Before the season began, the LSU gymnastics team was already facing an uphill battle.
The Tigers were faced with the task of attempting to replace four seniors from the 2010 squad — including three time National Champion Susan Jackson.
Then in the team’s first meet of the season, Sam Engle, the team’s lone senior, went down with an ankle injury.
The injury put the Tigers down a solid performer, but most importantly, left the Tigers without their most experienced competitor.
But when LSU’s youngsters, especially the freshmen, were thrown into the fire, they responded by overachieving on a regular basis.
Freshman Sarie Morrison became an early staple of the Tigers’ all-around lineup. She averaged a 38.880 in the all-around for the season and was named to the All-Southeastern Conference Second Team and was named SEC Freshman of the Week once during the season.
Despite struggling in the win/loss column during the season — the Tigers finished 8-15 — the Tigers qualified for the NCAA Regional in Athens, Ga.
In the Athens Regional, LSU finished in third place, so it did not qualify for the NCAA Championships, but redshirt freshman Kaleigh Dickson qualified for the individual championships in the all-around.
“We’ve shown some kinks in the armor this season, and we never got any momentum going tonight,” said LSU coach D-D Breaux. “We showed our youth and inexperience, but we were as prepared as we could have been. Next year we are going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
The Tigers’ roster will again contain only one senior in 2012, but they will have two returning All-Americans, Dickson and senior Ashley Lee.
At the 2011 NCAA Championships, Dickson finished in seventh place and was named a Second Team All-American.
She marks the 10th gymnast in LSU history to garner All-American honors.
“I am as proud of her for the accomplishment and type of competition she put together as I have been for any athlete we have had,” Breaux said. “The fact she came back from a serious injury, stayed in the process the whole time and never wavered is amazing. She was a leader for us all season long, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]
Tigers struggle with lack of experience
May 7, 2011