The Decade's Best Gymnastics Moments

Happy New Year everyone!

With the first LSU gymnastics meet of the season just one week away, it's time to kick-off another year of Talkin' 10's. In the spirit of this final New Year's Eve (as I write this) of this decade, I thought it would be appropriate to look back at the Top 10 moments in LSU gymnastics over the past ten seasons.

It certainly wasn't an easy task to choose just ten (well, 12 if you count ties). That's because the past 10 years have been, without question, the best in the history of Tiger gymnastics. You get a chance to share your opinion too! Just take a moment to vote in the poll here on the blog to choose your most memorable moment. So, without further a-do, let's take a look back at the best gymnastics moments from 2000 through 2009!

Moment #10

February 22, 2008 at The Maravich Center

Alabama 196.300

LSU 196.125

“First-ever Etta James Memorial Meet; Record Home Attendance Helps Raise Huge Dollars To Fight Cancer”

Moment #9

April 6, 2002 at The Maravich Center

“LSU Scores 196.450 To Win Central Regional, Advances To First NCAA Championship In The Decade”

Moment #8

April 20, 2002 at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL

“Nikki Arnstad Wins NCAA Floor Exercise Title, First Individual Title In Modern LSU Gym History”

Moment #7

April 26, 2008 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, GA

“Susan Jackson Wins NCAA Vault Title”

Moment #6 (tie)

April 18, 2009 at The Devaney Center in Lincoln, NE

“Ashleigh Clare-Kearney Makes History, Earns Two NCAA Titles In One Meet”

Moment #6 (tie)

April 22, 2006 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, OR

“Burkholder Caps Stellar Career; Wins NCAA Beam Title, Places In All 4 Events”

Moment #5
February 18, 2005 at the Maravich Center

LSU 196.375

Georgia 195.725

“Tigers End 18-year Home Drought Against GymDogs”

Moment #4 (tie)

March 11, 2005 at John Hammons Arena in Tulsa, OK

LSU 197.850

Oklahoma 195.750

“Tigers Set Highest Team Score In School History; Burkholder Hits Two 10.0s”

Moment #4 (tie)

February 29, 2008 at The Maravich Center

LSU 197.775

Michigan St. 196.200

“Tigers Set Highest Home Score During The Decade; Clare-Kearney Hits Two Perfect 10.0s”

Moment #3

February 13, 2009 at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL

LSU 196.625

Alabama 195.750

“Tigers Dominate Tide, Beat Bama in Tuscaloosa For 1st Time In 33 years”

Moment #2

April 24, 2008 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, GA

“The LSU Tigers Earn First Ever Super Six Berth In Athens”

Moment #1

April 16, 2009 at The Devaney Center in Lincoln, NE

“Gutsy Comeback Propels Tigers To 2nd Super Six; 6 Gymnasts Earn All-America Honors”

Clare-Kearney Wins Vault, Floor Championships - First Tiger To Win Two

Senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney claimed vault and floor exercise titles tonight at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska. She becomes the first Tiger to win two individual championships and the first to win two titles overall.

Clare-Kearney, the final competitor of the night on floor, was tied by Georgia's Courtney Kupets who earlier scored an indentical 9.950. Florida's Corey Hartung finished third with a 9.900. Clare-Kearney joins Nicki Arnstad-Woodward (2002) as a floor champion at LSU.

The senior from Manchester, Connecticut, started the night with a strong 9.85 in the uneven bars final - good enough for ninth place finish. Then, she moved to vault and threw the greatest vault of her career - receiving 4 perfect 10's from the 6 judges. She then sealed the deal with the second scoring vault to give her a two-vault 9.90 average.

Clare-Kearney's final score was just .0062 (that's correct) ahead of reigning vault champion Susan Jackson who finished second at 9.9832 average.

Clare-Kearney and Jackson become the first 1-2 finishers on an NCAA final event in school history.

Tigers Complete Strong Year, Finish 6th In Super Six

On a night where Georgia would not be denied their 10th National Championship, the LSU Tigers narrowly missed their team goal of bringing home a first-ever team trophy from the final gymnastic meet of the season. LSU finished its second Super Six with a 196.375 team score, just .035 behind fourth place Florida. A top four finish would've secured that long-awaited trophy, but the Tigers were clearly out of gas after starting the championship meet with a strong 49.200 on floor exercise. An inability to stick landings on the next two events - vault and bars - cost the lineup valuable tenths. The balance beam proved too much for LSU in the final event as the Tigers went 48.800 to finish the program's 21st National Championship appearance.

