LEXINGTON, Ky. – The second-ranked LSU gymnastics team (3-0, 2-0 SEC) returns to the road for its second Southeastern Conference meet of the season against No. 6 Kentucky (2-1, 1-1 SEC) at 6 p.m. CT Friday inside of Memorial Coliseum.
The Top-10 matchup between the Tigers and Wildcats will be broadcast live on SECNetwork+. Fans can watch the meet on WatchESPN.com and through the app.
DD Previews the Meet
“We did a lot of things last Friday night against Texas Woman’s that will help us build toward the end of the season,” head coach D-D Breaux said. “Kentucky is coming off the first 197 team score in their history, and they have some impressive scores and rankings. I am looking forward to a great competition in a place that is difficult to compete in.”
Last Time Out
LSU pushed its home winning streak to 23-straight meets inside the Maravich Center with a 197.475-192.625 win over Texas Woman’s on Friday night. The Tigers posted a score of 49.450 on bars for a season high and the highest since March 2016. Sophomore Sarah Finnegan captured her first career all-around title against TWU as LSU’s lone all-around performer. Finnegan also added titles on both bars and beam. Senior Ashleigh Gnat earned wins in all three events she competed in. Gnat captured victories on vault, beam and floor to push her career individual title win total to 43.
Tigers Hit 197 Three Times to Open 2017 – Best Start Ever
LSU has hit a team score of 197 or better in three-straight meets to open a season for the first time in school history. LSU opened with a 197.825 against No. 9 Georgia for the best season opening score in school history. The Tigers followed that with a 197.525 at No. 4 Alabama for the third-best road score against an SEC opponent in school history. LSU then hit a 197.475 at home against TWU in the third meet of the season.
Tigers in the National Rankings
LSU is No. 2 in the Road To Nationals rankings. LSU owns the top spot on vault with an average of 49.483 The Tigers also rank second on bars and floor with averages of 49.333 and 49.450 respectively. The beam average score of 49.358 is also enough for fourth in the nation. Individually, Gnat ranks 1st on floor, 2nd on vault and ninth in the all-around. Myia Hambrick owns the fifth spot nationally on both floor and in the all-around. Finnegan is second on beam and ninth on bars.
A Look at Kentucky
Kentucky is coming off of a dominant 197.100-195.800 victory over No. 11 Auburn. The victory pushed the Wildcats to 2-1 and 1-1 in conference. The score of 197.100 was enough for a school record. It marked the second-straight week that UK has set the highest team score in program history. In the rankings, the Wildcats own a spot in the top-10 on bars, beam and floor.
Mollie Korth is the leader in the all-around for Kentucky with a ranking of 15th and an average of 39.367.Alex Hyland ranks 14th on beam and 20th on floor for the Wildcats.
Series Record Between LSU and Kentucky
LSU is 75-5 all-time against Kentucky throughout the all-time series. The Tigers own a 15-5 record in Lexington over the years. The last loss for LSU to UK came in 2011. Last season, the Tigers faced off against the Wildcats in the regular season as well as at SEC Championships with LSU earning wins in both meets.
Fans can follow the Tigers on the team’s social media channels: @LSUgym on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, www.Facebook.com/lsugym and at YouTube.com/lsugymnastics.