LINCOLN, Neb. — After beginning the meet with a 48.525 on beam, the fourth-ranked LSU gymnastics team rallied to advance to the Super Six for the second straight season with a 196.300 to finish third in the NCAA Championships preliminary round Thursday at Nebraska’s Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The Super Six will be filled with SEC flare as No. 1 Georgia finished first in the meet with a 197.450, and Florida was second with a 196.375. Both teams will compete with LSU in the Super Six Friday at 6 p.m. CDT.
Stanford finished fourth with a 196.225 score, Penn State was fifth with a 196.100 and Oklahoma was sixth at 195.825.
Not only were gymnasts fighting for the opportunity to compete in the Super Six, but they were also competing for All-America honors. LSU broke a school record by having six gymnasts earn All-America honors and tied another school mark with 10 total honors. First-Team All-America status is determined by the competitors with the top four scores in the meet including ties, and Second-Team All-America status is determined by the competitors who finish fifth through eighth in an event or in the all-around.
Senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney earned three honors as she was a First-Team All-American on vault, bars and floor. Junior Susan Jackson earned First-Team All-American status as an all-around competitor as well as on vault, and Jackson was a Second-Team All-American on beam.
Junior Summer Hubbard tallied First-Team All-American honors on bars for the second straight season, and sophomore Staci Schwitkis earned her first All-America honors as she was a first-team selection on vault, marking the first time in LSU history that three gymnasts earned First-Team All-America honors on vault in one season.
Junior Sabrina Franceschelli scored a 39.250 to earn Second-Team All-America status in the all-around, and junior Kayla Rogers was named a Second-Team All-American on floor even though her floor music cut out while she was performing. Rogers finished her routine without music and managed to record a 9.85 to earn All-America status.
“We were at the bottom of the mountain holding our flag, and we had to fight tooth and nail to pull ourselves to the top of the mountain and plant our flag,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “Our girls rallied. They made some mistakes, but they answered the call.”
LSU (24-7) got off to a shaky start by posting a 48.525 score on beam in the first rotation. Freshman Gloria Johnson led off with a 9.70, and Franceschelli followed with a solid 9.775. Sophomore Samantha Engle scored an outstanding 9.85 mark which tied her career high. Hubbard suffered a fall and scored a 9.25, and Clare-Kearney tallied a 9.325 after a fall. Jackson finished the Tigers’ beam lineup with a 9.875.
On the floor exercise, LSU’s second event of the meet, Rogers performed the strangest routine of the season. About five seconds into Rogers’ routine, her floor music stopped, so Rogers was forced to continue her routine without the aid of music. It did not faze her as Rogers delivered a solid 9.85 to get the Tigers started.
Johnson scored a 9.650, and Franceschelli followed Johnson with a 9.825. Hubbard posted a 9.80, and Jackson tallied a 9.825. Clare-Kearney finished the event for LSU with a 9.90, her 10th score of 9.90 or higher on floor this season.
As a team LSU scored a 49.200 on floor, but the Tigers had much ground to make up as they were in last place after two events.
LSU pulled back within contention after the fourth rotation when the Tigers put up a season-high 49.450 team score. Rogers led off with a 9.825, and Franceschelli tied her career high with a 9.825. After Johnson scored a 9.775, Schwitkis stuck her landing and tied her career high with a 9.90. Jackson and Clare-Kearney both followed Schwitkis with incredible 9.95 scores to share the event title and give the Tigers momentum heading into their bye.
Before the Tigers walked out to compete on bars, they had a bye in the fifth rotation, and both Florida and Oklahoma finished their meets in that rotation. Oklahoma posted a 49.050 on vault to finish with a 195.825, and the Gators were tremendous on beam, scoring a 49.275 to finish at 196.375.
Heading into the sixth and final rotation, LSU trailed Stanford, 147.275-147.175, and the Cardinal were ending on floor while LSU wrapped up the meet on bars.
Stanford scored a 48.950 to finish with a 196.225, but the Tigers pulled out a 49.125 to move ahead with a 196.300 and clinch third place and a spot in their second-straight Super Six.
Schwitkis led off on bars, and for the first time all season she fell off and recorded a 9.175. Franceschelli followed with a 9.825, and Engle contributed a 9.80. Hubbard tallied a 9.875 in the fourth spot, and Jackson earned a 9.775. Clare-Kearney finished off the meet with a 9.875.
LSU will compete for its first team national championship Friday at 6 p.m. Live audio and live stats will be available on www.LSUsports.net, and a link to live video can also be found on LSUsports.net.
