BOISE, Idaho — In a season filled with upsets, remarkable comebacks and record setting performances, the LSU gymnastics team has still kept its sites set on one goal – reaching the NCAA “Super Six” for the first time in school history.
The season-long goal can become a reality in Boise, Idaho this weekend, as the Tigers open their
quest for their first ever “Super Six” Thursday afternoon at the NCAA Championships at the Boise State University Pavilion.
LSU will compete at 2 p.m. CT in a six-team bracket with Georgia, Alabama, Utah, BYU and Oregon State. UCLA, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, Iowa State and West Virginia comprise the field for the evening session. The top three teams from each second will qualify for the “Super Six” which will be held Friday evening.
“This is what we’ve worked for all season long,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “This has been a very special year, it’s a very special team. We have seven seniors who have shaped the face of this program and I couldn’t see a better way for them to go out then to be the first team in LSU history to reach the Super Six.”
The LSU gymnastics team worked out for 90 minutes Wednesday afternoon at the Boise State University Pavilion in its final workout before the start of the NCAA Championships. The Tigers worked out on vault, then bars, beam and floor, their rotation for Thursday afternoon.
It marks the third straight major competition in which the Tigers have that rotation, one benefited them at both the SEC Championships and NCAA Region III Championships.
At the SEC Championships the Tigers need a 49.325 to tie Georgia for second place heading
into the floor rotation and scored just that to forge a tie. At the NCAA Region III Championships in Tucson, Ariz., on April 1, LSU trailed Arizona State heading into the final rotation and Nicki Arnstad capped a 49.250 score on the floor with a 9.95 to put the Tigers into the NCAA Championships.
“It’s definitely a good rotation for this team and you need any advantage you can get at this level
of competition,” said Breaux. “It’s also the same order of events that we use at our home meets so there is a little continuity to that order and we think it will help us again here.”
One factor the Tigers will not have to combat is a feeling of intimidation against its opponents. The teams in the afternoon session are the perennial powers, having won a combined 18 NCAA titles between them. The teams in the evening session have combined to win just one.
Despite the previous success of a number of the programs in the afternoon session, the Tigers
have faired well against Thursday’s opposition. The Tigers own a 3-2-1 record against their five opponents, having beaten Utah, Alabama and Oregon State, while also having a tie against Georgia.
“It’s a major difference this year knowing that we can go out and compete with any of the best teams in the nation and, not only compete, but beat them,” added Breaux. “We faced Georgia, Utah and Alabama over three consecutive weeks and won two of the three meets and were close on the other. We know we can compete against these teams.”