BATON ROUGE – The LSU gymnastics team received the No. 3 seed in the Athens Regional hosted by Georgia, the NCAA announced Monday.
LSU (5-13) is joined by No. 1 seed and sixth-ranked UCLA, No. 2 seed and eighth-ranked Georgia, North Carolina State, Maryland and West Virginia.
The NCAA regional will begin at 3 p.m. CT on April 2 in Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum.
This marks the 29th overall and 27th straight NCAA postseason appearance for the Tigers.
LSU also moved up one spot to No. 18 with a 195.530 regional qualifying score in the latest rankings released Monday by GymInfo, and for the first time this season the Tigers also checked into the top 25 in all four event rankings.
The Tigers advanced three spots to No. 15 in the vault rankings with a 49.105 RQS, moved up six spots on floor to No. 19 with a 49.040 RQS, checked in at No. 23 on beam at 48.720 and jumped into the bars rankings at No. 24 with a 48.855 score.
In the individual rankings, Sarie Morrison ranked 16th on vault with a 9.890 RQS after claiming All-SEC honors with a second-place finish on vault at the SEC Championship. Morrison also ranked 22nd on bars with a 9.870 RQS, while Maliah Mathis was 19th on floor with a 9.880 score.
The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships in Cleveland, Ohio, April 15-17, hosted by Kent State University and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.
The event winners at each regional will advance to the NCAA Championships (in that event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or an all-around qualifier.
LSU enters the NCAA Regional on the heels of a solid performance at the SEC Championship that saw the Tigers rally to score a 195.475 after opening the meet with a 47.925 on beam. The Tigers posted season highs of 49.350 on vault and 49.150 on bars.
The SEC Championship will air for the first time on ESPN2 on April 3 at 2 p.m.
Below is the entire field of 36 NCAA Regional teams selected to the six host sites.
Athens Regional – University of Georgia
1. UCLA
2. Georgia
3. LSU
4. North Carolina State
5. Maryland
6. West Virginia
Denver Regional – University of Denver
1. Florida
2. Arkansas
3. Boise State
4. Denver
5. Arizona
6. Brigham Young
Tuscaloosa Regional – University of Alabama
1. Alabama
2. Penn State
3. Illinois
4. Auburn
5. Central Michigan
6. Kentucky
Corvallis Regional – Oregon State University
1. Oregon State
2. Nebraska
3. Iowa
4. Southern Utah
5. San Jose State
6. Michigan State
Ann Arbor Regional – University of Michigan
1. Stanford
2. Michigan
3. Ohio State
4. Iowa State
5. Minnesota
6. Kent State
Norman Regional – University of Oklahoma
1. Oklahoma
2. Utah
3. Washington
4. New Hampshire
5. Missouri
6. North Carolina
GymInfo Top 25 – March 21, 2011
Rank, Team, Regional Qualifying Score
1. Florida 197.190
2. Alabama 197.120
3. Oregon State 196.770
4. Stanford 196.715
5. Oklahoma 196.695
6. UCLA 196.685
7. Utah 196.570
8. Georgia 196.535
9. Michigan 196.500
10. Nebraska 196.275
11. Penn State 196.210
12. Arkansas 196.060
13. Boise State 195.995
14. Illinois 195.925
15. Iowa 195.820
16. Ohio State 195.800
17. Washington 195.700
18. LSU 195.530
19. Denver 195.435
20. Arizona 195.430
21. Iowa State 195.325
22. Auburn 195.305
23. Minnesota 195.255
24. Kent State 195.245
25. Central Michigan 195.190