In its final meet before the start of postseason competition, the LSU gymnastics squad (10-3, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) capped off the greatest regular season in program history, defeating SEC opponent Kentucky 197.800-195.000 Friday night in the PMAC. 
It was a noticeable bounce back from the previous week against North Carolina State when a slew of small mistakes and mental errors resulted in the Tigers’ lowest score since Feb. 7 against Arkansas. Heading into the SEC Championships, LSU has scored at least 197.000 for nine consecutive meets, breaking the school record of eight set in 2004. 
“I think we really got out there and didn’t hyperfocus on anything in particular,” said junior all-arounder Rheagan Courville. “When we do best is when we’re not really focusing on one specific thing to fix.”
Courville scored a 39.625 in the all-around to capture her seventh all-around title of the season. Fellow junior Jessie Jordan, who competed in only two events last week against NC State because of a sore back, tallied a 39.525 in the all-around against the Wildcats. 
LSU received major contributions from its supporting cast, particularly on beam. Freshman Ashleigh Gnat and senior Kaleigh Dickson tied their career highs with scores of 9.950 and 9.875, respectively. Jordan added a 9.900 in the anchor spot to help the Tigers score a season-high of 49.450 on beam. 
But for the first time in this season’s regional qualifying score (RQS) rankings, LSU isn’t the nation’s No. 1 team. Defending national champion Florida scored a 198.200 on the road against Missouri last Friday to bump its RQS to a 197.790 and knock the Tigers out of the top spot they’ve held for the past three weeks. 
Florida’s jump to the top didn’t come as a shock to LSU coach D-D Breaux. 
“[Florida’s] been home and away, and they’ve had a little bit of variety, so we kind of expected that,” Breaux said. 
SEC Championships are Saturday in Birmingham, Ala., and will be divided into two sessions. The top four teams will compete in the night session. Seeding is based on RQS standings, so Florida will be the No. 1 seed, followed by LSU at No. 2. The Tigers will begin on the uneven bars, followed by beam, floor and vault. 
Despite losing the top seed, the Tigers are perhaps better positioned for a good showing this weekend because they will end on their best two events, floor and vault. LSU has ranked in the top three for each event since the RQS rankings went into effect.
But as great as LSU has been this season, people outside the program wondered if the squad had peaked too soon, especially after the Tigers scored the program’s first 198 on Feb. 28. But Breaux doesn’t think that’s the case. 
“It’s been a long season, and people accused us of peaking early,” Breaux said. “I don’t think we’ve peaked, but I think SECs has been in their minds.”
The Tigers haven’t been able to match the 198.050 they scored against Missouri two weeks ago, but perhaps that has more to do with the opponents they’ve recently faced than an inability to nail routines they’ve shined in throughout the season. 
During the month of February, LSU had the most grueling road stretch of any of the top-ranked teams in the nation. The Tigers had four consecutive road meets in three weeks, with matchups at No. 16 Arkansas, No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 1 Florida. They also participated in the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, during the stretch. 
After such a taxing road trip against championship-caliber teams, the Tigers returned to the security of the PMAC for a three-meet home stand and faced Missouri, NC State and Kentucky, none of which were a consistent presence in the top 25 all season. 
Now the Tigers will compete against Florida, Alabama and Georgia, teams that have combined to win eight of the past nine national championships. To Jordan, going head-to-head against elite competition actually helps the squad remain locked in and focused during their performances. 
“Going into these past three meets, we’ve talked about how we’re just not competing against these team, we’re competing against teams all around the country,” Jordan said. “But to feel their presence and to see those scores flying and see the competition in the actual arena is a really huge force. The competition is what drives us.” 
Breaux has been resting the squad in recent weeks, but she chose to start practice on Sunday to extend the squad’s preparation heading into conference championships. 
But she acknowledged there isn’t much left for the coaches to do. It’s now up to the gymnasts to perform like the team she’s continuously deemed to be the best she’s ever coached.  
“We’ve put them in a great position, and that’s all coaches can do. Put your team in a position, and they’ll either rise to the occasion or not,” Breaux said. “We get them to SECs and it’s a podium, so when they step up on that podium, they’re on their own.” 

Gallery • 2 Photos

Charles Champagne

LSU junior Rheagan Courville performs on floor Friday, March 14, 2014 during the Lady Tigers' 197.800-195.000 victory against Kentucky in the PMAC