FORT WORTH, Texas – The second-ranked LSU gymnastics team will square off against some of the nation’s top teams when the Tigers compete at the Metroplex Challenge at 7 p.m. CT Saturday in the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena.
LSU (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) will compete against No. 1 Oklahoma (5-0), No. 8 Arkansas (1-2) and Iowa State (1-3-1) in what will mark LSU’s fourth appearance in the Metroplex Challenge in the last five seasons.
The matchup against Oklahoma is the first time LSU has been involved in a No. 1 versus No. 2 meet in the regular season since at least 1997.
The meet could also serve as a tune-up for the NCAA Championships that will be held in the convention center arena April 17-19.
Metroplex Challenge tickets will go on sale at the arena box office on Saturday at a cost of $25 per ticket.
Live audio of the Metroplex Challenge is available free of charge at www.LSUsports.net/live, and Mike Smith will call all the action Saturday night.
Live video will be streamed at http://www.gymnastike.org/ for all Gymnastike Gold members.
“This is an exciting meet and will be a great competition to get us ready for this tough stretch of our season,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “The team that is the most consistent and sticks the most landings will ultimately be the team that wins this meet.
“The competition will be a good measuring stick of where we are in our training and fitness, and it will show the other teams where they stand as well.”
LSU enters the meet on the strength of a season-high 197.350 performance in a victory against Missouri last week. The Tigers notched season highs on beam (49.325) and floor (49.500) in the contest.
Rheagan Courville, Jessie Jordan and Ashleigh Gnat competed in the all-around against Missouri and provided solid scores to lead the Tigers, and the squad also received career-high performances from Sydney Ewing on beam and Randii Wyrick on floor.
Courville, the reigning SEC Gymnast of the Week, tied UCLA’s Sam Peszek for the highest all-around score in the nation with a 39.625 last week, while Lloimincia Hall tied the nation’s best floor score with a 9.975.
As a team, LSU ranks No. 1 nationally on beam, No. 2 on bars, No. 4 on floor and No. 7 on vault.
The top-ranked Sooners will compete on short rest as they traveled to face Denver on Thursday night. Under the direction of ninth-year coach K.J. Kindler, Oklahoma is No. 1 on bars, No. 2 on floor, No. 2 on vault and No. 4 on beam.
Led by 13th-year coach Mark Cook, No. 8 Arkansas enters the meet ranked in the Top 15 in three events. The Razorbacks are No. 3 on floor, No. 10 on vault and No. 15 on bars. Arkansas used a strong floor rotation two weeks ago to upset No. 6 Alabama.
Iowa State comes in ranked just outside the Top 25 nationally, but the Cyclones are in the Top 25 in two events. Jay Ronayne, in his ninth season as head coach, has positioned the Cyclones at No. 17 in the beam standings and No. 25 on bars.
LSU holds a 10-12 all-time record against Oklahoma, 24-5-1 record against Arkansas and 9-1 mark versus Iowa State.
Fans can follow along with the meet and connect with the team through LSU gymnastics’ social channels: www.Facebook.com/lsugym, @LSUgym on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, and www.YouTube.com/lsugymnastics.