DULUTH, Ga. — Riding the momentum of a season-high 196.850 last week, the eighth-ranked LSU gymnastics team enters postseason competition when the Tigers compete at the SEC Championship at 3 p.m. CT Saturday inside the Gwinnett Arena.
The championship features all seven conference teams, and each team enters the meet ranked in the top 25, including five squads in the top 10.
Florida checks in as the No. 1 team in the nation with a 197.395 regional qualifying score (RQS). Alabama is third at 197.155, while Georgia is fifth (196.995), LSU eighth (196.550), Arkansas 10th (196.545), Auburn 15th (195.965) and Kentucky 24th (195.490).
“This is a high-pressure meet with a lot of quality competition,” head coach D-D Breaux said. “It truly is a golden opportunity to put our team in this environment now considering the NCAA Championships will be here in a few weeks, and I am very excited about the way our team is performing.
“We have done nothing but get better as the season has progressed, and I am counting on this event to be one more opportunity for us to get a little bit better.”
LSU (7-8) has been paced all season by a group of freshmen who have competed in the all-around, led by Rheagan Courville at No. 8 in the national all-around standings with a 39.435 RQS, Lloimincia Hall at No. 13 with a 39.355 mark and Jessie Jordan at 19 with a 39.280 RQS.
Courville also ranks second on vault, 17th on floor and 25th on bars, while Hall is fourth on floor and Jordan is 19th on beam. Sophomore Sarie Morrison is ranked 22nd on bars, leading the team with a 9.875 RQS. The Tigers have also counted on contributions from Kaleigh Dickson, Randi Lau, Ashley Lee, Maliah Mathis and Shelby Prunty.
LSU goes into the meet on the strength of six straight scores of 196.300 or better and three consecutive victories, and the Tigers will try to use that momentum to break a string of six straight finishes outside the top three at the SEC Championship.
The Tigers have posted great scores at the SEC Championship when it has been held in Duluth, earning a 197.275 to finish in third place in 2004, a 196.975 to place second in 2005 and a 196.500 in 2008, the first year LSU qualified for the NCAA Super Six Finals.
LSU will try to continue a streak of All-SEC performances as the Tigers have earned at least one All-SEC honor since 2002, including Morrison’s Second-Team All-SEC honor on vault at last season’s conference meet.
During the practice day Friday LSU participated in the competition draw that determines the rotation for each team during the meet. Senior All-American Ashley Lee drew for the Tigers, and she selected Bye 3, meaning LSU will open the meet on the bye before floor. The Tigers will compete on floor in the second rotation, then bye before vault, vault, bye before bars, bars and finally end the meet on beam.
The championship serves as one final opportunity for LSU to raise its RQS before the NCAA Regional selections are revealed Monday.
Live audio will be available free of charge five minutes before the meet at 2:55 p.m. at www.LSUsports.net/live, and fans can receive live updates at www.Facebook.com/lsugym and @LSUgym on Twitter.
ESPN will broadcast the meet on a tape delay basis, and the meet will first air on ESPN2 on March 29 at 7 p.m. and on ESPNU on April 2 at 7 p.m.