FORTH WORTH, Texas – The 25th-ranked LSU gymnastics team will square off against fifth-ranked Alabama, No. 10 Nebraska and Missouri in the Metroplex Challenge Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT in the Fort Worth Convention Center.
Live audio of the meet will be available in the Geaux Zone on www.LSUsports.net/live, and live scoring updates will be provided on the LSU gymnastics Twitter page @LSUgym and on www.Facebook.com/lsugym.
LSU (0-3) is looking to improve scores across the board and hit a 195 or higher for the first time this season, but the Tigers will once again be limited because of injuries.
All-America senior Samantha Engle is still suffering from a sprained ankle, but coach D-D Breaux expects Engle to compete on bars for the second-straight week and possibly on beam as well.
LSU took another blow this week when freshman Sarah Zoldos sprained her ankle in practice. According to Breaux Zoldos might be able to compete on bars, but she will likely be out of the vault and floor lineups. Freshman Mckenzie Fox also injured her foot and will miss the meet.
Despite the setbacks, Breaux said the team has stayed focused and positive throughout practice all week, and several gymnasts have stepped up to replace the injured Tigers.
“What we are able to do with some of these kids being out is give different kids an opportunity to compete and get ready,” Breaux said. “We’ve seen a lot of positive energy in the gym this week, despite the fact we are down in numbers. We are not down in spirit. In fact, the kids are working harder to get better and improve.”
For many of the LSU freshmen, this meet will also serve as an introduction to competing on a podium where all four events are raised nearly four feet off the ground. Both the SEC Championship and NCAA Championships are held on podium, so the coaching staff wanted the youngsters to experience the different feel of the equipment early in the season.
“It’s huge to compete on podium against teams ranked ahead of us,” Breaux said. “The experience of practicing and competing on the podium is huge for our kids. They are inspired to improve, considering the competition we will face and the fact that we did not score as well as we wanted to last week against Florida.”
Several Tigers showed improvement on certain events against the Gators, including a handful of freshmen. Sarie Morrison scored season highs in the all-around (39.100), vault (9.875), beam (9.725) and floor (9.70). Maliah Mathis tied her high on vault with a 9.825 and improved her beam score with a 9.675. Zoldos posted highs of 9.80 on vault and 9.725 on floor, while junior Ashley Lee scored a 9.875 on vault and sophomore Janelle Garcia earned a 9.725 on beam.
Redshirt freshman Kaleigh Dickson improved her floor mark with a 9.725, and Engle tallied a 9.725 on bars.
Alabama (3-0) enters the meet coming off a season-best 196.325 in a win over Boise State, while Nebraska (1-2) and Missouri (1-2) are coming off losses to Utah and Iowa State, respectively.
Nebraska has posted a season-high team score of 195.450 this season, so they will be looking to bounce back. The unranked Missouri Tigers are similar to LSU in that they only have one senior on the roster and are loaded with youth, including four sophomores and six freshmen.
After the meet, LSU will return home for a three-week stretch of home meets beginning with BYU in the Maravich Center on Feb. 4.