FORT WORTH, Texas – The sixth-ranked LSU gymnastics team will face still competition when the Tigers take on a loaded field at the Metroplex Challenge at 7 p.m. CT Saturday in the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena.
LSU (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) will square off against No. 2 Oklahoma (5-1, 1-0 Big-12), No. 12 Stanford (6-1, 1-1 Pac-12), No. 16 Missouri (3-1, 1-1 SEC) and Washington (1-2, 1-0 Pac-12) in a meet that will closely resemble the look and feel of the NCAA Championships that will take place in the arena in April.
It marks the fourth straight season in which LSU has competed at the Metroplex Challenge as the Tigers attempt to take home their first title in the meet.
LSU will start the meet on the bye before bars and rotate to bars, beam, floor and vault. Oklahoma will open the meet on vault, while Washington starts on bars, Missouri on beam and Stanford on floor.
“The Metroplex meet is definitely a target on our schedule,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “It’s always loaded with good competition. It’s on a podium and in the venue where the national championships will be. It’s a mini version of what we will have at the SEC Championship and the national championships, and it will have the same feel. It’s a great opportunity to take another step forward and have fun in an exciting environment.”
LSU is coming off a 196.575-195.100 victory in the SEC opener against Kentucky last week in Baton Rouge where four different Tigers won individual titles – Ashleigh Gnat (vault, floor), Lexie Priessman (bars), Sarah Finnegan (beam), Myia Hambrick (all-around).
The Tigers have shown tremendous depth all season as LSU is one of only two teams in the nation with seven gymnasts ranked in the Top 25 in at least one category (Alabama is the other), and LSU is the only team with three gymnasts ranked No. 1 in an event.
Gnat is No. 1 nationally on vault, Priessman is No. 1 on bars and Erin Macadaeg is No. 1 on floor. Sydney Ewing (vault), Finnegan (beam), Hambrick (floor, all-around) and Randii Wyrick (vault, floor) are all ranked in the Top 25 nationally.
LSU enters the Metroplex Challenge ranked No. 1 as a team on vault, No. 5 on floor, No. 12 on bars and No. 15 on beam.
Oklahoma is No. 2 across the board except floor where the Sooners rank seventh. Stanford is No. 7 on beam, No. 9 on bars and No. 16 on vault. Missouri is 13th on bars, 17th on beam, 19th on floor and 22nd on vault. Washington is No. 24 on beam.
Each of LSU’s opponents has at least one gymnast ranked in the Top 25 in one category, including Stanford’s Elizabeth Price at No. 2 in the all-around, Oklahoma’s Keeley Kmieciak and Chayse Capps at Nos. 7 and 15, respectively, in the all-around and Washington’s Allison Northey at No. 21 in the all-around. Missouri’s Kennedi Harris ranks 20th on floor.
FloGymnastics will provide live video of the meet to subscribers at http://bit.ly/1l47wIz. A live stats link will be available on LSUsports.net.
Fans can follow LSU gymnastics on the team’s social media channels: www.Facebook.com/lsugym, @LSUgym on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, and www.YouTube.com/lsugymnastics.
Metroplex Challenge Rotations
| Rotation | Vault | Bye | Bars | Beam | Floor |
| 1 | Oklahoma | LSU | Washington | Missouri | Stanford |
| 2 | Stanford | Oklahoma | LSU | Washington | Missouri |
| 3 | Missouri | Stanford | Oklahoma | LSU | Washington |
| 4 | Washington | Missouri | Stanford | Oklahoma | LSU |
| 5 | LSU | Washington | Missouri | Stanford | Oklahoma |