The No. 14 LSU gymnastics team picked up its first SEC win of the season by beating No. 13 Arkansas 196.775-196.45 in Fayetteville, Ark. on Friday night at Barnhill Arena.
“I’m very pleased with our performance tonight,” said coach D-D Breaux. “We got the momentum going and were able to continue it. I think we tried a little too hard on beam in the final rotation, but that will come with experience. We came into this meet under some diversity and I think we really showed some character tonight.”
The Tigers, who had been struggling in the bar competition, put up their highest performance of the season by scoring a 49.4 in the event.
Junior All-American Annie Gagon tied her career high for a third straight week with a 9.925 in the event to win the individual title.
The team then scored a 49.25 on the vault behind April Burkholder’s individual title winning score of 9.925.
Burkholder also scored individual titles in the beam and floor competitions to give her the all-around title with a score of 39.775. Burkholder’s performance is the second highest all-around total in school history behind her own record she set last season.
The team was excellent in the floor competition with five Tigers scoring at least a 9.85 to mount a team score of 49.4, giving them a 1.025 point lead going into the final rotation.
Burkholder scored a near perfect 9.975 while Kelly Phelan scored a 9.875, giving her third place overall. Brittany Brown, Terin Martinjak, and Lisa Rennie scored a 9.85.
The team suffered two falls on the beam, giving them a team score of 48.725, but was able to close out the win when Burkholder scored a 9.975 in the event.
“April was absolutely fabulous tonight,” Breaux said. “To put up those kind of scores, especially on the road, really shows what kind of competitor she is.”
Phelan finished with a 38.850 all-around, including her third place finish on the floor.
LSU goes on the road again to take on No. 2 Georgia in Athens, Ga. on Friday.