For the No. 1 LSU gymnastics team, getting better is its main focus.
The Tigers (8-3, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) notched the highest team score in program history in a 198.050-194.825 win against Missouri on Feb. 28, breaking their scoring record for the second time this season.
Though LSU eclipsed the 198 mark for the first time in school history last weekend, it will look to continue its improvement against No. 25 North Carolina State at 7 p.m. tonight in the PMAC.
“We keep on talking about how we haven’t had a complete meet yet,” said junior all-arounder Jessie Jordan. “Of course, we’re getting close to that, but I think there’s still room to improve and room to get better. But I think we’re at the perfect spot right now for our season.”
The Wolfpack’s (12-6, 10-1 East Atlantic Gymnastics League) regional qualifying score is more than two points less than LSU’s. The Tigers didn’t play down to weak competition against Missouri last weekend, and they insisted their intensity would be just as high against N.C. State.
LSU is two weeks away from the SEC Championship, but coach D-D Breaux wouldn’t entertain the idea that her team peaked early. 
“We haven’t walked away from a meet thinking this is the best we can do,” Breaux said. “We haven’t done that. The judges change every week, so every time we set out on the floor, [we] have a different scoring potential and a different set of critical eyes.”
All the talk of improvement isn’t just coach speak – the Tigers underperformed against Missouri in one of the most important segments of a meet. 
LSU’s chance at a 198 was put in jeopardy when its final two beam performers turned in atypical routines. Junior all-arounder Rheagan Courville, the No. 2 all-around gymnast in the country, earned a 9.400 after falling off the beam before Jordan, the No. 1 beam gymnast nationally with a 9.915 regional qualifying score, stumbled on her landing for a 9.850.
“That’s so uncharacteristic,” Courville said. “I can’t even tell you the last time I did that even in practice. My foot was off, and there was really nothing I could do about it.”
The Tigers posted their third-highest beam score with a 49.275 against Missouri despite the struggles in the final third of the rotation. According to Courville, that’s just another part of what makes LSU so strong. 
“We need people to step up, and that’s what we had,” Courville said. “That’s the best part of having a team behind you that’s so deep and talented because they can mentally realize that we have a few tenths to make up, and they did that on floor.”
Breaux said the team’s focus is now on sticking beam dismounts and the final handstands in bar routines. The Tigers may seem to be nitpicking now, but it’s all a part of the process Breaux instilled from day one. 
“I want more, and the kids feel the same way,” Breaux said. “It’s the same message constantly. We’ve got to get better.”