With an off week between the Southeastern Conference Championship and regionals, the No. 2 LSU gymnastics team had a chance to rest and focus on the challenges that lie ahead.
The Tigers are traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska, on April 1 for the first time in their previous 32 Regional appearances.
LSU gymnasts are no stranger to competing in the postseason, but the Tigers are strangers to Lincoln.
“We’re obviously really excited competing in an away environment — it’s always a new challenge for us,” senior all-arounder Ashleigh Gnat said. “We like to get into new environments and see what the energy is like and be able to make our own space, kind of. Create our own environment and really just get out there and show everybody what we’ve got.”
LSU coach D-D Breaux said that now is not the time for changing or altering routines, but for perfecting the little things, like landings and executions, and making adjustments where they are needed.
Despite the Tigers’ aspiration for a national championship, LSU gymnasts realize they still have to have a strong showing in Lincoln.
“They want us to be exactly the same, and they want us to get better continuously as we go into the next meet,” Gnat said. “So this week, we’re taking things just as seriously no matter who we’re competing against. We want to be our best, and we want to use that as a spring forward as we go into nationals.”
Joining the second-ranked Tigers in Nebraska will be No. 11 Boise State, No. 14 Nebraska, No. 25 Arizona, Iowa State and Minnesota.
Breaux said that having a third seed as the host can be a “dangerous” position because of the strength of the qualifying team.
“Nebraska is a really good team. We’ve seen them, not this season but last season, and they have talent, and so does Boise State,” senior all-arounder Sydney Ewing said. “So we’re not going in there with any type of ‘It’s going to be given to us’ attitude. We’re going to have to perform well and that’s what we want to do.”
LSU needs to constantly bring their “A-game” to compete against the rest of the country, Breaux said.
“[You’re] only as good as your next one,” Breaux said. “We just need to stay in the process. We talk to the kids a lot about staying in the zone, working on your mental cues and knowing that you’re really prepared when you step up to the apparatus and its just another meet. They know the significance of it.”
Though the Tigers have had much success this season, both Gnat and Breaux believe that their best meet is yet to come.
Breaux describes Auburn, Florida and Alabama as some of their best meets, but the entire team has never been great at once.
“I would say that our best meet is an environment where we’re all relaxed and loose and just getting ready to do our best,” Gnat said. “But there’s no number on it, there’s no exact definition of what it’s going to look like, but I do really think that it’s in the future.”
Building up confidence and competing to their best ability is key for the Tigers during the last few weeks of the season.
Ewing said posting a good score at regionals will give them that confidence and perception for Nationals.
“You can have a little bit of swagger, a little bit of self confidence because self confidence is the first prerequisite to great undertakings,” Breaux said. “So you go in with that self confidence, you’re just a little bit cocky, you’re setting yourself up to have success.”