BATON ROUGE ? Despite falling to Florida this past weekend, the LSU gymnastics squad found themselves moving up in the national rankings to No. 5.
LSU scored their second highest score of the season against Florida, but still lost, 197.925-196.325. The Tigers’ score in that meet helped their regional qualifying score, jumping from a 195.871 to a 195.885.
The regional qualifying score (RQS) is used to determine which teams compete in regionals and where they will compete. Qualification for regional competition is based on a team’s and an all-around competitor’s six best regular-season-meet scores, of which three must be away. To obtain the regional qualifying score (RQS), the high score is eliminated and the remaining five scores are averaged.
Georgia (196.870), Utah (196.645) and Florida (196.480) held the top three spots once again. LSU’s opponent this week, Alabama, is not in the rankings after placing fourth last week. The Crimson Tide has not competed in enough away meets for an RQS at this point. Michigan moved up to the fourth spot with an average of 196.295.
LSU, Oklahoma (195.840), Stanford (195.590), Oregon State (195.485), UCLA (195.470) and Arkansas (195.445) round out the top 10 in this week’s polls.
LSU also jumped in some individual events, placing fourth on the vault (49.150) after placing fifth last week. They also found themselves higher on the bars and floor. The Tigers jumped to No. 4 on the bars with a 49.045 RQS. The squad placed fifth on the floor with an RQS of 49.065. The team held their ground on the beam, staying at No. 13 with a 48.645.
Individually, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney jumped to the No. 1 spot in the all-around this week. Her RQS of 39.430 is slightly higher than No. 2 Anna Li (39.375) of UCLA.
Clare-Kearney also holds the No. 1 spot on the vault with an average of 9.930. The junior from Manchester, Conn. jumped to No. 6 on the bars with an average of 9.865. She is tied for No. 13 on both the beam (9.820) and the floor (9.845).
Also making their way into the national rankings were Susan Jackson and Kristi Esposito. Jackson, a sophomore from Spring, Texas, placed No. 9 in the all-around with a 39.120. She is currently tied for No. 16 on the vault with a 9.840. She is also tied for No. 21 on the floor (9.810). Esposito, LSU’s lone senior from Slidell, La., is tied for No. 9 on the beam with an RQS of 9.825
The Tigers continue their SEC slate on Friday, Feb. 22 when they host Alabama in a dual meet at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The action will begin at 7 p.m. (CT). The meet will be the first annual Etta James Memorial Meet, in honor of former LSU linebacker Bradie James’ mother who succumbed to breast cancer in 2002. Donations received at the entrances will go to Foundation56 and so will a sizable donation if 7,500 fans attend the meet.
Rank Team Name Team RQS
1 Georgia 196.870
2 Utah 196.645
3 Florida 196.480
4 Michigan 196.295
5 LSU 195.885
6 Oklahoma 195.840
7 Stanford 195.590
8 Oregon State 195.485
9 UCLA 195.470
10 Arkansas 195.445
11 Nebraska 194.930
12 Denver 194.925
13 Missouri 194.880
14 Auburn 194.710
15 Arizona State 194.415
16 Penn State 194.385
17 North Carolina State 194.335
– Arizona 194.335
19 Michigan State 193.920
20 Ohio State 193.910
21 Illinois-Champaign 193.750
22 Kent State 193.560
23 West Virginia 193.155
24 Iowa 193.110
25 Minnesota 193.020