BATON ROUGE – LSU gymnastics improved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 against Southeastern Conference competition with a 196.750 score at the Metroplex Challenge, and the Tigers held steady at No. 6 in the national rankings released Monday by RoadToNationals.com.
LSU returns to the friendly confines of the Maravich Center Friday for a Top-10 showdown with eighth-ranked Arkansas. Introductions will begin at 7:15 p.m. CT, and first vault is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are available to purchase at a cost of $5 for adults and $3 for youth ages 3-12 by visiting www.LSUtix.net, calling the LSU Ticket Office at 225-578-2184 or in person at the ticket office on the first floor of the LSU Athletic Administration Building on campus.
Last Week’s Result
Saturday, Jan. 30 at Metroplex Challenge (Fort Worth, Texas)
No. 2 Oklahoma 197.550
No. 6 LSU 196.750
Washington 196.175
No. 12 Stanford 196.075
No. 16 Missouri 195.825
This Week’s Schedule
Friday, Feb. 5
No. 6 LSU vs. No. 8 Arkansas • Baton Rouge, La. • 7:30 p.m. CT
Notes on the Tigers
LSU scored a 196.750 to earn a second-place finish at the 2016 Metroplex Challenge as the Tigers beat Washington (196.175), No. 12 Stanford (196.075) and No. 16 Missouri (195.825) and fell to No. 2 Oklahoma (197.550). For the second straight week LSU junior Ashleigh Gnat tallied a perfect 10.0 on her double-twisting Yurchenko vault. She became the fifth gymnast in LSU history to score multiple 10s on vault in a career, and she is the third LSU gymnast to record a 10 on the same event in back-to-back meets, joining Jennifer Wood (vault in 1994 and 1995) and Lloimincia Hall (floor in 2015). Gnat also added the beam title at Metroplex with a 9.925, extending her team lead in individual titles this season to seven. Freshman Sarah Finnegan made her debut in the all-around, and while she suffered a fall on beam, she made an instant impact in her first vault and floor routine by scoring a 9.825 and 9.90, respectively, in those events. Junior Shae Zamardi tied her career high with a 9.90 on bars, and freshman McKenna Kelley posted a season-best 9.85 on floor. In the rankings, LSU ranks No. 1 as a team on vault, and Gnat and Sydney Ewing rank 1 and 2 in the individual vault rankings. Freshman Lexie Priessman is just outside the Top 5 in the bars rankings at No. 6, and Erin Macadaeg is No. 1 and Gnat No. 5 in the floor rankings. LSU is setup for another Top-10 showdown this week when the sixth-ranked Tigers play host to No. 8 Arkansas at 7:30 p.m. CT Friday in the Maravich Center. SEC Network will have live coverage of the meet.
RoadToNationals Gymnastics Top 25
Feb. 1, 2016
Rank, Team, Season Average
1. Florida 197.438
2. Oklahoma 197.185
3. Michigan 196.860
4. Alabama 196.855
5. UCLA 196.758
6. LSU 196.525
7. Utah 196.342
8. Arkansas 196.210
9. Boise State 196.175
10. Auburn 196.080
11. Georgia 195.870
12. Stanford 195.856
13. Denver 195.763
14. Nebraska 195.700
15. Oregon State 195.694
16. Missouri 195.645
17. George Washington 195.517
18. Minnesota 195.469
19. Illinois 195.363
20. Arizona 195.217
21. California 195.150
22. New Hampshire 195.095
23. West Virginia 195.083
24. Southern Utah 195.056
25. Kentucky 195.031
LSU in the Individual National Rankings
Julianna Cannamela: 24th VT
Sydney Ewing: 2nd VT
Sarah Finnegan: 14th FX
Ashleigh Gnat: 1st VT, 5th FX, 19th AA
Myia Hambrick: 8th AA, 21st VT
Erin Macadaeg: 1st FX
Lexie Priessman: 6th UB
Randii Wyrick: 23rd FX
Shae Zamardi: 22nd UB