This weekend, the No. 3 LSU gymnastics squad will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete in the Metroplex Challenge.
Fortunately for the Tigers, they have a couple of gymnasts who are already accustomed to the bright lights of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Senior Sarie Morrison and junior Lloimincia Hall both grew up in the Dallas area, and they are familiar with the sights and sounds the city offers.
For Hall, growing up in a huge city like Dallas, with its numerous highways, neighborhoods and people, was exciting yet instrumental for her maturation.
“Dallas is not just one highway like [Baton Rouge],” Hall said. “You have to learn so many highways and different areas in town because it’s one of the biggest cities. Growing up, I met and learned about so many different people. The experience helped me learn about life and become the Lloimincia I am today.”
One of those people she met along the way is her current teammate Morrison.
In 2006, Hall joined Metroplex Gymnastics, where Morrison was already training. For the next two years, the pair competed together against other gyms across Texas.
The talent they faced on a regular basis in their prep years trained the pair for the stiff collegiate competition, Morrison said.
“A lot of people say Texas is one of the biggest recruiting states [for gymnastics],” Morrison said. “Where I grew up, there was about 10 gyms that were really competitive. It absolutely helped prepare us for LSU.”
What may also help the gymnasts Saturday is being able to perform in an arena they are comfortable with, having competed in the Fort Worth Convention Center many times early in their gymnastics careers.
“When we were younger, we did competitions in that same arena,” Hall said. “We know the equipment and lights of the arena well because that’s somewhere we’ve competed for years.”
As the two make their return to the familiar arena, they will be cheered on by friends and family who no longer have easy access to their performances.
So even though her purpose in Fort Worth is to continue LSU’s march toward a national championship, Morrison is grateful for the chance to see the hometown crowd she has been separated from, even if it’s only for a short visit.
“Just getting to see all of my friends and family for that one meet is better than not seeing them at all,” Morrison said.
Hall is expecting quite a large fan base herself, with many members of her family’s church, St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church, planning to attend. Hall’s family joined the church when she was 2 years old, and she is eager to perform in front of the people who were by her side in the beginning.
“When it comes to extended family, such as church, coming home is such an opportunity for them to be able to come and see me versus just watching it on television,” Hall said. “Quite a few members helped transport me to gymnastics meets when I was young. I grew up in that church, so it means a lot to me to be able to go home and show them that I am realizing my dream.”
“Just getting to see all of my friends and family for that one meet is better than not seeing them at all.”