CANCUN, Mexico — The 10th-ranked LSU gymnastics team posted the highest season-opening score in school history Friday afternoon in claiming the Cancun Classic team title at the Hilton Golf and Beach Resort.
The Tigers notched an impressive 195.725 in the victory, topping the nearest competitor by over two full points. No. 15 Denver earned the meet’s runner-up honors with a 193.200. Minnesota (192.725) and Texas Woman’s (190.900) finished in third and fourth, respectively.
“What a great way to start the season,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “The energy at this meet was unbelievable. The ballroom was packed with people and lots of LSU fans. I think the team feed off that energy and wanted to put on a good show.”
The Tigers did just that posting impressive marks of 49.275 on the floor, 49.200 on the vault and 48.875 on the bars. LSU did stumble slightly on the beam, having to count a fall towards the team score to finish with a 48.375.
Individually, junior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney stole the show, nearly sweeping the meet’s individual honors. The Manchester, Conn., native ran away with the all-around crown, tallying an astounding 39.600 behind three marks of 9.900 or better. She also took home first-place honors on the vault (9.900), bars (9.900) and beam (9.875) and finished second on the floor (9.925).
Junior Lauren Klein climbed the awards podium as well, sharing the vault title as well as second-place honors on the floor with Clare-Kearney.
The Tigers also saw solid contributions from three members of the freshman class. Staci Schwitkis posted third-place finishes on both the vault (9.850) and bars (9.775). Nicole Lyons shared third-place honors on the bars with Schwitkis and Samantha Engle turned in a 9.850 on the floor.
Up next, the Tigers return to Baton Rouge where they open the 2008 home slate against Iowa on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.