SEATTLE – The ninth-ranked LSU gymnastics team is set to begin NCAA postseason competition when the Tigers compete at the Seattle Regional Saturday at 6 p.m. CT inside Alaska Airlines Arena.
LSU (10-11) will make its 30th NCAA Regional appearance, and the second-seeded Tigers will need to finish in the top two to qualify for a berth in the NCAA Championships.
LSU will face No. 1 seed and fourth-ranked Alabama, third-seeded Arizona, host and No. 4 seed Washington, fifth-seeded Iowa and six seed Central Michigan.
“The team is ready, focused and eager, and they know what’s at stake,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “We’ve had some pretty spirited practices in preparation for the regional. We had a great trip up here, and now it’s time to take care of business and get back to nationals.”
LSU will be competing in a familiar setting as the Tigers took on Washington and Seattle Pacific in Alaska Airlines Arena on Feb. 17, and LSU walked away with a tri-meet victory and the second-highest road score of the season with a 196.450.
The meet also marks the second time in school history LSU has competed in the Seattle Regional. LSU finished second in the 2003 regional in Alaska Airlines with a 195.700 to advance to the NCAA Championships.
LSU is seeking its 12th regional title, and the Tigers will compete in the same event rotation they did the last time LSU won a regional away from home – the 2009 Columbus Regional at Ohio State.
The Tigers will open the meet on a bye, move to floor, vault, bye, bars and end the meet on beam. It is also the same rotation LSU had at the SEC Championship on March 24 when a school-record four Tigers earned All-SEC honors.
Rheagan Courville, Lloimincia Hall, Jessie Jordan and Ashley Lee tallied All-SEC honors, and they lead an LSU team eager to get back to the NCAA Championships after the Tigers did not qualify last year for the first time in nine seasons.
Courville and Hall are ranked third nationally on vault and floor, respectively, and Courville also ranks eighth in the all-around, 19th on floor and 24th on bars. Hall is 19th in the all-around, and Jessie Jordan is 23rd in the all-around and 25th on beam. Sarie Morrison ranks 24th on bars and anchors a bars lineup that hit its stride late in the season with three straight meets of 49.125 or higher heading into the SEC Championship.
LSU has received outstanding contributions in three events from Kaleigh Dickson and Randi Lau, and Ashley Lee and Maliah Mathis have both provided great scores on vault and floor. Shelby Prunty has served as the leadoff performer on beam in four of the last five meets, and she has scored a 9.80 or higher each time.
Fans can listen to live audio of the meet free of charge in the Geaux Zone on www.LSUsports.net/live and receive live updates from @LSUgym on Twitter and www.Facebook.com/lsugym.