BATON ROUGE – After an outstanding road score of 197.825 at the Texas Woman’s quad meet, LSU gymnastics held steady at No. 3 in the RoadToNationals.com rankings, the site released Monday.
LSU improved to 13-2 overall as the Tigers picked up wins against No. 16 Oregon State (196.550), New Hampshire (193.800) and Texas Woman’s (193.000) in the regular-season finale inside Kitty Magee Arena on March 12.
LSU increased its regional qualifying score (RQS) from 197.340 to 197.555, tightening its grip on the No. 3 national ranking and inching closer to No. 2 Florida’s 197.655 RQS. Oklahoma remained No. 1 with a 197.845 RQS.
The Tigers joined Oklahoma and Florida as the nation’s only teams ranked in the Top 5 in all four events. LSU ranks No. 1 nationally on vault, No. 2 on floor, No. 4 on bars and No. 4 on beam.
Individually, Ashleigh Gnat is No. 1 nationally on vault and floor. Myia Hambrick is No. 7 in the all-around, No. 21 on bars, No. 21 on beam and No. 22 on vault. Sydney Ewing is No. 8 on vault. Sarah Finnegan is No. 8 on bars and No. 9 on beam. Randii Wyrick is No. 22 on floor, and Erin Macadaeg is No. 21 on beam.
LSU will open postseason competition at 5 p.m. CT Saturday in the second session of the SEC Championship. The Tigers are the No. 2 seed and will face No. 1 Florida, No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Auburn inside Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
The meet will air live on SEC Network, and fans can watch unprecedented coverage across six separate streams on SEC Network+ which is available at WatchESPN.com.
Last Week’s Result
Saturday, March 12
No. 3 LSU at Texas Woman’s Quad Meet
1) LSU 197.825
2) Oregon State 196.550
3) New Hampshire 193.800
4) Texas Woman’s 193.000
This Week’s Schedule
Saturday, March 19
No. 3 LSU at SEC Championship Session II • North Little Rock, Ark. • 5 p.m. CT • SEC Network
Notes on the Tigers
No. 3 LSU used a solid 197.825 to pick up three wins against No. 16 Oregon State (196.550), New Hampshire (193.800) and Texas Woman’s (193.000) at the TWU quad meet. LSU improved to 13-2 overall and wrapped up the regular season with a great performance highlighted by junior Ashleigh Gnat‘s fifth perfect 10.0 of the season and her third on floor. Gnat became the first gymnast in LSU history to record five perfect 10s in one season, breaking the record of four held by Jennifer Wood (four on vault in 1995) and April Burkholder (two on floor, one on vault, one on beam in 2004). Gnat also won the vault title with a 9.95, giving her nine vault titles and eight floor titles this season. Gnat has a total of 22 individual titles this season, and she leads the SEC in vault, floor and total individual titles. Sarah Finnegan put together a fantastic meet as she won the bars title with career-high tying 9.95, and she won the beam title with a 9.90 and placed second on vault with a career-best 9.925. Myia Hambrick won her team-leading fifth all-around title of the year with a 39.450. LSU tied its season high on bars with a 49.475 for the second-straight week, and the Tigers were bolstered by the return of Lexie Priessman to the bars lineup. Competing for the first time since Feb. 5 against Arkansas, Priessman tied her career high with a 9.925 on bars. Hambrick also tied her career high on bars with a 9.925, and Randii Wyrick matched her personal best on floor with a 9.925 to finish second in the event. In this week’s rankings, LSU maintained its spot at No. 3, and the Tigers moved into the Top 5 in all four events. LSU is No. 1 on vault, No. 2 on floor and No. 4 on bars and beam. Individually, Gnat is No. 1 nationally on vault and floor. Hambrick is No. 7 in the all-around, No. 21 on bars, No. 21 on beam and No. 22 on vault. Sydney Ewing is No. 8 on vault. Finnegan is No. 8 on bars and No. 9 on beam. Wyrick is No. 22 on floor, and Erin Macadaeg is No. 21 on beam. LSU opens postseason competition at the SEC Championship second session at 5 p.m. CT Saturday in Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
RoadToNationals Gymnastics Top 25
March 14, 2016
Rank, Team, Regional Qualifying Score
1. Oklahoma 197.845
2. Florida 197.655
3. LSU 197.555
4. Alabama 197.325
5. Utah 197.205
6. Auburn 197.120
7. Michigan 197.085
8. Georgia 196.990
9. UCLA 196.940
10. Denver 196.645
11. California 196.555
12. Nebraska 196.535
13. Arkansas 196.505
14. Oregon State 196.450
15. Boise State 196.425
16. Minnesota 196.395
17. Washington 196.360
18. Iowa 196.330
19. Stanford 196.305
20. Missouri 196.235
21. Arizona 196.155
22. Kentucky 196.115
23. George Washington 195.905
24. Eastern Michigan 195.875
25. Illinois 195.870
LSU in the Individual National Rankings
Sydney Ewing: 8th VT
Sarah Finnegan: 8th UB, 9th BB
Ashleigh Gnat: 1st VT, 1st FX
Myia Hambrick: 7th AA, 21st UB, 21st BB, 22nd VT
Erin Macadaeg: 21st BB
Randii Wyrick: 22nd FX