The LSU gymnastics team went into Friday’s Super Six meet with the goal of winning a national championship.
But following another disappointing performance on the balance beam, the Tigers finished the meet in the sixth place.
“We just ran out of gas,” said LSU coach D-D Breaux. “By the time we got to beam there was nothing left.”
Senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney was proud of everything the team accomplished over the season, but had aspirations for a higher finish.
“I’m a very competitive person,” Clare-Kearney said. “I think we could have been national champions, but it didn’t happen that way.”
Clare-Kearney did stay on the balance beam for the first time in six meets.
“I knew I did not want to end my career falling on the beam,” Clare-Kearney said. “That monkey is off my back now.”
Four Tigers will compete for individual national titles Saturday. Clare-Kearney will compete on vault, bars and floor.
Junior Susan Jackson, the defending national champion on vault, will attempt to defend her title. Sophomore Staci Schwitkis will go for a title on the vault, and junior Summer Hubbard will compete on the uneven bars.
 
—-Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]