The No. 14 LSU gymnastics team will face a tough field for the preliminary round of the NCAA Championships today at 1 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb. To receive its first ever bid to the Super Six, LSU must finish in the top three of a six-team field composed of No. 1 UCLA, No. 3 Arizona State, defending national champion No. 5 Alabama, No. 10 Michigan and No. 13 Iowa.
“We know we are better than Michigan, ASU and Iowa,” said sophomore Lauren Companioni. “The coaches told us to expect to make it to the Super Six. It’s expected to happen.”
The top three finishers from both of today’s two preliminary rounds will advance to the Super Six round tomorrow.
“Every team here is very good or else they wouldn’t be here,” said LSU coach D-D Breaux. “It’s going to be a tough competition, but I think our team is just as capable of making the Super Six as any of the other 11 teams participating.”
Junior Lindsay Beddow said the young team is excited and proud of what they were able to accomplish by making it to nationals.
“We weren’t expected to make it here,” Beddow said.
Teams making it to NCAA Nationals receive some special treatment, making the accomplishment that much sweeter.
“The whole team is so excited about going to nationals,” Companioni said. “Its really a special thing. We definitely earned this.”
Since NCAA regionals two weeks ago, the team spent practice time fine-tuning and focusing on the mental aspects of the sport. The coaches also held a team meeting with the gymnasts getting their input on what they felt should be addressed in practice.
“It’s going to come down to hitting clean sets and sticking dismounts because there isn’t a large margin of error against this type of competition,” Breaux said.
Unlike previous arenas the Tigers have competed in, the crowd is raised and the teams compete in a pit. Companioni believes this will help minimize the distraction of an away crowd.
“Our team just really needs to stay focused,” said freshman April Burkholder.
LSU has made it to nationals four of the last five years but has never gained a bid to the Super Six. The Tigers hope to gain a national reputation for the program and believe it will help the team get higher scores from judges in the future, Companioni said.
“It’s very political because its subjective,” she said. “If judges see us regularly at Super Six and nationals, it could make the difference in some scoring.”