The LSU gymnastics team will host No. 4 Utah in the PMAC on Friday, March 11 in yet another top-10 matchup to finish off the regular season.
On top of this being a big meet, it will also be senior night and the last opportunity to see the seniors in the PMAC.
“It should be a great meet top-to-bottom if we can field everybody that we hope to field. It should be highly competitive,” said LSU head coach Jay Clark.
Balance Beam Buzz
The Tigers’ last meet against Kentucky set Tiger fans ablaze during the final rotation and Clark finally addressed what happened with the beam controversy.
During the meet against Kentucky on Friday, March 4, one of the Kentucky gymnasts fell off the beam twice, including on the dismount. A piece of the beam seemed to have fallen off as she performed the dismount, so the judges allowed her to repeat the routine.
The college gymnastics rules state that if a piece of equipment malfunctions with no involvement from the gymnast, the gymnast will be allowed to try again. The Kentucky gymnast did better the second time, so Kentucky was able to drop a lower score and count the higher one to give them the win.
Clark said the part that fell off the beam had no effect on the routine; therefore, she should not have been able to repeat her routine. He has officially spoken to the Southeastern Conference and written a letter to be sent to the coach’s association, though he knows it is now too late to matter for that meet.
Injury Update
Injuries have dominated this season and caused many lineup shifts that have put pressure on the entire team.
“Haleigh is a question mark,” said Clark when asked about her injury status. He said there seems to be something wrong with her foot that they are looking at now. Her status for the meet against Utah and the upcoming postseason is still in question.
Kiya Johnson exited the last meet before competing on beam and floor with a calf injury that is still a problem this week. Clark said she is concerned about the Achilles’ injury, and the calf injury is likely caused by her favoring her injury.
While this season has seen a lot of injuries, LSU has used their depth by playing a variety of athletes.
When Elena Arenas stepped in to take Kai Rivers’ spot after she got injured, she made the most of her opportunity and has delivered for the Tigers since then.
Sizing Up Utah
Utah is ranked No. 4 in the nation and has been in the top-5 almost all season with an NQS of 197.628. This means the Tigers will face stiff competition this week.
Utah’s NQS on Each Event
Vault: 49.385
Uneven Bars: 49.435
Balance Beam: 49.500
Floor Exercise: 49.590
The Red Rocks are No. 5 in the nation on vault, No. 6 on the uneven bars, No. 3 on balance beam and No. 2 on floor exercise.
LSU Improves NQS, Drops to No. 7
LSU comes in a few spots below Utah in the national rankings, since they have dropped to No. 7 this week. Their new NQS is 197.615. This comes in just below Auburn and Alabama, which both have a score of 197.650.
50 Years Milestone
The Tigers are celebrating a very important milestone at the meet this Friday, as it will mark 50 years of women’s varsity sports at LSU.
While a lot of progress has been made since the beginning of Title IX at LSU, Clark made sure to point out there is still a long way to go.
“We still have a lot of disparity that exists. Some of it is market-driven and some of it is not,” said Clark.
SEC Championships
LSU is set to compete in the night session of the SEC Championships on March 19 in Birmingham, Alabama.
