BATON ROUGE — Behind a meet-high 39.400 all-around performance by sophomore All-American Susan Jackson the Purple team defeated the Gold team, 195.225-193.700, Friday night at the LSU Gymnastics Practice Facility.
In all, the Tigers had five all-arounders above a 39.000. Jackson led the way, turning in top scores of 9.900 on the floor and 9.850 on the bars.
On her heels was junior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney who was just as impressive notching a 39.375. Highlights included a team-best 9.950 effort on the floor as well as 9.850 showing on the beam.
“People like Susan and Ashleigh who have competed at a high level have raised their level of competition even further and I think that has pushed everyone else to raise their level too,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux.
While Jackson and Clare-Kearney paced the two squads, several others were also impressive.
Sophomore Yvette Triay turned in a superb all-around performance, notching a 39.350 behind four scores of 9.800 or better.
Junior Lauren Klein tallied a 39.250, a total that included a near perfect 9.950 on the floor as well as a 9.900 on the vault.
Samantha Engle stood out among the freshmen class, combining for a 39.100 in the all-around, a total that included solid efforts of 9.850 on the beam and 9.800 on bars and floor.
Other top marks came from freshmen Staci Schwitkis (9.900) and Nicole Lyons (9.850) on the vault and sophomore Kayla Rogers on the beam (9.900).
“Tonight I thought the girls really rose to the occasion and competed,” said Breaux on her team’s overall effort. “We’ve had girls struggling in practice and tonight I thought they showed great strength of character. They showed they want to compete and do big skills.”
The Tigers begin the 2008 season in just under a month. They will travel to Cancun, Mexico, on Jan. 4 for the Cancun Classic.