BATON ROUGE — The No. 5 LSU Tigers gymnastics squad will face Alabama Friday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center at 7 p.m.
The meet will be broadcast by COX Sports Television on tape delay basis. The broadcast is set to air on Saturday, March 1 at 4 p.m. and again on Friday, March 7 at 10:30 p.m.
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. James created Foundation56 in order to raise awareness of breast cancer in the Baton Rouge Metro Area. Donations received at the entrances of the meet will go to Foundation56, and so will a sizable donation if 7,500 fans attend.
In addition to this, fans who donate money will have the chance to win $1,000, and two fans will win “The Best Seats in the House,” which are seats next to Bradie James. Fans’ chances of winning will increase with the more money they donate.
“I think it’s a win-win situation for everybody in the Baton Rouge community,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “We have an opportunity to get the Foundation56 name out into the community and to associate our event with them. It’s going to generate a lot of positive energy and enthusiasm that will help us make this an annual event.”
LSU enters the meet with an 8-2 record, after falling to Florida, 197.925-196.325, last Friday in a dual meet at the O’ Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. Despite the loss, the Tigers broke season high scores on the vault (49.475) and on the bars (49.300). The score on the vault tied for the fifth-highest score in LSU history.
Alabama is 4-1 on the year and 3-1 in SEC action. They did not compete last week. Prior to that, they defeated No. 10 Arkansas, 196.775-195.950, on Feb. 8. They are unranked this week due to the lack of road meets for a regional qualifying score (RQS). However, the team was ranked No. 4 in last week’s polls. Individually, they are led by Kassi Price, who was No. 11 in the nation last week with an average score of 39.287 and Morgan Dennis, who was tied for No. 15 with an average score of 39.250.
“It’s always a tough meet against Alabama,” added Breaux. “They are a great team. I really have no predictions.”
The Tigers are led by All-SEC performer Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, a junior from Manchester, Conn. Clare-Kearney is No. 1 in the national all-around rankings with an RQS of 39.430. She is also ranked No. 1 on the vault with an RQS of 9.930.
In addition to Clare-Kearney, two other Tigers showed up in this week’s national rankings. Susan 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). Kristi Esposito, LSU’s lone senior from Slidell, La., is tied for No. 9 on the beam with an RQS of 9.825.
Alabama leads the all-time series with LSU, 75-12-2. The Tigers are 13-9-2 against Alabama in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. LSU’s last regular season victory against Alabama came on Feb. 8, 2002 when the Tigers defeated the Crimson Tide 196.925-196.575 at the Maravich Center.
Following the dual meet, the Tigers will continue their home stand when they face Michigan State on Friday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.