The LSU gymnastics team still has one more chance to improve its standing in the NCAA rankings before postseason play begins.
The No. 19 Tigers (3-9, 0-6) will compete in the Southeastern Conference Championship meet Saturday in Birmingham, Ala.
The likely key for LSU’s success this weekend will be staying healthy, something it has struggled with lately.
The Tigers will be without sophomore Ericka Garcia, who is out for the year after suffering a torn ACL in last weekend’s meet at Alabama.
“Ericka is trying to be positive and do the best she can,” said senior Sam Engle. “She was a major contributor. She was an all-arounder, and it’s awful to lose her.”
It is not yet known whether Garcia will need surgery.
Freshman Maliah Mathis will be back at full strength after she had an incident with her cornea because of her contact lenses.
All-around freshman Sarie Morrison will also return to the lineup following an ankle injury during her vault landing against Alabama.
“We’ll get Sarie back,” said LSU coach D-D Breaux. “We’re not going to pound a lot today, but we’ll do a little more as we get to the end of the week and they get a practice day on the podium, and that may be the hardest day she trains.”
With the team’s depth severely limited, Breaux approached practice this week cautiously.
 
“We’re trying to rest and trying to just do as much as we can to this point to be prepared for this competition,” Breaux said.
“But at this point we’ve been trying to improve every week, and that hasn’t happened, so at this point we’re just going to try to rest and get through SECs.”
Though the Tigers went winless in SEC play during the regular season, they are optimistic about their chances Saturday.
“It all goes back to doing things right in practice,” said junior Ashley Lee. “When we do things right the first time, it instills confidence so when you go into the meet, you know you can do it.”
Despite the injuries sustained at Alabama and an underwhelming team score, Engle was glad the team got the experience in Tuscaloosa.
“They had almost 12,000 fans there, and that will probably be more people than are at SECs,” Engle said. “It was a big-pressure meet, there were a lot of people there, and it was a great atmosphere to get the girls ready for that.”