BATON ROUGE — LSU’s sixth-ranked gymnastics team will have one final tune-up for next week’s SEC Championships when it closes out the regular season dual-meet schedule this Friday against Centenary at 7 p.m. in the Gold Dome.
A live internet audiocast of the meet will be available online at www.LSUsports.net to members of the GeauxZone. Award-winning sports broadcaster Lyn Rollins will handle the play-by-play duties, while former Tiger gymnast Megan Durning and Jewel Pollock will provide analysis.
This meet will be crucial for Tigers who are looking to improve upon their national rankings for seeding proposes heading into the upcoming SEC and NCAA Regional Championships. LSU is still counting a pair of 195.000-plus road scores in their regional qualifying score (RQS). A mid-196.000 or higher could improve their RQS by over two-tenths of a point and move them into the top five.
“We are going into this meet with a focused frame of mind because we need to improve our RQS,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “With our inability to get to the Masters Classic last month this meet takes on a whole new level of importance.”
The Tigers missed out on competing in the Masters Classic in Lincoln, Neb., on Feb. 25 because of inclement weather in the Dallas area and were forced to give up on an opportunity for a possible high road score that could have been used towards their RQS.
“At this point we control where we go for the postseason with our regional qualifying score,” Breaux. “Friday not only do we have to compete against Centenary, but we have to keep in mind that we are competing against everyone in the country.”
LSU’s task against Centenary is in its favor as it holds a 24-1 all-time series lead over the Ladies, a record that includes a 7-1 mark in Shreveport, with the Tigers lone loss coming during the 1984 season.
The Tigers have scored 197.000 or higher in three of its last four meets and will again eye that benchmark.
Leading the way for the Tigers will be all-arounders Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, Kelly Phelan and Nicki Butler. All three are ranked in the top 20 in the country and have proven they can score well above 39.000.
Centenary counters with USAG All-Americans Kristina Menne, Meredith Smith and Julia Cornelius.
Following the Centenary meet, LSU will get ready for the SEC Championships that will take place on Saturday, March 31, in North Little Rock, Ark., at Alltel Arena.