IOWA CITY, Iowa — Fresh off a title at the Cancun Classic, the seventh-ranked LSU gymnastics team will travel to face Iowa and Southeast Missouri State at 7 p.m. Friday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Tigers enter the meet 3-0 after they posted a score of 194.900 to defeat No. 19 Boise State (193.700), No. 8 Michigan (192.700) and North Carolina (190.325) in Cancun on Jan. 2. This meet will serve as the season opener for Iowa while Southeast Missouri is 1-0 after defeating Illinois State, 191.725-191.525.
“We are going in with the same line-up that we used in Cancun, and with only three days of training after coming back, we have been focused on resting and trying to improve in the process of getting recharged,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “This will be a tough competition against very good Iowa and Southeast Missouri teams, and I am expecting our team to show some improvement. We expect to be sharper in our performances and have a little more confidence because our goal is to improve our score and our performances.”
The Hawkeyes, who are receiving votes in the preseason coaches poll, return 12 letterwinners from a team that finished 10-4-1 last season and placed sixth at the NCAA Regionals. Senior Jenifer Simbhudas leads Iowa as she was a first-team All-Big Ten selection a season ago.
Southeast Missouri, which is also receiving votes in the poll, was led by junior Rikara Turner against Illinois State Sunday as she claimed the all-around title by posting a 38.675 score. The Redhawks return 15 letterwinners from a team that finished 9-7 last season with a second-place finish in the Midwest Independent Conference. The Tigers hold an 8-1-0 all-time record against Southeast Missouri State with the last meeting coming in 1999 when LSU won, 194.500-192.425.
LSU was led at the Cancun Classic by senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney who took the all-around crown by winning three events ? vault, bars and floor. Clare-Kearney scored a 39.350 to win the all-around while juniors Sabrina Franceschelli (38.775) and Susan Jackson (38.650) finished second and third, respectively, to give the Tigers the all-around sweep.
Freshman Gloria Johnson also made an impressive debut in Cancun as she scored a 9.825 on vault and turned in a 9.675 score on beam to help the Tigers to victory.
Against the Hawkeyes, LSU holds a 7-1-0 all-time record, including last season’s home-opening victory for the Tigers, 195.550-191.525. LSU has won six straight against Iowa.
After the meet against Iowa and Southeast Missouri State, LSU will hold its home-opener Jan. 16 against No. 1 Georgia.