BATON ROUGE – The 10th-ranked LSU gymnastics team will compete for a good cause as the Tigers take on No. 20 North Carolina State in the Fifth Annual Etta James Memorial Meet Friday at 7 p.m. CT in the Maravich Center.
LSU not only wants to post a great team score in the meet to boost the Tigers’ regional qualifying score (RQS), but the goal is also to raise money for Foundation 56/Soul Survivors, an organization created in 2007 by former LSU football star and current NFL player Bradie James after he lost his mother, Etta, to breast cancer in 2001.
All money raised for Foundation 56 during the meet is used to serve women in the local community.
Tickets to the meet are only $1 each and are available by logging on to www.LSUtix.net, calling the LSU Athletics Ticket Office at 225-578-2184 or by visiting the ticket office on the first floor of the LSU Athletic Administration Building or at the Maravich Center prior to the meet.
“The meet is a fabulous event, and we are looking forward to a big crowd coming out to show their support not just for LSU gymnastics but for the entire community,” head coach D-D Breaux said. “It’s important for us to focus and perform well to earn a high score, and I know the kids feed off a big, enthusiastic crowd.
“We had a super meet last week against Alabama in front of a great crowd, but we walked away knowing we could do better. The gymnasts are very excited about getting back in the arena and proving it this week.”
Last week, LSU (4-8) earned the second-highest score of the season and the best home mark with a 196.575 against Alabama, and the Tigers produced a season-high 49.350 on floor and a solid 49.100 on beam.
Rheagan Courville picked up her second SEC Freshman of the Week honor after she posted a 39.450 to win the all-around title against the Crimson Tide, and freshman Lloimincia Hall captured the floor title with a 9.95 to end the meet. Randi Lau had the best meet of her young career with 9.85’s on vault and beam and a 9.80 on bars.
LSU successfully completed 23 of 24 routines against Alabama with just one fall on beam, and the Tigers will try to go for a perfect 24 of 24 for the first time this season against North Carolina State.
LSU is a perfect 9-0 all-time against NC State, including a 3-0 record in the Maravich Center. The last time the teams tangled in Baton Rouge was the Second Annual Etta James Memorial Meet on March 7, 2009 when LSU won 197.150-195.725 in front of 6,170 fans, the second-largest home crowd in school history.
NC State (7-3) is led by sophomore all-arounder Stephanie Ouellette who earned season highs in the all-around (39.325), bars (9.90) and beam (9.825) last week. Five other Wolfpack gymnasts have produced 9.90 scores or better this season – Brooke Barr, Rachel Fincham, Diahanna Ham, Lane Jarred and Jess Panza.
Live video of the meet is available to Geaux Zone members at www.LSUsports.net/live, and fans can follow live stats on LSUsports.net and receive scoring updates on www.Facebook.com/lsugym and @LSUgym on Twitter.