College students are faced with various types of pressure each day, including their grades, relationships and thoughts of finally living on their own. The pressure can be overwhelming at times.
But the gymnasts of the No. 4 LSU gymnastics team (24-2, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) will be confronted with a pressure most collegiate students aren’t use to seeing.
The Tigers will be competing in the NCAA Semifinal meet in an effort to qualify for the Super Six at 7 p.m. on April 17 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
LSU will be competing against an elite pairing of teams in the second semifinal group including No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 5 Alabama, No. 8 Auburn, No. 9 Nebraska and No. 12 Oregon State.
“It is important to treat this meet like any other one,” said sophomore all-arounder Sydney Ewing. “Yeah, there will be big teams there, but you cannot worry about a specific team because, ultimately, we are there to beat everyone.”
LSU coach D-D Breaux said she will spend this week physically resting her gymnasts, while mentally pushing her squad to the brink. She knows blunders will come during a meet, but how her team responds will determine the outcome of the meet.
“If you have a foot fault, or you have a mistake, you cannot dwell on it,” Breaux said. “Like any other sporting event, you can’t dwell on the mistake, you just have to move forward and step over it. If someone made a mistake in front of you, you cannot focus on that. You have to step over the mess they made and focus on your own momentum.”
Breaux’s Tigers have different methods of combating the pressure they will face.
For senior all-arounder and Texas native Lloimincia Hall, composure is key.
“Stay calm,” Hall said. “We have to realize that this is just another meet. But then again, we have to understand that the details and everything we have learned along the meets throughout the season to kind of put it all together and come out with one of our best meets.”
Her hope as a senior leader is for her younger counterparts to give a complete effort.
“We have to leave with the mindset that we gave it all we had,” Hall said. “Not leaving anything else on the floor. No regrets.”
Sophomore all-arounder Ashleigh Gnat said the Tigers’ response when facing adverse momentum will carry heavy weight in where the team will finish. She said the Tigers must be there for one another mentally. When one member of the team stumbles, the entire team must convene and get itself back on track.
Ewing said the Tigers combat pressure as people normally do, relaxing and preparing for their upcoming meet.
“In the locker room, we like to listen to music and just be together,” Ewing said. “We don’t really talk about the meet much before it happens. We just hang out with each other, and it is really relaxed. No one sits in there by themselves. Our coaches get us fired up, and that helps us relax a lot.”
You can reach Christian Boutwell on Twitter @CBoutwell_TDR.