BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In less than 24 hours, the LSU gymnastics squad will compete in Semifinal 1 of the NCAA Championships. Here are three things to keep in mind as the Tigers try to advance to the NCAA Super Six Finals on Saturday. 
Familiar Yet Different Territory
The NCAA Championships will be held in the BJCC Arena, the same venue where LSU competed March 22 for the Southeastern Conference Championships.
But the stakes are higher than they were in the Tigers’ previous visit to Birmingham, Ala., and junior all-arounder Jessie Jordan said she sensed a completely different atmosphere the moment she stepped in the arena.
“I thought it would feel similar [to SECs], but it doesn’t,” Jordan said. “Even walking into the arena, I felt different about it. But I’m assuming that’s a good thing because we were really relaxed and had fun today, and that’s ideal for going into this meet.”
The Tigers will need to keep the good energy flowing because there’s a strong possibility that the majority of the home crowd will be against them. Eleven other fan bases are venturing to Birmingham, Ala., to support their teams who have championship aspirations of their own.
LSU faced a similar situation in the SEC Championships when they contended against four other squads in front of an 8,000-plus crowd, most of which took pleasure in the Tigers’ third-place finish. 
But junior all-arounder Rheagan Courville, the reigning vault national champion, said the squad now knows what to expect and is better prepared to handle what’s bound to be another chaotic environment inside the BJCC Arena.
“All we have to do is stay within ourselves,” Courville said. “Building our own momentum is all we have, and it’s all that we can feed off of. We need to create all the excitement we get as a team.”
Injury Update
LSU suffered a huge blow when senior all-arounder Kaleigh Dickson, a 2014 Regular Season All-American, suffered a foot injury in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional on April 5. Dickson tore the plantar fascia in her right foot during the NCAA regional, and her status for the remainder of the season was questionable.
But the fifth-year senior vowed to fight through her injury and contribute to the team’s goal of a national title in whichever way possible, something LSU coach D-D Breaux found admirable.
“No one wants to sit out after doing what [Dickson’s] done,” Breaux said. “Her body of work is representative of an All-American athlete, and she wants to do that [Friday] night.” 
Breaux said she’s confident Dickson will be able to compete for the squad on the uneven bars and balance beam in spite of the injury, but the final decision would be based upon her status entering the Friday’s meet.
“If Kaleigh feels good [Friday], she’ll get the nod on bars and beam,” Breaux said.
Filling In
Despite the likelihood of competing on bars and beam, Dickson’s foot injury will force her to sit and watch when the squad competes on vault and the floor exercise.
Replacing Dickson won’t be a simple task. In her senior campaign, Dickson set career highs on both vault and floor with matching scores of 9.925. She also claimed vault titles against both Missouri and Kentucky toward the end of the regular season.
But the Tigers’ record-setting season was the result of their complete performance as a team, not only one gymnast’s success, and Breaux said the squad’s fortunes still rests in their own hands.
“Our best kids have to do their best, and we need to build momentum leading to the end of our lineups,” Breaux said. “If that happens, we’ll have a great night.”
Breaux said she’s fairly certain junior Lloimincia Hall will fill in for Dickson on vault. Hall has competed in the event only three times this season, but she earned a share of the vault title against North Carolina State on March 7 with a 9.925. Hall also tallied a 9.900 against Missouri in the meet prior.
For the floor lineup, Breaux juggled between inserting either junior Britney Ranzy or senior Maliah Mathis, two gymnasts who have both won individual floor titles during their collegiate careers. 
Breaux said both of her gymnasts are equally ready to compete for the Tigers, but she’s going to stick with Ranzy with the second consecutive meet.
“Ranzy competed at regionals, so we’re going to give her the nod tomorrow,” Breaux said.