LSU Gymnastics Head Coach Jay Clark spoke to the media ahead of the No. 2 ranked LSU Tigers taking on the No. 17 ranked Auburn Tigers in the PMAC.

Coming off of a win against Penn State, Clark was ultimately disappointed in how the Tigers performed. Although the Tigers scored in the middle of a 197, the effort on the mat did not match the effort he saw in training.

“Based on the way we trained last week, I had a higher expectation of what I thought we would do,” Clark said. “We clearly still have some growth to do if we want to be a complete team, so we’ll get back in the gym and continue to address that.”

One thing Clark said needed to be addressed was the lack of cleanliness. Coming into meets, it’s important to execute in each event, but if one event is slacking, it can cost the whole competition.

“We’ve seen growth every week, but we have seen it move,” Clark said. “We would grow in one area and then not show that level of growth in another and I think the next step for us is can we put a clean meet together. Can we put a four event clean meet together? Not three events or two, but four and that’s really it.”

With this in mind ahead of Auburn, hitting a clean routine doesn’t just take one person, but it takes everyone, including the gymnasts not competing. There is no I in team, so LSU is coming into this matchup prepared to come out with a win by competing together.

“It’s really about everybody,” Clark said. “They all recognized each other’s abilities and what they bring to the table. I tell them all the time for us to be successful, it’s going to take all 21 of them. It’s not about Kailin Chio or three people. It’s about all 21 of them.”

You can catch the SEC matchup Friday, Feb. 9 at 7:45 p.m. on the SEC Network.