With another meet against a top-ranked opponent, No. 1 LSU is looking to continue improving in its upcoming matchup against No. 4 Alabama.
LSU dominated in its home opener against Southeastern Conference opponent Georgia on Jan. 6 with a record breaking score of 197.825, which propelled the Tigers to No. 1 in the country.
Amid the excitement, the team is focused on not letting this affect the way they compete.
“It was really exciting just waking up being like ‘Oh, we’re No. 1,’” senior all-arounder Ashleigh Gnat said. “It’s cool but it’s something that we can’t buy into as a team. We have to be focused on us and what we’re doing.”
A big part of competing is remembering it is about more than just the team on the other side of the arena, LSU coach D-D Breaux said. She reminds the team they are competing against everyone, and they cannot be affected by the people on the floor.
Despite a strong opening meet, the key is consistency and self confidence, Breaux said. One person having energy and aggression creates a “benchmark performance” that motivates the rest of the team.
“The thing that really catapulted us and gave us the emphasis to move forward with a lot of confidence and aggression was Julianna [Cannamela] coming right out of the shoot doing a beautiful vault,” Breaux said. “She vaulted as well Friday night as she did ending our season last year at the national championships.”
Heading into the meet, LSU is ranked No. 1 on beam and vault, as well as No. 2 on floor and bars in the country.
Alabama junior Kiana Winston is ranked No. 1 in the nation on beam, and LSU freshman Kennedi Edney sits No. 1 on vault while senior Gnat sits No. 1 on floor.
Alabama is coming into the meet after losing 197.750-196.700 to then-No. 1 ranked Oklahoma in its season opener.
LSU faced Alabama in the PMAC last season in a 197.925-196.225 win.
“It is a little bit different when we compete on the road because it is Alabama,” senior all-arounder Sydney Ewing said. “It’s their fans, but if we go in there and just stay together and keep our energy high, we can use their crowd to our advantage in a way.”
The team’s objective is to “Beat Bama,” but to also remember that this is just the next meet and, hopefully, the next victory, Breaux said.
“The main thing is we want to win,” she said. “We want to walk out there with a victory. We want our to team to feel very good about the pursuit and the process in what we’re doing.”