BOISE, Idaho — The LSU gymnastics team came up one spot short in its bid for a first ever Super Six appearance, finishing fourth in the afternoon session at the NCAA Championships in Boise, Idaho.
While on the NCAA regional level in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago the Tigers were able to count a fall and still advance, at the championship level a fall is simply too much to overcome. LSU competed well enough in three of the four disciplines, but a pair of falls of beam in the third rotation took the Tigers from .300 out of first place to fifth place in a matter of minutes.
“After the first event and even at the turn after the second we were right where we wanted to be,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “We came out tentative on beam and we made mistakes. We came back well on floor and tried to get back into it, but having to count that fall on beam, we couldn’t overcome it.”
The Tigers finished with a score of 194.950. Georgia won the team title with a score of 196.775, while Utah finished second followed by Alabama. They advance to Friday evening’s “Super Six” at 8 p.m. CT. Oregon State finished fifth followed by BYU.
LSU opened strong, going 49.000 on the vault behind a pair of 9.85s from Shanyn MacEachern
and Kim Descalopoulis and a 9.80 from Marina Degteva.. The score was the Tigers’ third highest of the season.
After a bye, the Tigers moved over the bars and were extremely solid, going 48.850. Abbey Burns capped a strong rotation with a 9.825 to lead the Tigers. Beth Boudreaux went 9.775, while Stephanie Hyett, Brooke Cazeaux and MacEachern each went 9.75, putting the Tigers at a respectable two event total of 97.850 and right in the thick of things.
Then came the beam.
MacEachern opened the Tigers’ beam rotation with a fall. After Descalopoulis responded with a 9.725 and Boudreaux came up with a 9.80, disaster struck. Another fall, this time by Burns, forced the Tigers to count a 9.125. Rebecca Lightsey stayed composed and delivered a 9.725, then Stacey Wegener salvaged a 48.175 for the Tigers with a strong 9.80 in the sixth spot, but the damage had already been done.
“These things happen,” added Breaux. “We lost to three superior teams today. We gave them the opening and they took it. That’s the way it works when you get to this level.”
The Tigers responded on floor and did everything possible, coming up with a 48.950 behind a 9.825 from Nicki Arnstad. MacEachern rebounded from the vault and delivered a 9.80, as did Burns who went 9.775 along with Descalopoulis. But in the end, all they could do was muster a fourth place finish in the afternoon session for the second consecutive year.
LSU finishes its season with a regular season record of 15-4-1 and a postseason record of 6-4.
NCAA Gymnastics Championships
Afternoon Session
April 13, 2000
Boise State University Pavilion
Boise, Idaho
Team Scores – 1, Georgia, 196.775. 2, Utah, 196.125. 3, Alabama, 196.075. 4, LSU, 194.950. 5, Oregon State, 194.750. 6, BYU, 194.500.