The Alabama Crimson Tide finished a very strong second to Georgia and were followed by Utah - the lone non-SEC team to make the Super Six - in third place. Florida finished fourth just ahead of upstart Arkansas which turned in an impressive Super Six in only the program's seventh year of existence.

Most Tigers Ever Chosen As All-Americans

By finishing in the top four on events during Thursday's preliminary round, four LSU Tigers received First Team All-America honors. Those Tigers will compete in tonight's individual event championships beginning at 6pm Central.

Six Tigers were chosen either first or second team All-America in total - the most ever in one season for the LSU gymnastics program. Those six Tigers earned a combined 10 All-America honors.

Senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney was honored three times with First Team honors - vault, bars, and floor exercise. Junior Susan Jackson was honored for her effort on vault, allowing her to defend her National Championship from a year ago on the event. She also received First Team All-America honors in the all-around and Second Team All-America honor on balance beam.

Junior Summer Hubbard was honored on First Team bars for the second year in a row. And Sophomore Staci Schwitkis received First Team All America honors for her 9.90 vault, earning her a spot in tonight's final.

Juniors Kayla Rogers and Sabrina Franceschelli earned Second Team All-America honors for floor exercise and all-around, respectively.

Here's a breakdown of the All-American honors received by each current Tiger during their careers:

Senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney 5 times
Junior Sabrina Franceschelli 1 time
Junior Summer Hubbard 2 times
Junior Susan Jackson 8 times
Junior Kayla Rogers 1 time
Sophomore Staci Schwitkis 1 time

Clare-Kearney Chosen As Fianlist For Two National Awards

In Saturday morning's NCAA awards banquet, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney was named one of six finalists for the American Athletic Incorporated (AAI) Award which recognizes the best senior gymnast in the country. ACK joins the following finalists:

Nicole Ourada, Stanford
Corey Hartung, Florida
Courtney Kupets, Georgia
Kristina Baskett, Utah
Tricia Woo, Nebraska

Kupets won the award.

Clare-Kearney has also been named a finalist for the prestigious 2008-2009 Honda Sports Award for gymnastics. Joining ACK as a finalist are Kupets, Baskett, and Jessica Lopez of the University of Denver. No date for the announcement of the award has been set.

ACK is the second gymnast in LSU history to become a finalist for the Honda Award. Rachelle Fruge' was a finalist in 1989-90.

LSU Lineup For National Championship

Rotation 1 - Bye

Rotation 2 - Floor Exercise
Kayla Rogers
Samantha Engle
Sabrina Franceschelli
Summer Hubbard
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Gloria Johnson - alternate

Rotation 3 - Vault
Kayla Rogers
Sabrina Franceschelli
Gloria Johnson
Staci Schwitkis
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Ashley Lee - alternate

Rotation 4 - Bye

Rotation 5 - Bars
Staci Schwitkis
Sabrina Franceschelli
Samantha Engle
Summer Hubbard
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Lauren Klein - alternate

Rotation 6 - Beam
Gloria Johnson
Sabrina Franceschelli
Samantha Engle
Summer Hubbard
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Susan Jackson
Kayla Rogers - alternate

All Around
Sabrina Franceschelli
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney

Title Time! NCAA Championship On The Line For LSU

For the second time in as many years, the LSU Tigers will compete for a National Championship in collegiate gymnastics. At 6pm Central Time, the curtain will fall on 6 teams fighting for one dream - to be called the best.

The Tigers' road to the Super Six was not without difficulty. In yesterday's early preliminary session, LSU began on the balance beam and quickly dug themselves a deep hole - one that ordinarily would've been too deep. But behind one of the most remarkable comebacks in LSU history, the Tigers clawed their way through floor exercise, vault, and bars - hitting 49.150 or better on each - to claim one of six spots in today's winner-take-all final.

