LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux believes the team that wins the beam exercises, wins the event. This has rung true throughout the season.

Unfortunately for her No. 5 Tigers, the balance beam has been all but kind to her team in 2013.

“I think the kids are just getting a thought ahead of themselves,” Breaux said. “In some cases, if they made a mistake in that skill last week, they think about the mistake they made instead of the cue that brings success. We’re addressing it, it’s just a process.”

According to sophomore Rheagan Courville, the beam event is the coach’s forte with the team.

But the Tigers have consistently scored lower on beam than any other event this season, posting a .481-lower average score throughout the season than their highest scoring event, vault.

However, LSU can’t afford too many mistakes on the beam this weekend when No. 7 Georgia comes to Baton Rouge with the No. 10 beam lineup in the country.

The Tigers already bested Georgia once this season when they traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete in the Metroplex Challenge against multiple top 15-ranked teams.

But, like other Tiger losses this season, LSU didn’t bring home the crown after stumbling on the beam, giving current No. 1 Oklahoma the Metroplex title.

“We know what to expect [from Georgia],” Courville said. “We need to bring the same confidence and energy that we’ve had at all these other meets. We just need to step it up.”

Courville has consistently led the LSU team on the beam, earning four of its five individual titles for the event — the only crown she doesn’t hold is a shared title between sophomore Jessie Jordan and Courville against Missouri.

“Like D-D said, you don’t let ghosts get into your head from falls in the past because if you do, you’ll make the mistake in your head,” Courville said. “If the last thing in your head is something negative, it’s probably going to happen. It’s so precise, so small, you really can’t make any errors or you’re going to fall off.”

Junior Kaleigh Dickson said talking to herself helps her stay focused on the narrow beam.

“[Breaux] tells us to focus on our beam eye and say our key thoughts,” Dickson said. “We’ll say our key thoughts like, ‘chest over the beam, stay tight, stay square.’ We all have our little cues and our key thoughts to stay focused and not let anything get in our heads.”

Breaux said the team is tweaking practices for the upcoming schedule — Georgia and No. 4 Alabama next week — in the hopes more competitive training exercises will get her team prepared for the rough road ahead.

“It’s an opportunity for us to score well and for us to continue to climb in the rankings and ultimately get the kind of seeding we’d like for the NCAAs,” Breaux said. “We’re not trying to do more, just maybe do things a little differently.”