LSU coach D-D Breaux said the No. 7 LSU gymnastics team didn’t get exactly what it was looking for heading into Friday’s matchup with No. 1 Georgia.The Tigers (5-0) posted a 194.175 to defeat Southeast Missouri State (191.675) and the University of Iowa (191.375) in Iowa on Friday night. The score was nearly seven-tenths below the Tigers’ score in their first meet of the season.”It was off the mark. It was not really what we needed or what we are capable of doing,” Breaux said. “It concerns me a lot. It puts a lot of question marks in my mind, and we will have to work a lot harder this week than I wanted to.”Individually, the Tigers did well. Junior Susan Jackson took home the all-around title and senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearny placed third in the meet.On the vault, the Tigers placed the top four, with Jackson, the reigning national champion, placing first, posting a career-high 9.95.”I took a little bitty hop,” Jackson said. “I didn’t scoot back any, I just came off the mat a little bit.”The Tigers placed one-two on the uneven parallel bars, with Clare-Kearney taking the title with a 9.85.LSU also won on the balance beam and the floor with sophomore Samantha Engle and Clare-Kearney winning their respective events to give the Tigers a sweep of the four apparatuses. OVER THE BREAK AND UPCOMINGThe Tigers captured the title at the Cancun Classic in Cancun, Mexico, on Jan. 2 in their first meet of the season by posting a score of 194.900 to defeat No. 19 Boise State (193.700), No. 8 Michigan (192.700) and North Carolina (190.325).”I was very pleased,” Breaux said. “We wanted to have a cohesive team experience. We wanted to do a lot of things together in a relaxed environment but take our competition very seriously. We did all of those and had a lot of success.”Individually, Clare-Kearney captured the all-around crown with a 39.350. Junior Sabrina Franceschelli (38.775) and Jackson (38.650) finished second and third, respectively, to give LSU an all-around sweep.
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