The LSU gymnastics team scored more than 196 points in its opening competition for the first time in school history as coach D-D Breaux secured her 600th career victory against North Carolina State, 196.075-194.975.
“I’ve had a lot of different assistant coaches and certainly a lot of wonderful athletes throughout my career,” Breaux said. “But it was such an exciting night, and it was in front of a great crowd, a very appreciative crowd. It’s just extremely gratifying.”
The No. 8 Tigers (1-0) were neck-neck with the No. 22 Wolfpack (0-1) throughout the first three events, and they led N.C. State by a meager 0.200 points heading into the final rotation.
But LSU dominated the floor rotation, with four gymnasts notching scores of at least 9.800. Sophomore Rheagan Courville led the Tigers with a 9.975 score on her floor routine, and sophomore Lloimincia Hall finished the competition with a crowd-pleasing routine that earned her a 9.950.
“[Hall] kind of plugs herself in to this supersonic level of energy, and we see things in that floor routine that we’ve never seen in practice,” Breaux said. “…It’ll be different next time, but that’s how she performs.”
Breaux praised the high-scorers on her squad, but she recognized the Tigers’ success was a result of a total team effort.
“You have to get through [junior] Kaleigh Dickson to get to the end of our lineup, and she did a super job of creating that momentum and the excitement for us,” Breaux said.
Friday night’s meet marked the first collegiate competition for freshman Jessica Sanova, who participated as an alternate for Canada in the 2012 Olympics.
“I had an amazing time, a lot more than fun than I actually thought I would,” Sanova said. “…I just had a wonderful time with the girls and D-D and all of the coaches.”
The Tigers return to action when Florida visits the PMAC on Friday, Jan. 11.
