BATON ROUGE – This season’s Southeastern Conference regular-season finale features a Top-5 matchup as No. 4 LSU gymnastics plays host to No. 3 Alabama Friday in the Maravich Center.
Team introductions will begin at 7:15 p.m. CT, and first vault is set for 7:30 p.m.
A limited number of tickets remain for the meet, and tickets can be purchased at www.LSUtix.net, by calling the LSU Ticket Office at 225-578-2184 or in person on the first floor of the LSU Athletic Administration Building.
Tickets cost $3 for youth ages 3-12 and $5 for adults. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $2 each.
It is Senior Night as Michelle Gauthier, Jessica Savona and Randii Wyrick compete for the final time in the Maravich Center.
A total of 5,000 music-activated LED bracelets will also be given out before the meet, so fans are encouraged to arrive early.
Large Crowds Expected on Busy Friday Night
LSU (9-2, 5-1 SEC) enters its final home meet of the season riding the momentum of back-to-back season high performances. The Tigers produced a 197.825 the last time they were in the Maravich Center against Auburn on Feb. 19 and followed it up with a 197.900 in the last outing at Florida on Feb. 26.
For LSU head coach D-D Breaux and her squad, the time for celebrating last week’s big win at Florida is over.
“If you let up you lose, so our focus has completely shifted to this week and the task at hand against a talented Alabama team,” Breaux said. “We have had a great week of practice, and the goal each time out is to develop more consistency.
“Momentum is a powerful thing, and we can’t wait to compete in front of our amazing fans and build on our performances throughout the meet.”
LSU is coming off a 197.900-197.875 upset win at Florida in which the Tigers set season highs on vault (49.550) and beam (49.575). In fact, LSU boasts the nation’s highest vault, beam and floor (49.700) scores so far this season.
Ashleigh Gnat and Sarah Finnegan are the reigning SEC Gymnast of the Week and SEC Freshman of the Week, respectively, after their outstanding performances at Florida, and they are two of six Tigers who are ranked nationally in at least one category entering Friday’s meet.
Gnat is No. 1 nationally on vault and floor, and Finnegan is No. 16 on bars.
Myia Hambrick is No. 4 in the all-around, No. 10 on beam, No. 18 on vault and No. 23 on bars.
Sydney Ewing is No. 8 on vault, while Wyrick is No. 21 on floor and Shae Zamardi is No. 24 on bars.
As a team LSU ranks first nationally on vault with a 49.400 regional qualifying score, fourth on bars at 49.295, fourth on floor at 49.395 and 10th on beam at 49.130.
Alabama (8-4, 3-3) is also riding high after a season-best 197.550 last week in a victory over Georgia in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 26.
Alabama ranks third nationally on bars (49.340) and beam (49.300), fourth on floor at 49.395 and fifth on vault at 49.310.
Individually, Alabama features seven gymnasts ranked in the Top 25 in at least one category. Lauren Beers ranks No. 6 on vault and No. 10 on floor. Mackenzie Brannan is 13th on vault and 18th on bars. Aja Sims is No. 4 on beam. Kiana Winston is No. 6 on bars. Nickie Guerrero and Keely McNeer are tied at No. 12 on beam, and Katie Bailey is 18th on bars.
“It’s going to be a great Alabama team against a great LSU team, and I have to believe our crowd is going to be on fire and excited for this competition,” Breaux said.
The meet will stream online on SEC Network+ with Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson Clarke and Laura Rutledge on the call. It will not be televised live.
Live stats can be found on LSUsports.net, and fans can also follow along on the LSU gymnastics social media channels: www.Facebook.com/lsugym, @LSUgym on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter and www.YouTube.com/lsugymnastics.