The LSU gymnastics team started the season ranked No. 9 nationally, despite having to replace three All-Americans from the 2005-2006 season. The Tigers struggled for the first three meets of the season, specifically on beam, causing LSU to drop to No. 15 in the polls following a season-low score of 193.850 against the University of Illinois on Jan. 19. LSU coach D-D Breaux urged Tiger fans to be patient with LSU’s young gymnasts despite the team’s slow start. “We have a young team that really hasn’t found its rhythm yet,” Breaux said after the meet. “We are going to change up some things in practice and see if that will reap some rewards on the floor of competition.” Breaux’s changes sparked LSU back into the right direction as the Tigers scored above 195.575 in each of the season’s remaining meets, including scores above 197.000 against No. 1 University of Florida, Pennsylvania State University and University of Nebraska. LSU entered the SEC championship meet No. 4 in the country thanks to a strong end to the season by junior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney and seniors Nicki Butler, Kelly Phelan and Lisa Rennie, as well as sophomore Lauren Klein on floor and beam. Against Centenary College of Louisiana, Clare-Kearney scored a nation’s best 39.775 all-around score, becoming the nation’s No. 1 all-around gymnast. Phelan, Butler and Rennie provided stability behind Clare-Kearney, consistently scoring above 9.750 on each event. LSU advanced to the NCAA Southeast Regional, where the team’s 195.950 score allowed the Tigers to advance to the NCAA Championship Preliminaries. At the NCAA Championships, Clare-Kearney came down with an illness and was rushed to a nearby hospital in Salt Lake City. Clare-Kearney competed despite the illness but was not herself as the Tigers fell two-tenths of a point short of reaching the school’s first-ever Super Six. Freshman Sabrina Franceschelli said Clare-Kearney’s performance was an inspiration to the whole team. “[Clare-Kearney] was very sick at nationals and did not ever show any signs that she was ill,” she said. “After her floor routine, she had a lot of trouble breathing, but she fought through vault and did great.” At the NCAA Championships, the Tigers reversed their season trend by performing well on beam, but small mistakes on the uneven bars and floor put LSU’s fate in the hands of the University of California at Los Angeles. “We had to sit and watch UCLA compete on bars, one of their best events,” Rennie said. “We knew what they needed to get, and after their first three girls, we were still in it because at that point they probably weren’t going to get the score they needed. But the last three girls performed great, and they ended up wedging us out of Super Six again.” Rennie said she is pleased with the way the season unfolded, despite not reaching the Super Six. “If I had to give the season a grade, I would give it a B because to me a B is above average,” she said. “And we definitely finished above average. However, I am not giving us an A because we did miss Super Six.” Franceschelli said she believes LSU will have a great chance to exceed this season’s finish because of the talent on LSU’s roster.
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