Despite scoring their second-highest team score of the season, the LSU gymnastics team left the PMAC with a loss Friday night against the Florida Gators, 196.950 to 196.500.
LSU had some exceptional performances, including April Burkholder’s 9.975 on the vault which earned her a first place. Burkholder tumbled her way to another first-place finish on the floor exercise with a 9.95 and a second place all-around finish with a score of 39.10.
Florida’s Orley Szmuch took the all-around title.
Despite a number of ruckus fans with signs such as “Will you marry me, April?” and “If not him, what about me?”, Burkholder maintained her composure.
“It doesn’t distract me,” Burkholder said with a smile.
The Lady Tigers appreciated the crowd that showed their support in front of the ESPN cameras.
“We love our fans, the support we get, and we love competing in our home arena,” said sophomore Jade Jenkins.
Even with two first-place finishes and a second-place finish in the all-around, Burkholder was disappointed in her performance on the beam where she took a fall for the second week in a row.
“I know I could have done better,” Burkholder said. “That [mistake on beam] was a stupid mistake.”
Other LSU winners were Jenkins, freshman Terin Martinjak, and junior Lindsay Beddow.
      Jenkins came away with a tie for second place on the floor after scoring a 9.925 while Martinjak tied for third place on the beam with a score of 9.878.
Beddow, who is ranked 17th in the nation on the bars, tied for third place on the event with a 9.825. Beddow said the national ranking does not affect her thought process during a meet.
“I’m thinking about the team and about hitting my best routine,” Beddow said. “It’s exciting [to be ranked] but it’s more important for the team to be ranked.”
Beddow said she feels a responsibility to help lead the team as she was one of only two upperclassmen to compete against Florida.
“I feel like it’s my duty to keep the bar lineup focused,” Beddow said. “I also try to do the same in practice.”
Beddow, Burkholder, and Jenkins said the team needs to work on sticking landings on each event.
“We’ve been working on that,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “Maybe now that [the gymnasts] think we need to work on it, we can work on it with a little more spirit. [Sticking landings] will truly make a difference in the meet.”