The No. 3 LSU gymnastics team will get a chance to compete against one of the nation’s top teams in an effort to topple its season-high team score of 197.425 set on Jan. 31 at the Metroplex Challenge.
The Tigers (6-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) are set to face one of the nation’s best in No. 9 Georgia (2-3, 2-1 SEC) at 6:45 p.m. tonight at the PMAC.
After putting together one of their best performances of the year at the Metroplex Challenge, the Tigers could not walk away with a victory against No. 1 Oklahoma. Senior all-arounder Rheagan Courville said there weren’t any major changes to make, but the team’s attention to detail could be what pushes it ahead of the competition.
LSU coach D-D Breaux said she knows paying attention to details is key to leading the Tigers to victory against Georgia.
“I’m excited to get back in the gym and work on some minor corrections, and then go out there and compete against Georgia,” Breaux said.
The Tigers look to count on strong performances from senior all-arounders Jessie Jordan and Courville this weekend. Jordan is ranked as the fourth all-arounder in the nation, with a season average of 39.519, and Courville sits in sixth at 39.481.
LSU ranks in the top six in the nation on every event.
The Tigers are second on uneven bars with a season average of 49.350, third on balance beam with a 49.188, fourth on floor and sixth on vault with an average of 49.294 on both events.
Breaux said she believes the Tigers have not yet shown exactly what they are capable of this season.
“We have still not had our best meet yet, but we are progressing each week,” Breaux said. “We will stay in the process and continue to get better and better as we go through the season.”
LSU has a lot of work to do to achieve better scores than it did last weekend. The Tigers posted high scores on every event at the Metroplex Challenge: 49.125 on beam, 49.400 on bars and floor and a season-high 49.500 on vault.
The Tigers need to post another high team score to achieve victory against Georgia, which is ranked ninth nationally with a season average of 195.925.
Georgia ended its last meet with a score of 196.950 on the road against No. 2 Florida. Georgia junior all-arounder Brandie Jay was named SEC Specialist of the Week on Tuesday after her performance against the Gators, where she posted a 9.925 on vault and floor and a 9.90 on bars.
Georgia had major contributions from sophomore all-arounders Kiera Brown, who captured the bars title with 9.925, and Ashlyn Broussard, who scored her career high on beam with a 9.95.
Courville said she believes the Tigers need to be the most prepared team and continue the path they are already taking to gain a crucial conference victory Friday night.
You can reach Christian Boutwell on Twitter @CBoutwell_TDR.