BATON ROUGE — Fresh off a season-high 196.800-195.825 victory over Florida the 11th-ranked LSU gymnastics squad will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on fifth-ranked Alabama Friday at 7:30 p.m. CST in Coleman Coliseum.
LSU (7-2, 2-2 SEC) is coming off season-high team scores on bars (49.425) and beam (49.300) against the Gators in the Tigers victory. Alabama (3-2, 1-2) will face LSU after posting a season-high 197.025 at home against No. 22 Denver on Feb. 6.
“The pressure is on, and we are approaching the time of the season where everything counts,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “The kids realize the importance of the competition, so I expect them to compete with confidence like we did at home. That’s where we are in our season, and that’s what I expect. I want a mature, get-the-job-done attitude.”
LSU will enter the meet against the Crimson Tide with positive momentum as several Tigers posted season and career highs last week against Florida. Senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney earned SEC Gymnast of the Week honors after scoring a season-high 39.625 all-around score and an SEC-leading 9.975 mark on floor. Junior Susan Jackson captured two individual titles with a 9.90 on vault and a season-best 9.925 on bars.
Freshman Gloria Johnson set two career-highs with a 9.850 on vault and a 9.80 leading off on beam. Sophomore Samantha Engle posted a career-high 9.875 on bars and tied her career mark on beam with a 9.85. Junior Sabrina Franceschelli scored her career-high on beam with a 9.85 and tied her career-best on bars with a 9.85. Sophomore Staci Schwitkis scored a season-high 9.875 on bars.
Junior Summer Hubbard posted a season-high 9.80 on floor while junior Kayla Rogers led the Tigers off with a career-high tying 9.90.
As a team Alabama ranks first nationally on beam with a 49.245 average, and the Tide ranks seventh on bars and eighth on vault. Alabama is 13th on floor.
Individually, junior Ricki Lebegern has posted Alabama’s highest all-around score with a 39.425, and she is ranked 12th nationally in the all-around with a 39.300 average. Junior Morgan Dennis is ranked ninth on vault with a 9.885 average while freshman Ashley Priess is ninth on bars with a 9.865 average and 10th on beam with a 9.860 mark.
Tigers fans can listen to the meet live for free on the Geaux Zone beginning at 7:30 and can follow live stats on www.LSUsports.net.