After 38 seasons of coaching LSU gymnastics, D-D Breaux will spend her birthday weekend in her 39th season in Las Vegas.
But she won’t be going for slot machines, poker chips and booze.
Breaux will be joined by all 15 of her pupils and two associate head coaches.
It’s a business trip, as the team calls it.
The top-ranked Tigers are set to compete against No. 23 North Carolina State at 9 p.m. tonight in the Lady Luck Invitational in the South Point Hotel Arena and Exhibit Hall, 5.8 miles from the south end of the world-renowned Las Vegas Strip.
“They are excited about the trip,” Breaux said.
For Breaux, a second victory against a top-25 opponent could be cause for celebration. But, Thursday’s meet will also be a party for senior all-arounder Randii Wyrick.
Wyrick, a Canyon Springs High School in North Las Vegas alumnus, boasts at the opportunity to finally compete in front of her friends from back home.
Her family, friends and past teammates will gather to see how LSU has groomed one of its veteran gymnasts in the height of collegiate gymnastics competition.
They’ll be lots of people there, she said.
“My mom’s been making plenty of Facebook posts, so I’m sure it’ll be a good crowd,” Wyrick said. “We’ll have a bunch of people there.”
Wyrick, one of eldest members of the Tigers team, will be performing in her hometown beside one of her senior colleagues all-arounder Jessica Savona, so the Tigers hope.
Savona — along with freshman all-arounder and the No. 1 overall recruit of the 2016 class, Lexie Priessman — was limited in Saturday’s opening meet due to a minor ankle injury, Breaux says.
The LSU coaching staff is hopeful the pair will be ready to compete, but said they will monitor the respective injuries throughout the week.
“We hope so,” Breaux said. “[Lexie Priessman] or Jessica Savona, we would like to get them in.”
Both competed in Saturday’s season-opening meet, but not without full consent of all members of the coaching staff.
Savona, a featured floor and bars specialist, completed a counted bars routine with a score of 9.775. Priessman performed on beam, 9.725, and vault, 9.775, and exhibitioned on bars, 9.700. Priessman nearly completed the all-around with her floor routine, but Breaux removed Priessman after the ankle seemed to be an issue throughout the night.
Although the Tigers were not at full force, the team defeated then-No. 1 Oklahoma 196.950-196.725 on Saturday, bumping LSU to the nation’s top spot for the seventh time in program history. The team is currently tied with Michigan for No. 1 overall.
Breaux said LSU is holding the placement in “reverence,” but the ranking only matters at the end of the season.
“Being number one is great,” Breaux said. “We certainly appreciate it and hold it in high reverence. This is just a short, short piece of our marathon journey.”
The “marathon journey” is Breaux’s resounded message to controlling the over-excitement and prevention of under-preparation as the Tigers move onto their second meet of the season.
“Stay hungry,” Breaux said of what her message was to the team after the season-opening victory. “This isn’t a sprint. What we saw on Saturday was just one leg, one chapter of the story that I think this team intends to write.”