Following two consecutive sub-par meets, junior gymnast Ashleigh Clare-Kearney said the Tigers were due for a dominant performance. Clare-Kearney did her best Friday to help No. 8 LSU eclipse the second-highest score in school history, scoring 10s on vault and floor to help the Tigers to a 197.775-196.200 victory against No. 19 Michigan State. Following the meet, the soft-spoken Manchester, Conn. native addressed the fans, thanking the crowd for their support. “I felt great tonight,” Clare-Kearney said. “We were all really motivated to go out and compete well. It’s always great when the hardest thing you have to do in a meet is to give a speech after a solid performance.” The Tigers score was their highest since the 2005 season. Clare-Kearney said she knew it was only a matter of time before LSU broke through and performed the way they did against Michigan State. “We saw this coming,” she said. “A lot of the time when something bad or negative happens, [LSU coach D-D Breaux] gets more intense with us, and I think that is what we need. At the end of last week’s performance that is what happened.” The Tigers tied or surpassed 12 individual career highs during the win. LSU began the meet with a solid performance on vault and scored a season-high 49.525, capped by Clare-Kearney’s first 10.000 of the night. LSU freshman Nicole Lyons and sophomore Susan Jackson set the stage for Clare-Kearney, posting scores of 9.900. “[Good scores] are contagious,” Clare-Kearney said. “When everyone in front of you is doing so well, there is no pressure. That’s when it’s the easiest to perform.” LSU freshman Paige Cipolloni began the meet with a career high 9.875 on vault. On bars, four Tigers tied or eclipsed their season highs, posting a season-high score of 49.425. LSU freshman Staci Schwitkis and sophomore Summer Hubbard won the individual title with 9.950 scores. Michigan State sophomore Nicole Curler finished third in the event with a 9.875. On the third rotation, LSU posted its second-highest beam score of the season. Clare-Kearney won her eighth beam title of her career with a career-high score of 9.950. Lyons scored her second career-high of the meet with 9.900 on beam. In the final rotation on the floor, senior Kristi Esposito, sophomore Kayla Rogers and Jackson all scored more than 9.900 prior to Clare-Kearney’s second 10.000 of the night. Clare-Kearney said the Tigers will be difficult to beat down the stretch if they continue to get contributions from so many performers. “We all need to click together all at the same meet at the same time, so this is a great start for us,” Clare-Kearney said. “I don’t want to take away from the 197.775, but I think we can improve or duplicate it.” Breaux said the team changed its practice routine following the Feb. 22 loss to Alabama. Breaux said the team lifted weights in the morning rather than after practice, allowing them to practice harder in the gym. “[Friday’s score] is comforting because it tells us that what we’re doing is right,” Breaux said. “Getting to this score at this point in the season is real important because later in the season, we’re competing against the best teams in the country.” LSU continued its solid weekend Sunday with a 197.050-193.125 win against Centenary. Jackson stole the show against Centenary, scoring 9.950 on bars and 9.975 on floor. Clare-Kearney had another strong showing on vault and floor, scoring a pair of 9.950s.
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Tiger scores two 10s during gymnastics weekend
March 2, 2008