Minutes before the NCAA Regional Selection Show pegged LSU as the No. 4 overall seed and No. 1 seed at the Ames Regional, LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux delivered an enthusiastic message — “Bring ‘em on, whoever it is.”
The Tigers (19-2, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) will match up against No. 9 Nebraska, No. 16 Denver, Washington, Michigan State and Iowa State in the regional round of the NCAA Championships on April 4.
The Tigers earned the third seed in the regional meet last year when they hosted the Baton Rouge Regional and posted a season-high 198.325 for a first-place finish. Senior all-arounder Rheagan Courville said the competitors this year will have their hands full with an improved LSU team.
“We are even better than we were last year,” Courville said. “We are better as a team, as a family and in our gymnastics. We have fixed a lot of details that separate us from other teams.”
Breaux and her gymnasts expressed excitement about their opponents and the opportunity to compete at Hilton Coliseum — a venue where LSU has never competed before.
The Tigers’ No. 4 regional qualifying score of 197.650 dwarfs the other teams competing at the Ames Regional, but Breaux didn’t rule out their opponents’ ability to pull off the upset.
Nebraska has the ninth-best RQS score in the nation of 196.990, and it ranks in the top 10 on vault and floor, where the Cornhuskers have the sixth and 10th-best scores in the nation, respectively. Denver is the only other team with an RQS score in the top-25 rankings. The Pioneers’ 196.455 score is No. 16 in the nation.
“It is [at] some place we have never been,” Breaux said. “We are very happy about the opponents. It’s great to not be up against somebody in the SEC that [we] see week in and week out. Nebraska is a great team and they will push us to be our very best.”
The Tigers will have to finish in first or second place to advance to the
NCAA Semifinals on April 17 in Fort Worth, Texas, but LSU said second place is not an option.
Courville said the team is using its close defeat at the SEC Championships as motivation to finish in first place at all of the remaining meets.
“It [was] a bittersweet finish at SECs,” Courville said. “We still have that national championship to look forward to. We have a lot of things that we know we can work on, which is good because it means we haven’t hit our peak yet.”
LSU has its first bye week of the season leading up to the regional, something Breaux said will be beneficial for the gymnasts and coaches.
With two weeks to let their bodies heal and fix their remaining imperfections, the Tigers are confident in their chances of advancing to the NCAA Semifinals.
“The bye week is important because it’s nice to have a week of rest,” said sophomore all-arounder Ashleigh Gnat. “We’re excited. Everyone loves a bye week.”
You can reach Jacob Hamilton on Twitter @jhamilton_TDR.