The awards keep coming for LSU senior gymnast Susan Jackson.Jackson was awarded the Honda Sports Award for gymnastics as the nation’s top female college gymnast Wednesday.Jackson is the first LSU gymnast to win the award and the second to be a finalist for the award after Ashleigh Clare-Kearney was a finalist in 2009.”I am extremely honored and humbled to win the Honda Sports Award,” Jackson said in a news release. “To be recognized among such a talented group of gymnasts is very gratifying. The outstanding level of support from my teammates and coaches has been instrumental to my success both inside and outside of the gym.”Jackson was the first gymnast in LSU history to win the NCAA all-around national title. She won three national titles in her career — the all-around and beam titles in 2010 and the vault in 2008.Jackson also won 2010 Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Year.While Jackson is still getting awards for the 2010 season, the returning members of the LSU gymnastics team are getting right back to work.The Tigers are already participating in voluntary workouts attempting to reach the 2011 Super Six, a goal the 2010 squad just missed on April 22.Sam Engle, the lone rising senior on the team, said the Tigers are focusing on their strength and conditioning.”For now, we’re pretty much working on getting in shape,” Engle said. “We want to be in the best shape we can and be as healthy as we can, and hopefully that helps us a lot for next year.”But the 2011 gymnastics team will have a much different look.LSU must fill the void of the four departing team members — Jackson, Sabrina Franceschelli, Summer Hubbard and Kayla Rogers.But the Tigers will have two returning All-Americans in Engle and junior Ashley Lee.”You can’t replace people like that, but we just have to go out and try to fill their shoes,” Lee said. “They did an awesome job last year keeping us together and making us want to work hard.”The two All-Americans know they must take the reins and lead the team.”I’m excited,” Engle said. “It’s kind of nerve-racking because I’m the only senior, but I know I’ve got two juniors and all the sophomores to help me out. I’m excited, though, because it’s going to be a new challenge for me.”Lee said Engle has already stepped up and filled the leadership role.”Sam is quiet, but she’s learning how to speak her mind,” Lee said. “She’s already stepping up. I think between us three upperclassmen, we’re going to work together to keep everyone positive and upbeat. And if we can do that, I think we’re going to have a good season.”The Tigers will also have a solid crop of new freshmen joining the team in the fall.Headlining the class for the Tigers will be Sarah Zoldos and Maliah Mathis.Zoldos, a Clearwater, Fla., native, is a level-10 gymnast from LaFleur’s Tampa Gymnastics in Tampa, Fla.She is also a two-time Junior Olympic National Qualifier.Zoldos won the all-around title at the level-8 regional in 2006 and won the level-9 regional in 2007.”We are looking forward to her coming to LSU, growing and getting better,” LSU coach D-D Breaux said in a news release after LSU signed Zoldos. “She is one of those kids you recruit and project that they will make improvements. We have built our program around those kinds of kids, so I think she will do really well here.”Mathis is also a level-10 gymnast and hails from Aerial Athletics in San Antonio. She captured the vault title in the 2009 regionals and finished second in both the floor exercise and the all-around.She has also scored a perfect 10.00 on the vault in 2009.”Maliah has an outstanding foundation and will come in and get better and better,” Breaux said. “Vaulting and tumbling are her real strong points. She has competed level-10 and has had a lot of success, and we feel like she will only get better when she steps on campus at LSU.”____Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]