The No. 14 LSU gymnastics team season ended a day earlier than they had hoped. The Tigers were unable to finish in the top three of Thursday’s first preliminary round in Lincoln, Neb.
Due to some mistakes, LSU finished in fifth place with a score of 194.000, while No. 1 UCLA finished first scoring 196.950.
“The scoring was tight, and we had to count some mistakes, but the kids pushed hard and did a good job,” said LSU coach D-D Breaux.
No. 5 Alabama placed second scoring 196.775 and No. 10 Michigan grabbed third scoring 196.125 to join UCLA in representing the first session at the Super Six today.
The Tigers competed in olympic order by beginning on vault and finishing on floor.
LSU got off to a slow start with a 48.325 performance on vault. Freshman April Burkholder led the Tigers on the event with a score of 9.775.
After sitting out a round with a bye, sophomore Annie Gagnon led the Tigers with a 9.825 on the uneven bars and helped the team achieve a solid 48.750 score. Burkholder and junior Lindsay Beddow also contributed strong performances scoring 9.775 and 9.750 respectively.
Mistakes plagued the Tigers during the fourth rotation causing LSU to post a 48.400 team score on the balance beam. Sophomore Jade Jenkins led the team with a 9.775 and two other Tigers scored 9.700 or better. Due to a fall, they were forced to count a 9.550 performance by Burkholder.
The Tigers sat out another round before competing on floor. Usually their strongest event, the Tigers only were able to tally a score of 48.525. Freshman Terin Martinjak led the tea with a 9.825. Once again falls forced the Tigers to count a low score.
Although the Tigers did not finish with their best performance of the season, Breaux believes the team made great strides since the season began.
“This team really came around this year,” Breaux said. “They’ve worked hard all season long, and I truly believe that this experience is going to make them an even tougher team next season.”
With a large majority of the team being underclassman, Breaux believes the team performed beyond their age and experience.
“With so many freshmen on this team, I think we did what we were capable of,” Breaux said. “It was truly a learning experience for this young team.”