BATON ROUGE — The LSU gymnastics found themselves at the No. 5 spot in this week’s national rankings, marking the third straight week the Tigers have been in that spot.
Last weekend, the Tigers finished first in a quad-meet against North Carolina State, North Carolina and George Washington in Raleigh, N.C. The Tigers scored a 196.500 in the meet.
The Tigers regional qualifying score rose from 196.580 to 196.695, giving them their final RQS before championship play.
Georgia (197.305) remained in the top spot, with Florida (197.090) jumping Utah for the second position. Utah (197.065), Michigan (196.825) and LSU are all in the top five for the third straight week.
Alabama (196.605), Oregon State (196.530), UCLA (196.465), Oklahoma (196.440) and Stanford (196.360) round out the top 10 in this week’s polls.
The Tigers jumped to the No. 2 spot on the vault with an RQS of 49.385. Last week, they placed fourth.
The Tigers stayed put at No. 4 on the bars with a 49.255. However, LSU slipped one spot on the floor to No. 5 with a 49.290. They also held their ground on the beam at No. 10 with an RQS of 49.065.
Individually, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney fell to No. 3 in the all-around this week with an RQS of 39.520. She was edged out of second by Kiara Redmond-Sturms of Oklahoma, who has an RQS of 39.530.
Clare-Kearney held her ground at No. 2 on the vault with a 9.955. She jumped to No. 11 on the beam with a 9.880. However, she did fall one spot to No. 7 on the floor with a 9.915. Her RQS of 9.885 on the bars ties her for tenth in the nation with six other athletes.
Susan Jackson fell in the all-around rankings to No. 17 with a 39.305. She is coming off her first all-around performance since posting a solid 39.525 at Centenary on March 2. The junior from Spring, Texas is tied for No. 5 in the nation on the floor with a 9.920. She is also ranked No. 12 on the vault with a 9.900.
Additionally, senior Kristi Esposito is tied for No. 24 on the beam with a 9.860. Sophomore Summer Hubbard made her debut in the polls this week, tying for No. 25 on the bars with a 9.855.
The Tigers next competition will be the SEC Championships on Saturday, March 29. The competition, held at the Gwinnett Center, will start at 3 p.m. (CT).
NCAA Gymnastics Rankings
Rank
Team Name
Team RQS
1
Georgia
197.305
2
Florida
197.090
3
Utah
197.065
4
Michigan
196.825
5
LSU
196.695
6
Alabama
196.605
7
Oregon State
196.530
8
UCLA
196.465
9
Oklahoma
196.440
10
Stanford
196.360
11
Arkansas
196.100
12
Auburn
195.905
13
Denver
195.880
14
Nebraska
195.565
15
Michigan State
195.560
16
Missouri
195.465
17
Boise State
195.405
18
Arizona
195.400
19
Kentucky
195.275
20
Iowa
195.200
21
North Carolina State
195.150
22
Penn State
194.925
23
Arizona State
194.920
24
Illinois
194.730
25
Minnesota
194.665