BATON ROUGE — The No. 7 LSU Tigers gymnastics squad will square off against Kentucky Friday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in a 7 p.m. dual meet.
Tickets for the event are available online at www.LSUsports.net., over the phone at 225-578-2184 or in person at the LSU Ticket Office. The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 3-12.
Friday night will be “Soc Hop Night,” featuring ?50s themed music and games. Fans are encouraged to wear ?50s attire. In addition to this, root beer floats will be served at the concessions stands in special LSU stein mugs.
LSU enters the meet with a 5-1 record after falling to Georgia, 197.550-195.525, last week for their only loss on the season. Despite the defeat, the Tigers scored a new overall season high, as well as a new high on the beam with a score of 48.950. This meet will be the first home meet against an SEC opponent.
“It means a lot to be coming back home,” said head coach D-D Breaux. “I think our girls are excited to be back home. We have some real goals, as far as scores and performance that we need to reach this Friday.”
Kentucky is 1-2 on the year and 1-1 in SEC action. They lost to Alabama last Friday by a score of 196.300-193.525. Nationally, they are ranked No. 10 on the floor with a 48.858 average and No. 24 on the vault with a 48.508 average.
The Tigers are led by All-SEC performer Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, a junior from Manchester, Mass. Clare-Kearney is No. 2 in the national all-around rankings with a 39.481 average. She is also ranked No. 2 on the vault with a score of 9.925.
LSU will also be looking for strong performance from Susan Jackson. A sophomore from Spring, Texas, Jackson scored a career high 39.250 in the all-around last Friday against Georgia. Her score was good enough for third place in the all-around standings.
Against Kentucky, LSU has posted an all-time record of 56-3. Coming into this meet, LSU has won 23 straight meetings against the Cats, dating back to the 1996 SEC Championships. At home, LSU is 18-1 versus Kentucky, with the only loss coming during the 1996 regular season.
Following the Kentucky meet, the Tigers will compete in a tri-meet on Friday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center against 16th-ranked Auburn and West Virginia.