No matter the sport or circumstances, there is nothing that compares to a matchup of the two best teams in the country. This year in gymnastics, those two teams are LSU and Florida, and they will take the floor this Friday night in a highly anticipated matchup at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU comes into this meet coming off their second-highest score of 2021 against Auburn and are ranked No. 2 in the country. LSU has enjoyed much success so far this season, but Head Coach Jay Clark believes that the best is still yet to come.
“I’m proud of them for what they’ve done do far. They’ve accomplished a lot already,” Clark said. “But I caution them all the time, we haven’t done anything yet, we’re happy but not satisfied.”
LSU’s success so far this season has earned them a 197.144 average score this season, which is No. 2 in the country behind Florida. Much of LSU’s success has come from a mix of experienced upperclassmen leading the way along with an extremely talented freshman class that has given LSU more depth this season. Clark believes that the depth has been one of the main factors that has allowed LSU to enjoy the success that it has had so far this season.
“They all have a large vocabulary of skills that we can draw from,” Clark said. “In practice, it’s becoming more and more difficult to make the decisions.
Impact underclassmen have been another key factor for LSU this season. Haleigh Bryant and Kiya Johnson have had the biggest impact with Bryant ranking No. 4 in the country in both all around and floor, and Johnson ranking No. 1 in the country in bars. Johnson however, picked up an injury in the meet against Auburn, but Clark believes that the injury is not too serious.
“She [Johnson] came in short on that vault after warming up perfectly,” Clark said. “It jammed her ankle a little bit, but all the information we’ve gotten is that it’s not related to her Achilles, so that’s good.”
Although LSU has enjoyed great success through the early part of the season, this team is more than capable of improving and going even further. A big emphasis for LSU this season to prepare the team for times like this was getting as many people experience as possible. Exhibition events have been something that Clark has taken advantage of to allow more people to gain experience and create the depth that the Tigers have relied on.
“We’ve been able to do a lot of the things that we set out to do so far which was to get as many faces as we can some real experience, and we’ll be able to continue to do that,” Clark said. “The idea is to finish higher than where we started and we’re moving in that direction for sure.”
This has allowed the freshman class and other underclassmen to take the pressure off experienced seniors like Sami Durante who ranks in the top-10 in the country on bars. Durante has been a key part of LSU’s success for a while and believes that the freshman class is making an impact.
“The freshman class really just came in and did their job,” Durante said. “We’ve gotten so close this year even though it has been harder, but I think that’s brought us closer together.”
This Friday’s meet guarantees to be exciting and fans having plenty to look forward to when these two extremely talented teams hit the floor. No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups are always entertaining. and Clark believes that fans should expect no less from this matchup.
“They have probably the most impressive roster on paper in the country,” Clark said. “We’re very familiar with them, they’re very familiar with us and if all goes well it will be a great meet.”