Four Tigers will compete in the individual event finals Saturday at 6 p.m. Clare-Kearney will attempt to win her first individual national championship as she will compete on vault, bars and floor. Jackson, the reigning national champion on vault, will attempt to earn her second straight title in the event. Schwitkis will also compete for a vault national title, and Hubbard will compete for a title on bars.
LSU ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney ? First-Team All-American (Vault, Bars, Floor)
Susan Jackson ? First-Team All-American (All-Around, Vault); Second-Team All-American (Beam)
Summer Hubbard ? First-Team All-American (Bars)
Staci Schwitkis ? First-Team All-American (Vault)
Sabrina Franceschelli ? Second-Team All-American (All-Around)
Kayla Rogers ? Second-Team All-American (Floor)
MEET RESULTS
Team
1. Georgia 197.450 (VT ? 49.300, UB ? 49.375, BB ? 49.550, FX ? 49.225)
2. Florida 196.375 (VT ? 48.900, UB ? 49.150, BB ? 49.275, FX ? 49.050)
3. LSU 196.300 (VT ? 49.450, UB ? 49.125, BB ? 48.525, FX ? 49.200)
4. Stanford 196.225 (VT ? 49.125, UB ? 49.175, BB ? 48.975, FX ? 48.950)
5. Penn State 196.100 (VT ? 49.100, UB ? 49.075, BB ? 48.900, FX ? 49.025)
6. Oklahoma 195.825 (VT ? 49.050, UB ? 48.675, BB ? 49.125, FX ? 48.975)
Individual (Includes first place and all LSU competitors)
All-Around ? 1. Courtney Kupets (UGA) 39.800; 4. Susan Jackson 39.400; 8. Sabrina Franceschelli 39.250; 18. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney 39.050
Vault ? t1. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney 9.95; t1. Susan Jackson 9.95; t4. Staci Schwitkis 9.90; t18. Kayla Rogers 9.825; t18. Sabrina Franceschelli 9.825; t31. Gloria Johnson 9.775
Bars ? 1. Courtney Kupets (UGA) 9.95; t4. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney 9.875; t4. Summer Hubbard 9.875; t13. Sabrina Franceschelli 9.825; t19. Samantha Engle 9.80; t33. Susan Jackson 9.750; 43. Staci Schwitkis 9.175
Beam ? 1. Courtney Kupets (UGA) 10.0; t5. Susan Jackson 9.875; t9. Samantha Engle 9.80; t24. Sabrina Franceschelli 9.775; 36. Gloria Johnson 9.700; t39. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney 9.325; 42. Summer Hubbard 9.300
Floor ? 1. Courtney Kupets (UGA) 9.95; t2. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney 9.90; t6. Kayla Rogers 9.85; t12. Susan Jackson 9.825; t12. Sabrina Franceschelli 9.825; t18. Summer Hubbard 9.80; 39. Gloria Johnson 9.65
NCAA Gymnastics Championships
Session I Quotes
LSU HEAD COACH D-D BREAUX QUOTES
Opening Statement
“It wasn’t easy. We have a rule or law that I tell the kids all the time, it’s the law of holes, when you find yourself in one, quit digging. That’s basically what we had to do because we were in such a deep dark hole after balance beam that it was just an uphill battle the entire time. I have to commend the effort of the kids because when you’re fighting like that there’s the added pressure if we make one more mistake we just can’t recover. They keep fighting back, and down to our first person on floor did her routine without her music. We had some bumps along the way and some obstacles and they continued to rally, continued to fight and there was a whole lot of fight in the tiger today.”
On making it to Super Six two years in a row …
“It is definitely a benchmark. It indicates we are doing a lot of things well. I have to commend our coaching staff and athletes because they have persevered and really hung in there. They have done the work all season long and have come to this point a second time. I have been in that position Stanford was in tonight. That position I was in tonight, I have been there many times. To be the team that is on top is pretty gratifying. It’s humbling but also a very gratifying feeling.”
On her speech in the locker room after her teams beam performance …
“By the time I got to the locker room, they were already having internal pep rallies. They were beginning to turn the corner and make the realization that everybody has to do all four events. I keep telling them, let’s make it a meet, and they did. I told them every team here is at the bottom of this mountain and we’re clawing our way to the top and you have to be able to sacrifice and get to the top, and that’s what they did. “
LSU JUNIOR SUSAN JACKSON QUOTES
On if there were any feelings of it being over after the first rotation …
“We definitely prepared ourselves for the big hole. We are very resilient and we are fighters, and we fought back. During the bye, we went back into the locker room with long faces, droopy faces, and then we were like, it’s not over. We have three more events and we just really need to fight back, and we did.”