BATON ROUGE — The No. 8 LSU Tigers gymnastics team wrap up a busy weekend when they travel to Shreveport, La. on Sunday to face Centenary. The meet will start at 2 p.m. at the Gold Dome.
LSU enters the meet with an 8-4 record, after crushing Michigan State, 197.775-196.200, Friday in a dual meet at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The score was the second-highest team score in LSU history. Junior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney posted perfect 10.0 scores on the vault and floor for the Tigers.
Centenary is 2-5 on the season. Last season, Centenary competed in the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate Championships in Seattle, Wash. Mandy Bennett, Julia Cornelius, Courtney Hawkins and Meredith Smith, who are all on this year’s Centenary squad, contributed significantly last season.
The meet will be used by LSU as a way of improving upon their regional qualifying score for seeding purposes heading into the upcoming SEC and NCAA Regional Championships.
“The Centenary meet will be a test of perseverance for our team,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “It will show who has the fire burning in their belly. We only have a few fans that travel up there, and it is a tough place to compete. We need to get a good road score to help our RQS.”
Clare-Kearney, the Tigers leading performer on the season, is No. 2 in the national all-around rankings with an RQS of 39.475. She also holds the No. 2 on the vault with an RQS of 9.930. Additionally, she ranks eighth on the beam with a 9.850, 11th on the bars with a 9.820 and 14th on the floor with a 9.860.
Susan Jackson is also nationally ranked, placing No. 11 in this week’s all-around standing with an RQS of 39.215. The sophomore from Spring, Texas is also tied for No. 17 on the vault with a 9.855.
In addition to the Tigers’ all-around performers, senior Kristi Esposito is currently tied for No. 18 on the beam with a 9.825.
LSU holds an outstanding all-time record against Centenary. The Tigers have defeated Centenary in 25 out of 26 meets, with the lone loss occurring in the 1984 season. Last year, the Tigers walloped the Ladies, 196.800-191.400, in Shreveport, La.
Following Sunday’s meet, the Tigers will return to LSU for their regular season home finale against Washington at 7 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.