Coming off three meets where it has scored more than 197 points, the No. 10 LSU gymnastics team prepares to take on Auburn today at 7 p.m. in the PMAC.
The Tigers beat Kentucky last Friday,197.375-194.875. April Burkholder scored a 10 on the floor for the second time this year and the third time in her career.
The Tigers also won a triangular meet against Arizona and Texas Woman’s on Monday with a score of 197.1. The Tigers were led by Burkholder’s 10 on the vault and Terin Martinjak and Nicole Butler’s 10s on the floor.
Burkholder said she is glad to finally get a 10 in a different event.
“I was surprised because I usually don’t get it,” Burkholder said. “I usually get a 9.975, so it felt good to get the 10 this time.”
Burkholder has also been named Southeastern Conference gymnast of the week for the second time in three weeks because of the two 10s.
Nicole Butler said she was surprised by the perfect score.
“I really wasn’t expecting to score that well,” Butler said. “I thought it was a good routine but I didn’t think it was perfect.”
Martinjak said she was not expecting the 10, but she is not complaining.
“I was so excited,” Martinjak said. “I was jumping up and screaming.”
A sophomore on the team, Martinjak competes in the vault, beam and floor lineups for the Tigers.
Coach D-D Breaux said Martinjak plays an important role on the team because she sets up Burkholder in the lineup.
“Terin’s been very focused,” Breaux said. “She’s been a lot [more] free to express herself this year, and I think that freedom and that confidence has led to her being a much more consistent, more confident performer. She has been fabulous for us in balance beam and floor exercise. She’s been a backup in vaulting and she will probably vault against Auburn. Her having solid performances is key to our lineup. She generally sets up April [Burkholder] to get a good high score, and Terin, in her own right, does a lot of difficulty and does everything with polish, she’s got a real flare in her performances.”
Teammate Kelly Lea said Martinjak contributes to the team’s chemistry. The Clearwater, Fla., native also has a no-quit attitude, said Lea.
“She is an awesome teammate,” Lea said. “She’s there to support all of us all the time. She works extremely hard and she’s a perfectionist to the end. If one little thing is wrong, she doesn’t leave until it’s great.”
Martinjak said she wants to take what she has done in the gym into the competitions.
“I would just like to see what I’ve been doing, training like I’ve been training in practice; I’d like to hit routines and contribute to the team,” Martinjak said.
Martinjak said the team is eager to take on Auburn.
“We’re ready to go,” Martinjak said. “We’re pretty excited. We just came off of three 197s in a row, so we’re looking to continue that trend.”
Breaux said she wants to see the team continue to compete the same way they have been since the beginning of the year.
“Auburn will be a test,” Breaux said. “It will be a hard meet for us. [We want to] try and create consistency, put together 24 solid performances, get together some momentum and build a good team score leading into the end of our season.”