GAINESVILLE, Fla. – For the fourth time in six weeks the 14th-ranked LSU gymnastics team heads back on the road to take on No. 4 Florida at 6 p.m. CT Friday in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
LSU is looking to carry the momentum from last week’s 196.125-195.050 victory against Kentucky into the meet against the Gators, while Florida will try to bounce back after losing 197.725-196.900 at Alabama.
Fans can listen to the meet live for free by logging on to www.LSUsports.net/live, and live updates will also be provided on Twitter @LSUgym and www.Facebook.com/lsugym.
“We want to continue to keep improving, moving in a forward direction and building better and stronger performances and scores,” head coach D-D Breaux said. “Our team has a tremendous amount of potential, and if we show up with the right mindset in the meet, the sky is the limit.”
LSU (2-6, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) enters the meet ranked in the top 25 in all four events, highlighted by a No. 7 ranking on vault. The Tigers also rank 12th on floor, 23rd on bars and 24th on beam.
Last week LSU received a positive jolt with the addition of Maliah Mathis into the floor lineup for the first time this season. Against Florida the Tigers will welcome back Sarie Morrison who has missed the last two meets after having minor foot surgery. Morrison is expected to compete on bars only this week, and the coaching staff and athletic trainers will keep an eye on her progress next week to see if she can compete on more events.
“Sarie has been extremely supportive of her teammates while she has been sidelined, and that’s the kind of leadership we need,” Breaux said. “To have her back in the lineup is huge because she is a real competitor and it adds a potential 9.9 to bars. We’ll see when we can get her back in the other lineups because she is very anxious to get it going.”
The team built momentum in last week’s win against Kentucky when several LSU gymnasts established season highs. Rheagan Courville became the third LSU freshman to win SEC Freshman of the Week honors for her performance against the Wildcats, joining Lloimincia Hall who won it against Auburn and Jessie Jordan who received the award after the Georgia meet.
Courville tallied season highs in the all-around (39.450), bars (9.875) and beam (9.925) against Kentucky.
Kaleigh Dickson posted a season-best 9.85 on floor, and Lainie Fleming and Mckenzie Fox both earned season-high 9.75’s on bars. Randi Lau tallied season-high 9.80’s on both beam and floor, and Jessie Jordan scored a season-best 9.80 on bars.
Lloimincia Hall tied her season high on beam with a 9.80 while Maliah Mathis tied her season high on vault for the third straight week with a 9.85.
LSU is facing a Florida team led by four all-arounders – juniors Ashanée Dickerson and Marissa King, sophomore Alaina Johnson and freshman Kytra Hunter. All four have scored a 39.475 or higher in the all-around, paced by Dickerson’s 39.600 and Johnson’s 39.575.
As a team Florida ranks second on bars and beam nationally, seventh on floor and 10th on vault.