LSU coach D-D Breaux said that if wanting, wishing and desire got you in a lineup, junior all-arounder Lexie Priessman would already be in LSU’s floor lineup.
Priessman is one of the top bar workers in the country, but her goal this season is to show her talents in more than one event.
The reigning Southeastern Conference bars champion has made appearances in other events throughout her first two seasons as a Tiger, but injuries have held her back.
“I’m most definitely looking forward to [getting in more events],” Priessman said. “I’ve worked hard this offseason and into this preseason, and my team’s really pushed me. I can’t thank the team enough for being there to support me, as well as the coaches.”
Priessman has competed on both bars and vault so far this season, averaging 9.888 and 9.913 respectively, and ranked No. 12 in the nation in both events.
She hopes that she can get to the point this season where she can add floor soon and eventually beam closer to the end of the season.
“That’s what she wants to do,” Breaux said. “That’s her goal, and she pretty much meets her goals, so we’ll see if we can help put her there.”
Priessman has struggled with injuries as an elite gymnast and has been working to get into form since she arrived in Baton Rouge as a freshman. She has had six major surgeries, most recently on her knee following the 2017 season.
Despite knee troubles at the midpoint of her sophomore season, Priessman scored a 9.95 at the SEC Championship, a 9.925 at Semifinal II and 9.90 at the NCAA Super Six.
Priessman broke into the vault lineup this season after being limited to just bars halfway through the 2017 season. Those injuries have limited her production and training on beam and floor.
While she is no doubt one of LSU’s biggest contributors on bars, she has not competed on beam since the first meet of her freshman year, where she posted a 9.725. She competed on floor four times during her sophomore season for an average of 9.685 before injuring her knee.
For right now, getting into the floor lineup is Priessman’s main priority.
“We’ve got to make sure that her tumbling skills are where
they need to be and she’s strong enough to get to that last tumbling pass and be safe,” Breaux said.
In order to break into the floor lineup, Priessman will need to work in the weekly intrasquad to show that her body can handle the tumbling.
LSU’s influx of dynamic freshmen has made the competition much harder. Freshman Sarah Edwards has shown consistency on the floor and vault, while Christina Desiderio and Reagan Campbell have held down the middle of LSU’s beam lineup.
Priessman said the freshman have come in and made those who have been in lineups before push even harder.
“I’m going to work hard this week to work my way into that lineup,” Priessman said. “It’s a good thing that I have to work my way into a lineup because it just shows you the depth that we have on this team and everyone is constantly pushing each other.”
Breaux has always had depth on her teams, but this team puts her in a good place of having to choose from multiple routines while also having substitutions when necessary.
While she doesn’t feel like she will ever be 100 percent again, Priessman said this is the best she has felt in years and hopes she will be healthy and consistent enough to insert herself in more lineups.
“I personally feel like I’m at my healthiest that I’ve been here in college,” Priessman said. “It’s always a good thing to feel that way. I’m someone who has been through a lot down the road, but I can say right now that I feel the best that I have in college.”
