BATON ROUGE – For the first time in school history the LSU gymnastics team will open the season in a Top 5 matchup as the fifth-ranked Tigers play host to No. 1 Oklahoma at 4 p.m. CT Saturday in the Maravich Center.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early because it is Alumni Weekend, and more than 50 former Tigers will be honored and recognized prior to the meet in the Maravich Center.
LSU will also debut a new team introduction that will take place at approximately 3:45 p.m., so fans should plan to be in their seats to catch the exciting intro.
Tickets to the meet as well as season tickets are available for purchase at www.LSUtix.net, or tickets to the meet can be purchased in person at the Maravich Center ticket office starting at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Led by the “Dean of SEC Coaches” D-D Breaux who enters her 39th year as LSU head coach, the Tigers will look to get out to a strong start against the nation’s top-ranked team.
“We want to jump in feet first and see how we mix,” Breaux said about the opener. “This team works hard and has a lot of fun with each other, and they are excited to go out in front of a great home crowd and perform well.”
LSU welcomes back nine letterwinners from the 2015 squad, including six All-Americans in Sydney Ewing, Ashleigh Gnat, Myia Hambrick, Jessica Savona, Randii Wyrick and Shae Zamardi as well as the No. 1 ranked freshman class in the nation with Julianna Cannamela, Sarah Finnegan, McKenna Kelley, Lexie Priessman and Kaitlyn Szafranski.
Oklahoma returns eight All-Americans from a 2015 team that ranked No. 1 most of the season and finished third at the NCAA Super Six.
The Sooners, led by 10th-year head coach K.J. Kindler, have not lost a regular season competition since Feb. 9, 2014 when No. 3 LSU beat No. 2 Oklahoma 197.650-197.325 in Norman, Okla.
“Oklahoma is a class act, a great program with great athletes, and this is a super opportunity to open our season at home against them,” Breaux said.
LSU will put its own win streak on the line as the Tigers are undefeated in the Maravich Center since 2013. LSU won all seven home meets in 2014 and all five last season to claim a 16-0 overall record in the Maravich Center in those two years.
The series history has been competitive between LSU and Oklahoma with the Sooners holding a 14-10 advantage, and the Tigers are 1-2 in home meets versus Oklahoma. This is the first meeting between the two in Baton Rouge since the 2006 NCAA Regional in which Oklahoma placed first with a 196.375, and LSU finished second with a 195.825.
The meet will be carried by SEC Network+ and available online at http://es.pn/1ZBZuGm. Lyn Rollins will serve as play-by-play, and Lori Strong-Ballard and Kaleigh Dickson-Abboud will be the analysts to call the action.
Live stats will be available at www.LSUsports.net, and fans can also follow along with the meet on LSU gymnastics’ social media outlets: www.facebook.com/lsugym, @LSUgym on Instagram and Twitter and www.youtube.com/lsugymnastics.