastics than you saw tonight.”
Florida’s freshman Amanda Castillo won the all-around title posting a score of 39.400. Senior Kelly Phelan led the way for the Tigers posting a 39.375 to tie for second with the Gator sophomore Corey Hartung.
Junior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney picked up two more event titles for the season, claiming top honors on the vault and floor. The Manchester, Conn., native won her seventh vaulting title in eight meets, notching a 9.950. She then added a 9.925 on the floor to grab the event crown.
“I’m excited about this team total,” Clare-Kearney said. “Our hard work is starting to pay off. We still haven’t showed all that we are capable of.”
Freshman Susan Jackson posted career-highs in all of her events as she notched a 9.875 on bars, 9.900 on beam and 9.850 on floor.
LSU opened the night on the vault posting a 49.350. Clare-Kearney led the way with her meet-winning 9.950. Senior Nicki Butler tied for second in overall scoring with a 9.900 and Phelan followed with a 9.850.
Freshmen Kayla Rogers and Sabrina Franceschelli posted identical scores of 9.825 marking career-highs for both Tigers.
In the second rotation, the Tigers notched a season-high 49.125 on the bars. Jackson and freshman Summer Hubbard led LSU’s scoring effort posting identical scores of 9.875 to tie for second in overall scoring.
This score marked the first career-high of the night for Jackson while Hubbard tied her career-high score. Butler rounded out the top scores with a 9.825.
After two rotations, the Tigers found themselves down, 98.575-98.475, as Florida had turned in scores of 49.275 on the vault and 49.300 on the bars.
Moving to beam in the third rotation, the Tigers added a season-high 49.275 to their team total.
Jackson led all Tigers on the event with her second career-high of the night as she posted a 9.900. Phelan and senior Lisa Rennie were just off Jackson’s pace as they both recorded season-highs by adding a pair of 9.875s.
The Tigers wrapped up the evening with a sensational effort on floor not having to count a score below 9.825, LSU tallied a 49.300. Florida countered with a 49.275 on the beam which was just enough to secure the victory for the Gators.
On the floor, Clare-Kearney’s meet-winning 9.925 led the way. Junior Kristi Esposito and Butler tied their season-high scores with 9.825s, while Jackson posted her third career-high of the night, 9.850.
Up next, the Tigers will travel to Lincoln, Neb., to participate in the Masters Classic on Sunday at 2 p.m.. Other teams include No. 3 Stanford, No. 8 Nebraska and No. 23 N.C. State.
TEAM RESULTS
1. Florida ? 197.200 (VT?49.300;UB?49.275;BB?49.275;FX?49.350)
2. LSU ? 197.050 (VT?49.350;UB?49.125;BB?49.275;FX?49.300)
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Winner plus all LSU competitors)
All-Around ? 1. Amanda Castillo (UF)?39.400; t2. Kelly Phelan ? 39.375; 4. Nicki Butler ? 39.350; 5. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney ? 38.925
Vault ? 1. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney ? 9.950; t2. Nicki Butler ? 9.900; t5. Kelly Phelan ? 9.850; t8. Kayla Rogers ? 9.825; t8. Sabrina Franceschelli ? 9.825; 12. Lauren Klein ? 9.275
Bars ? 1. Ashley Reed (UF) ? 9.900; t2. Summer Hubbard ? 9.975; t2. Susan Jackson ? 9.875; t6. Nicki Butler ? 9.825; t9. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney ? 9.775; t9. Kelly Phelan ? 9.775; 12. Lisa Rennie ? 9.650
Beam ? 1. Amanda Castillo (UF)?9.925; 2. Susan Jackson ? 9.900; t3. Kelly Phelan ? 9.875; t3. Lisa Rennie ? 9.875; t6. Sabrina Franceschelli ? 9.825; 10. Nicki Butler ? 9.800; 11. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney ? 9.275
Floor ? 1. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney ? 9.925; 5. Kelly Phelan ? 9.875; t6. Susan Jackson ? 9.875; t8. Nicki Butler ? 9.825; t8. Kristi Esposito ? 9.825; 11. Lauren Klein ? 9.775