LSU had the lowest team score in a team event (48.525 beam) during their session, the second highest team score (49.450 vault), and were the only team in the afternoon to count a fall (beam). But whent the dust settled, the Tigers are one of 5 SEC teams in the Super Six.

.075 - The Distance Between Joy And Pain

In the afternoon session, LSU edged out fourth-place finisher Stanford by .075. That's seventy-five one-thousandths of a point. In the evening session, UCLA and Utah ended the meet tied down to the one-thousandth. So, in keeping with NCAA rules, the 6th competitor's score (normally discarded), was added into the mix to decide which team would advance to the Super Six. The final score: Utah by .075.

The 2009 Super Six Lineup - Looks At Lot The SEC

LSU Tigers
Alabama Crimson Tide
Arkansas GymBacks
Florida Gators
Georgia GymDogs
Utah Utes

Tiger Bites From Lincoln

- A friendly Utah fan with an "I Hate The SEC" T-shirt on accosted the Tigers in the team hotel this afteroon. After several pictures and friendly jabs, the man walked off to join his fellow Red Rocks supporters.

- D-D Breaux, normally among the most jittery of Tigers before any meet, was so calm and collected this afteroon that she nearly missed the team bus from the hotel to the arena. Good natured jabs from the team greeted her aboard the bus as she arrived.

- CBS play-by-play man Tim Brando, in Lincoln to broacast the Super Six, told me last night that, considering the magnitude of the situation, he considered the LSU comeback yesterday among the best-ever in collegiate sports. CBS will air today's National Championship on May 9 at 1pm.

Tigers Win And Advance To The Super Six National Championship!

Behind a season-high vault score of 49.450, the LSU Tigers clawed their way out of a deep early hole and have advanced to the second Super Six in school history!

Here are the final standings:

Georgia 197.450 - ADVANCES
Florida 196.375 - ADVANCES
LSU 196.300 - ADVANCES
Stanford 196.225
Penn State 196.100
Oklahoma 195.825

NCAA Competition Day Has Arrived!

The LSU Tigers have arrived inside the Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska this crisp Thursday morning to take part in the NCAA National Gymnastics Championships. Competition begins at 1:00 pm Central Time and you can catch all the action inside The Geaux Zone FREE of charge.

Here are a few tidbits for you in advance of today's competition.

Head Coach D-D Breaux participated in yesterday's coaches' and athlete's press conference and had some interesting quotes. You can watch the action here. D-D's portion of the conference is a few minutes into the video.

Live stats from today's first session can be found here.

Video of today's action from Lincoln will be streamed LIVE and FREE at this link.

A nice round-up article on each team is in the Lincoln Journal Star. Check it out here.

Sheldon Mickles has a nice piece in today's The Advocate about LSU in the NCAA's. Read more about it here.

After a bit of uncertainty on the LSU vault and floor lineups, the lineups have been set. Here's how the Tigers will compete in today's first session:

Rotation 1 - Balance Beam
Gloria Johnson
Sabrina Franceschelli
Samantha Engle
Summer Hubbard
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Susan Jackson
Staci Schwitkis- alternate

Rotation 2 - Floor Exercise
Kayla Rogers
Gloria Johnson
Sabrina Franceschelli
Summer Hubbard
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Samantha Engle - alternate

Rotation 3 - Vault
Kayla Rogers
Sabrina Franceschelli
Gloria Johnson
Staci Schwitkis
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Ashley Lee – alternate

Rotation 4 - Uneven Bars
Staci Schwitkis
Sabrina Franceschelli
Samantha Engle
Summer Hubbard
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Lauren Klein - alternate

All Around
Sabrina Franceschelli
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney

Wednesday Update From Lincoln, Nebraska

The LSU Tigers’ trip to the NCAA National Gymnastics Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska couldn’t have been smoother on Tuesday afternoon. The charter jet was “wheels up” from Baton Rouge at 3:05 p.m. Just before 5:00 p.m., LSU touched down in the Capital of Cornhusker-land.

After settling in to the Embassy Suites team hotel, many of the Tigers took in a movie at the nearby Grand Theatre, while others hit restaurants and shopping. Head Coach D-D Breaux, with Assistants Bob Moore and Philip Ogletree, led a contingent to nearby Misty’s Steakhouse – one of the most renowned steakhouses in America. I recommend the ribeye. It was good – very, very good.

