BATON ROUGE — The LSU gymnastics squad fell to No. 8 in this week’s national rankings, after slightly losing to Alabama, 196.300-196.125, last Friday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Despite dropping in the rankings, the Tigers’ RQS jumped from 195.885 to 196.000 after scoring their third-highest score of the season.
Georgia (197.055), Utah (197.030),Florida (196.760) and Michigan (196.615) held the top four spots for the second straight week. Alabama, unranked last week due to a lack of road meets, is now fifth with an RQS of 196.265.
Oklahoma (196.020), Stanford (196.010), LSU, UCLA (195.945) and Oregon State (195.700) round out the top 10 in this week’s polls.
LSU held their ground on the vault, placing fourth (49.220) for the second straight week. The Tigers slipped to No. 8 on the bars with a 49.075 RQS. The squad dropped two places to seventh on the floor with an RQS of 49.065. They also fell two spots on the beam, coming in at No. 15 with a 48.760.
Individually, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney fell one spot to No. 2 in the all-around this week with an RQS of 39.475.
Clare-Kearney also holds the No. 2 spot on the vault with an RQS of 9.935. The junior from Manchester, Conn. came in at No. 8 on the beam with an average of 9.850. She is tied for No. 11 on bars with a 9.820, and she is tied for No. 14 on the floor with a 9.860.
Susan Jackson fell in the all-around rankings with a 39.215. The sophomore from Spring, Texas, is tied for No.17 on the vault with an RQS of 9.855.
Additionally, Kristi Esposito, a senior from Slidell, La., is tied for No. 18 on the beam with a 9.825.
The Tigers continue their home stand on Friday, Feb. 29 when they host No. 19 Michigan State in a dual meet at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The action will begin at 7 p.m. (CT). Following that meet, the Tigers will travel to Shreveport, La. on Sunday for a 2 p.m. (CT) meet against Centenary.
Rank Team Name Team RQS
1 Georgia 197.055
2 Utah 197.030
3 Florida 196.760
4 Michigan 196.615
5 Alabama 196.265
6 Oklahoma 196.020
7 Stanford 196.010
8 LSU 196.000
9 UCLA 195.945
10 Oregon State 195.700
11 Arkansas 195.585
12 Auburn 195.510
13 Denver 195.415
14 Missouri 195.205
15 Nebraska 195.005
16 North Carolina State 194.860
17 Arizona State 194.815
18 Arizona 194.710
19 Michigan State 194.490
20 Penn State 194.385
21 Boise State 194.230
22 Ohio State 194.080
23 Iowa 194.070
24 Kent State 194.050
25 Illinois-Champaign 194.025