Eleven of the 13 members on the LSU gymnastics team’s 2003 regional roster were underclassmen, eight of them freshmen.
When the time came to perform they “competed like seasoned veterans,” said LSU gymnastics head coach D-D Breaux.
On April 12 the team competed at the NCAA West Regional Championships at the University of Washington and edged out the home team with a 195.700 to 195.675, to take second place and qualify for the NCAA National Championships.
Nebraska took the regional championship with a 196.650.
Washington finished ahead of Cal State Fullerton, Boise State and San Jose State, who all failed to qualify for the NCAA’s.
The Tigers began on the vault where they came out strong behind April Burkholder’s 9.825.
The Tigers continued with strong performances on the bars. Annie Gagnon and Katherine Hilton led the bar lineup with identical scores of 9.875.
After the first two events, the Tigers were tied for second with Washington. The third rotation would not go so well for the Tigers, who were forced to count a fall on the balance beam, putting them behind Washington and further away from their goal of competing at the NCAA’s. Yet, Washington would have the same fate on the beam, leaving room for the Tigers to come back.
Freshmen Kelly Lea said the team was in the arena when the first two Washington competitors on the balance beam performed excellent routines. Breaux then took the team into the locker room to keep focused. Lea said assistant coach Bob Moore watched the remaining Washington competitors and informed the team of the two falls.
Lea said at that point LSU knew they were still in the running, and they were able stay positive.
The Tigers needed a 49.225 cumulative score on the floor exercise to sneak past Washington for the final qualifying spot.
The two sophomores in the floor lineup, Lauren Companioni and Jade Jenkins, turned in mediocre scores of 9.675 and 9.700 while freshman Kelly Lea turned in a 9.800.
However, the freshman trio of Terin Martinjak, Brittany Brown and Burkholder pulled the Tigers into the lead.
Martinjak and Brown contributed identical scores of 9.900, finishing in a third place tie in the event.
In the final routine of the meet, Burkholder, the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year, sealed the Tiger’s second-place finish by taking the floor title with a 9.925, exactly the score she needed to pull LSU past Washington.
“We went out trying to do the best we could because we knew it was going to take our best,” said junior Lindsay Beddow.
Brown said she was concentrating on having clean form and being focused. She said the college atmosphere has been tough for the freshmen to adjust to but feels they are accustomed to it now.
Burkholder came in third in the all-around with a 39.450, finishing behind Nebraska’s Rochelle Simpson and A.J. Lamb. Simpson took the all-around title with a score of 39.575 while Lamb took the vault title with a 9.900 and came in second in the all-around with a 39.525.
The first round of the NCAA Championships takes place Thursday, April 24, in Lincoln, Neb.