An excited group of LSU gymnasts gathered this week in the Carl Maddox Field House to prepare for their upcoming road meet with Southeastern Conference rival and perennial gymnastics powerhouse No. 3 Alabama tonight at 7 p.m. The LSU gymnastics team currently is ranked No. 10 in the country and is coming off its second highest performance of the season against Florida.
“I think we’re all really excited because we’ve worked so hard,” said freshman gymnast Brittany Brown.
Alabama traditionally packs the Coleman Coliseum for gymnastic meets, and is known as a hard environment for visiting teams. LSU only has two team members who have traveled to Tuscaloosa to compete, making it an even greater challenge for LSU’s young team. “I’m excited, and I want to beat them so bad,” said sophomore gymnast Katherine Hilton. “It will be harder, but it will be a little more exciting if we win.”
Regional sites are predetermined and Tuscaloosa is the closest one to Baton Rouge. If the regionals were to be held today, the Tigers would have to compete in front of the intimidating large crowd drawn to the Coleman Coliseum.
“It’s a factor that you can’t prepare them for,” said LSU head coach D-D Breaux. “That’s why going to this event is such a good experience for us.”
Teams are placed in regionals according to the average of their top three away meet scores plus three at-large events with the highest score taken out of consideration. Therefore consistent high scores are important for the Tigers.
“Win, lose or tie, we are going to keep improving in the scores,” Breaux said.
LSU spent its time in practice this week working on landings and perfecting their routines. Those are the two ways they felt they could improve their score coming off their performance against Florida. “I think we’ll be polished and ready going to Alabama,” said sophomore Lauren Companioni.
The coaching staff gave the team a day off to rest and catch up with their academic work. Usually the gymnasts practice their routines daily, giving their muscles little time to recover.
The rest could serve to be invaluable for the Tigers, giving them fresh legs that will help them stick their landings and excel in events such as the vault, where strong leg muscles are essential to success. “Everyone’s rested,” said junior Lindsay Beddow. “I think this week we will be better.”