BATON ROUGE — Following a second straight 197.000-plus performance the LSU gymnastics moved up one spot to No. 6 in the latest national rankings released on Monday.
The Tigers bumped their regional qualifying score (RQS) from a 196.350 to a 196.455 to leap frog Nebraska, who dropped from No. 5 to No. 7 in the standings.
Florida (197.425) regained its No. 1 national ranking, knocking off Georgia (197.385) who jumped into the top spot last week. Alabama (196.980) and Stanford (196.610) held steady at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, while Utah (196.455) climbed to No. 5.
The Tigers maintained their positions among the top 15 on each of the four individual events. LSU held steady at No. 2 on the vault, jumped two spots to No. 4 on the floor and slipped slightly to No. 11 on the bars and No. 15 on the beam.
Individually, junior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney made the biggest leap in the national rankings. The Manchester, Conn. native moved up 10 spots to No. 4 in the all-around with a RQS of 39.450. She also held on to her No.1 ranking on the vault for a fifth straight week with a NCAA-best RQS of 9.965.
Also in the all-around rankings are seniors Kelly Phelan and Nicki Butler. Phelan is listed at No. 15 with a RQS of 39.335, while Butler is 19 th with a 39.300.
Both athletes also have individual event rankings to their credit as Phelan is listed at No. 14 on the floor (9.885) and No. 15 on the vault (9.890) and Butler is sixth on the vault (9.910).
Also in the rankings is sophomore Lauren Klein. She sits as No. 5 in the country on the floor with a RQS of 9.915.
The Tigers return to action this Friday when they close out the regular season dual meet schedule at Centenary.
National Rankings ? March 19, 2007
Rank
Team
RQS
1
Florida
197.420
2
Georgia
197.385
3
Alabama
196.980
4
Stanford
196.610
5
Utah
196.480
6
LSU
196.455
7
Nebraska
196.420
8
UCLA
196.380
9
Oregon State
196.185
10
Oklahoma
196.120
11
Michigan
196.060
12
Arkansas
196.025
13
Penn State
195.905
14
Arizona
195.855
15
Auburn
195.700
16
Denver
195.685
17
Iowa State
195.635
18
Missouri
195.520
19
Michigan State
195.405
20
Illinois-Champaign
195.090
21
Ohio State
195.020
22
Minnesota
194.675
23
North Carolina State
194.610
24
West Virginia
194.600
25
Kentucky
194.535