The LSU gymnastics team practices several hours a week in the Maddox Field House in preparation for upcoming meets. But so far this season, practice has not made perfect for the No. 15 Tigers. LSU has struggled in the beam and floor events through the first three meets of the season. Adding to LSU’s frustration is the Tigers’ inability to perform well under pressure situations. Senior gymnast Nicki Butler said LSU performs better under practice situations than in meets. “It’s just a matter of putting it together in the PMAC,” she said. “We do it day in and day out at practice; so maybe we just need to challenge ourselves more in the gym, putting more pressure on ourselves so it will feel more like the same.” The balance beam has been the biggest problem for the Tigers. So far this season LSU averages 47.8 on the beam, nearly a point lower than the Tigers’ next-lowest average. The Tigers have fallen on the beam seven times this season, a problem junior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney said is nonexistent in practice. “In practice we look great,” she said. “We’re a No. 1 team in practice. But when we get here, somehow, I don’t know what it is, but we fall apart.” The bright spot of LSU’s season has been the play of the vault team, which was named the nation’s best team Monday for the second straight week. The highlight of the vault team was Clare-Kearney’s perfect 10.0 at the Super Six on Jan. 5, but four other LSU gymnasts have posted scores of over 9.80 on the event this season. “I think we’ve got six kids who can really get the job done,” coach D-D Breaux said. Despite the team’s early season struggles, no one on the team is doubting that LSU will progress as the season goes on. “It’s a new team, and it’s a new mix of team,” Breaux said. “They really don’t have that rhythm, they don’t have that trust. I think that in the next couple of weeks, that is going to have to come around.” Clare-Kearney said the team will be one of the nation’s best once it figures out how to perform during meets. “When we find what we need and what we’re supposed to do to make us hit every event the way we know how, we’re going to be a really great team.”
—–Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]