Senior all-arounder Myia Hambrick*, as well as the rest of the LSU gymnastics team, strive to get better every single day.
Hambrick was just named as the SEC’s Gymnast of Week for her dominant performance against Florida. She won the all-around title with a score of 39.550, which helped secure the 197.250-197.125 victory for the Tigers.
She joined junior all-arounder Sarah Finnegan as the only two SEC Gymnasts of the Week so far this season.
But while other college teams, such as SEC rival Alabama and defending national champion Oklahoma, are performing well across the country, Hambrick focuses specifically on how she and her teammates can improve throughout the season.
It all starts with training the way that they have been training and finding ways to outduel those teams every week.
“In gymnastics, it’s kind of easy to stay motivated,” Hambrick said. “We come into the gym and we work really hard on perfecting, even if it’s just like a small thing, like hitting better handstands on bars or getting better technically so you’ll have a better landing.”
Hambrick and senior beam specialist Erin Macadaeg have even embraced their anchor positions and like setting up the tone for the rest of the lineup.
“A lot of the girls have said that they like having us at the beginning, especially when we hit really well back-to-back,” Hambrick said. “It’s also just impressive for everyone else to see because it’s such a big thing when talking about the end of the lineup.”
With Hambrick stepping up and maintaining her confidence, LSU continues to be the cream of the crop. The Tigers started their season ranked at No. 3 and rose to No. 1 following the team’s home win over Arkansas. LSU’s average score of 197.2 is still the highest in the nation.
The Tigers continue to defend their top status this Friday night against No. 9 Alabama in the PMAC, and the upcoming meet has already generated a lot of buzz.
“The Alabama meet is always exciting,” LSU coach D-D Breaux said. “It’s just like the Alabama football game and the Alabama basketball game.”
But Breaux knows that things still need to be put in perspective. She focuses specifically on the quality of performances, as well as having all of the gymnasts thrive in each event.
“It’s not about individuals scoring perfect 10’s, but it’s about team performance,” Breaux said.
  *Editor’s Note: Myia Hambrick is a former employee of The Daily Reveille