The LSU gymnastics team relied on the stability of the middle of their lineup last season to return to the Super Six after early-season injuries knocked sophomore Nicole Lyons and former Tiger Lauren Klein, two mainstays in various apparatuses for the Tigers, out for the season.The Tigers received news last week that one of the anchors of the middle of the vault and bars lineups may not be able to help hold down the middle any more.Junior Staci Schwitkis may see her career come to an early end due to back injuries that have plagued her for the past few years, LSU coach D-D Breaux said.The 2009 All-American on vault averaged a 9.827 on the apparatus for the season and finished No. 10 in the national championships. She also averaged a 9.770 on the bars.”She will be a huge loss to us,” Breaux said. “She has fought the battle with her back for two years, but it’s gotten to the point where it’s painful every day for her. We decided that we are going to put her on a medical [redshirt] and let her contribute to the team in other ways.”Breaux said the most important thing the team is focusing on right now is getting the rest of the team completely healthy.”The injuries that we have to push through in the season, we try to get those things well,” Breaux said.But while the loss may hurt the team, the Tigers are looking forward to the addition of three freshmen to next season’s roster – Kaleigh Dickson, Janelle Garcia and Shelby Prunty.All three are on campus getting adjusted to life in college. Garcia in particular has to get used to being in a classroom after being home schooled since third grade.Senior Susan Jackson said it’s good to have the freshmen on campus with the team so everyone can get adjusted to one another before official team practices begin in late September.”Once preseason comes along, we are together all the time,” Jackson said. “It’s good for them to come into school and learn the campus … We won’t have the same clutter [as in the summer] coming into preseason when we are trying to get all of our skills and routines as we come back into the gym.”Although their season ended less than three months ago with a sixth place finish in the Super Six, the team has been doing some outside work to keep in shape and get healthy for the upcoming season.The majority of their work right now as conditioning and weight training in the early morning with a little of “open gym” practice in the afternoons, said senior Summer Hubbard.”In order to maintain fitness, we run,” Hubbard said. “Floor routines and bar routines, those are a whole minute and a half of hardcore cardio, so we have to maintain that. Come preseason, if we’re in good enough shape, all of our gymnastics will be there. It’s just muscle memory at that point.”Hubbard is also doing work in preparation of the possibility of becoming an all-around gymnast. She didn’t compete in vault last season but competed in every other apparatus, earning First-Team All-American on bars.The St. Petersburg, Fla., native said she has to be healthy and in shape to compete in all four apparatuses, so right now she is working on the basics to prepare herself.”I’m just working on the smaller aspects of each event and maintaining my weight and fitness so that when preseason comes, I can kick it into gear,” Hubbard said. “I’m working on all four, but not pounding myself yet.”—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]