The No. 24 LSU gymnastics team will wrap up its final home meet of the season Friday night when it takes on New Hampshire.
The Tigers will look to rebound from their season-low 192.950 performance last week in a loss at Kentucky when they were forced to count two falls on the balance beam and another on the uneven bars.
“They thought it was going to be easy, and nothing for us this season has been easy,” said LSU coach D-D Breaux. “It goes back to the old adage, ‘You let up, you lose.’ And we let up.”
LSU has taken to the gym this week to make sure the costly errors in Kentucky are fixed.
“We have trained like we were training a month ago, in the sense of intensity and demands on the team,” Breaux said. “We’re hoping that will help us salvage the last three meets of the season.”
Breaux has seen the amped-up practices have an effect on her team.
“They’ve worked hard, and they’ve been enthusiastic,” Breaux said. “They’ve been serious about it, and for the most part we aren’t getting any excuses.”
Friday will also mark Senior Night for the Tigers’ lone senior, Sam Engle.
Engle, a 2010 Second-Team All-American on the uneven bars, has won six career titles and holds career highs of 9.950 on the bars, 9.925 on the balance beam and 9.900 on floor exercise.
The 2011 season has been riddled with injuries and struggles for Engle, but Breux hopes she can salvage something from the season Friday.
“We’ve had some inconsistencies, but hopefully her Senior Night will turn that around,” Breaux said.