MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A trip to the national championships will be on the line for the fifth-ranked LSU gymnastics team Saturday in Morgantown, W. Va., when it participates in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships at the WVU Coliseum.
The Tigers enter the competition as the field’s top-seeded team and will be joined by No. 8 UCLA, No. 17 Auburn, No. 22 North Carolina State, No. 24 West Virginia and No. 30 North Carolina. The meet’s top-two teams will advance to the NCAA Championships in Salt Lake City, Utah, April 26-28.
“I think this team understands the importance of the meet in that it is an all or nothing situation,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “This team does great gymnastics and if they come in and do that, this won’t be our last stop.”
LSU will be vying for its 19th trip to the NCAA meet, as well as its 10th regional title in program history.
The Tigers will lean on its stable of veteran performers to help get them to the national meet.
Leading the way will be the nation’s top-ranked all-arounder and vaulter in junior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney. The first-team All-SEC selection has won a team-leading six all-around and 26 individual event titles this season and enters the competition with a NCAA-leading RQS of 39.555.
On her heels are seniors Nicki Butler and Kelly Phelan.
Butler, who is ranked 25th nationally in the all-around and seventh on the vault, is a proven 39.300-plus performer that can contribute top marks on each of the four events.
Phelan has earned a No. 23 ranking in the all-around as well as top 25 status on both the vault and floor. Also an experienced regional competitor, she won last year’s NCAA Northeast Regional floor and all-around titles.
The trio will lead the Tigers as they begin competition on the bars, a rotation Breaux feels is one of the best for her team.
“This rotation really works to our advantage,” said Breaux. “If we can go out and start the meet with solid performances on the bars and beam, we have the opportunity to finish on the two events (floor and vault) where our scoring potential is the highest.”
Action from tomorrow’s regional championships will begin at 5 p.m.
A live audiocast of the meet will be available online at www.LSUsports.net to members of the GeauxZone.