DULUTH, Ga. – With the most successful regular season in program history now behind them, the third-ranked LSU gymnastics team has its sights set on finishing strong in the postseason, and that quest begins Saturday when the Tigers compete in the SEC Championship.
LSU (13-1) is the No. 2 seed and will compete in session two at 5 p.m. CT inside the Arena at Gwinnett Center against No. 1 seed and No. 2 nationally-ranked Florida (7-3), No. 3 seed and fifth-ranked Alabama (8-3) and No. 4 seed and eighth-ranked Auburn (6-5).
Live audio of the championship will be provided free of charge inside the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net/live with Mike Smith calling the action.
The meet will also stream live on SEC Network+ with Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson Clarke and Amanda Pflugrad as the broadcast team.
While LSU will compete in session two against the other top seeds, No. 5 seed Georgia, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 7 Kentucky and No. 8 Missouri will square off in session one at 1 p.m.
The team with the highest score, regardless of session, will be crowned SEC champion Saturday night.
“Looking at the SEC Championship, you have four of the very best teams in the nation on the floor at the same time going head-to-head,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “It’s going to be fierce, it’s going to be fast and it’s going to be an intense competition. I can tell you we are ready and excited for it.”
LSU, which finished undefeated at 7-0 against SEC opponents in the regular season, will start the meet on uneven bars. Florida, as the top seed, will begin on vault, while Alabama opens on beam and Auburn starts on floor.
All four teams have shown tremendous consistency throughout the season as the lowest ranking for any of the teams on an event is 11th by Auburn on bars.
LSU ranks No. 1 nationally on floor, No. 3 on vault and beam and No. 5 on bars. Florida is No. 2 on vault, bars and beam and No. 3 on floor. Alabama is No. 3 on floor as well, No. 4 on bars, No. 5 on beam and No. 6 on vault. Auburn is No. 8 on vault, beam and floor and 11th on bars.
All four teams are led by outstanding all-arounders. LSU features three ranked in the Top 25 with Jessie Jordan leading the way at No. 4 nationally, followed by Rheagan Courville at No. 8 and Ashleigh Gnat at No. 18.
Florida’s Kytra Hunter ranks No. 1 overall, while Alabama’s Lauren Beers is No. 3 and Auburn’s Caitlin Atkinson is No. 5.
A three-time SEC champion on floor, Lloimincia Hall ranks No. 1 nationally in the event.
Freshman Myia Hambrick is also a ranked competitor for the Tigers, checking in at No. 21 on vault.
Breaux said she likes the experience and mindset this LSU squad holds as it enters postseason competition.
“This team has a lot of momentum with such a strong senior group, elite force of all-arounders and an overall consistency factor that wins championships,” Breaux said. “I think our training has been on point, so we’re excited for this meet.
“We developed some depth, rested some people at key times, and I think it will pay dividends for us as we begin postseason competition.”
Live stats of the SEC Championship will be available at www.SECsports.com.
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.