LSU gymnastics fell to Arkansas earlier this season at a neutral site. Strangely, they may be better off meeting the Hogs in their own pig pen.
The No. 25 Lady Tigers (1-4, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) travel to Fayetteville, Ark., on Friday to seek revenge against the No. 3 Lady Razorbacks (5-0, 1-0 SEC), the Cancun Classic champions. LSU finished last place in Mexico, but are 4-0-1 in Fayetteville.
The Tigers’ away record, coupled with the improvement shown in the squad’s victory over Auburn last week, should provide confidence going into Friday’s meet.
“We need to continue getting better each week, and the focus against Arkansas is to hit our handstand positions and stick our landings on bars,” said LSU coach D-D Breaux in a news release.
LSU capitalized on the chance at retribution last weekend against Auburn, who placed third in Cancun. The Lady Tigers increased their score from 192.500 to 195.025, minimizing their falls and tightening their routines.
“That’s what we need to see each week is that kind of improvement,” Breaux said. “I think we’re the kind of team we saw Friday night.”
Breaux said she hopes the return of All-American sophomore Kaleigh Dickson from a foot ailment will produce similar results as last week, when juniors Ericka Garcia and Shelby Prunty competed on beam for the first time after major injuries.
Sophomores Maliah Mathis and Sarie Morrison will still be limited to one event each, with Mathis competing in vault and Morrison anchoring the bars.
“Getting those types of performers back in our lineup is key,” Breaux said.
The freshmen have quickly improved to pace the squad’s efforts. Lloimincia Hall, Jessie Jordan and Rheagan Courville sealed a fresh sweep of the all-around top three in the meet against Auburn.
While Courville and Hall have their spots locked down for now, ranking No. 10 on vault and No. 13 on floor, respectively, the lineup will likely continue to change as experienced depth is added.
“Every meet throughout the beginning of the season, the lineups are going to shift around a little bit,” Prunty said. “Everybody works different at different spots in the lineup. Eventually we’ll figure things out and make a solid lineup.
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