A national championship preview at the PMAC this weekend? It’s happening.
Florida comes to Baton Rouge fresh off the highest-scoring performance in the nation so far this season, while LSU edged out a close road meet versus Auburn.
If you haven’t figured it out, this isn’t basketball. The phrase “national championship” should have told you that.
Instead, it’s the No. 3 LSU gymnastics team’s meet tonight against No. 2 Florida.
I’m not going to pretend to be a gymnastics expert. I don’t know all the technical mumbo-jumbo or why no one ever scores below a 9.7 without falling down. Even when they fall down, they still get a 9.1.
It’s all so technical and confusing, but that’s probably because my knowledge of the sport goes as far as the one meet I attended in January and my little cousin’s birthday party about five years ago.
But what I do know is the LSU gymnastics team is good. Like, really good.
Recently, the Tigers have developed into one of the premier gymnastics programs in the country, reaching the Super Six in 2013 and 2014 and four times in the last seven seasons.
This year, LSU looks ready for a return trip.
The Tigers feature two of the five best gymnasts in the country in senior all-arounders Rheagan Courville and Jessie Jordan, who rank third and fifth in all-around average, respectively. Courville is second on bars, seventh on vault and No. 22 on beam. Jordan ranks second on beam, No. 10 on floor and No. 11 on bars.
That’s just the Tigers’ two usual all-around competitors. A bevy of other competitors have LSU ranked in the top six on all four events and top three on beam, bars and floor.
Sophomores Ashleigh Gnat and Sydney Ewing, freshmen Myia Hambrick and Erin Macadaeg and juniors Randii Wyrick and Jessica Savona make up a strong supporting cast on their respective events for the Tigers’ two superstars.
If you’re an avid LSU gym fan, you’ve probably noticed I left out senior all-arounder and three-time Southeastern Conference floor champion Lloimincia Hall. If you’re not a gym fan, then you’ll probably remember her swagger-filled routine from last season that reached 1 million views online.
Hall sports an unusual style on the floor. It’s not your traditional floor routine filled with grace and elegance. It’s the most exciting minute and a half you might ever see in college gymnastics.
This year, her routine features the same power, rhythm and enthusiasm to go along with the music of Louisiana. If you haven’t seen it yet, go to the meet tonight to check it out. It’ll be one of your only chances to hear “Neck” at the PMAC.
Associate head coach Jay Clark said on Feb. 7 on Twitter he wants 10,000 people to attend the meet against Florida. If he gets his wish, you’ll never hear the PMAC any louder than when Hall closes out the meet with her floor routine.
Dads planning to take your sons to the baseball game tonight, move it to tomorrow and instead take your wife and daughter to the gym meet. Students, give up your free drinks at Fred’s for one weekend.
If you want to see a perennial national champion contender perform at the highest level, there is nowhere else to be.
Brian Pellerin is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from Kenner, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @Pellerin_TDR.