A team breakfast at 8:00 a.m. started the Tigers’ Wednesday. And, as I write this update, LSU is completing its practice inside the Bob Devaney Center on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds in Lincoln. This is the second time the Devaney Center has hosted the national championships for women’s gymnastics. In 2003, UCLA won their 4th of 5 national titles here.

This evening, LSU will have a team dinner and an early bed time because it’s off to the arena at about 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Open stretch begins at 10:45 a.m., then warm-ups followed by the competition at 1:00 p.m.

Tigers Sport New T’s At Nationals Practice Session

Custom designed practice T-shirts have been a staple of Nationals practice day for a number of years. This year is no different. The Tigers stole the show as they arrived in the Devaney Center sporting an all-black T-shirt with the word “WITNESS” across the front in white letters. On the back are the last names of each gymnast and the Eye of the Tiger. Check out the pictures of the Tigers wearing their shirts in the photo gallery.

On the other hand, Utah took a different approach to its custom T-shirt. In large letters on the back: "New Year, Our Year." Just below that in small letters: "2009 National Champions." Wow, predicting a win? Both are shots at defending national champion Georgia - with which the Utes share nearly three decades of bad blood.

Seedings & Pairing For The National Championships

Here are the seedings and pairings for the 2009 NCAA Gymnastics Championships. Five teams from the Southeastern Conference makeup the Final 12 schools competing for a berth in the Super Six – and ultimately a national championship. Three SEC teams (LSU, Florida, Georgia) are in Thursday afternoon’s session while two (Arkansas, Alabama) compete in the evening.

SESSION 1 – 1pm Central Time Thursday

#1 seed Georgia 394.955 NQS
#4 seed LSU 393.635 NQS
#5 seed Florida 393.490 NQS
#8 seed Oklahoma 393.065 NQS
#9 seed Stanford 393.025 NQS
#12 seed Penn State 392.040 NQS

SESSION 2 – 7pm Central Time Thursday

#2 seed Utah 394.865 NQS
#3 seed Alabama 393.925 NQS
#6 seed Oregon St. 393.320 NQS
#7 seed UCLA 393.205 NQS
#10 seed Arkansas 392.740 NQS
#11 seed Illinois 392.715 NQS

The top three scoring teams from each session advance to the Super Six on Friday evening.

Can The Tigers Score Big?

Well, in the words of a famous American politician “You betcha!” Eight of the final 12 teams competing for the National Championship have scored better than 197.000 this season. Of the 8, only 4 have scored 197.400 or better. Those teams: Georgia, Utah, Oregon St., and...LSU.

Top Guns Remain 3, 4 In Nation

Senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney and junior Susan Jackson enter the NCAA Championships as the 3rd and 4th ranked all-arounders nationally. LSU is one of two teams in the NCAA Championships with two gymnasts ranked in the all around Top 10. Utah is the other team.

With No Home Team, Ticket Sales Sluggish

According to local media reports, fewer than 2,000 tickets have been sold for the championships in Lincoln – a low number no doubt a reflection on the lack of a “home” team. Host Nebraska finished third in their regional two weeks ago and failed to make the final 12.

To put that in perspective, the lowest cumulative attendance (all four sessions combined) of all-time for the NCAA gymnastics championships is 21,269. That occurred in 1989 when Georgia hosted nationals for the first time.

Nationals Old Hat For Some, New Fit For Others

The NCAA began sanctioning women’s gymnastics in 1982. Since that year, one team has made EVERY national championship – Utah. That’s 28 years in a row for the Utes. By contrast, Illinois is making their first-ever appearance on the big stage. LSU is one of only 6 programs in the country to have competed at Nationals 20 years or more.

Here are the number of times each of this year’s Final 12 have made it to the championship:

Utah 28 times
Alabama 27
Florida 27
Georgia 26
UCLA 25
LSU 21
Oregon St. 19
Penn St. 16
Stanford 10
Oklahoma 9
Arkansas 3
Illinois 1st time ever

Thursday’s Probable LSU Line-Up

Rotation 1 - Balance Beam
Gloria Johnson
Samantha Engle
Summer Hubbard
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Staci Schwitkis- alternate

Rotation 2 - Floor Exercise
Kayla Rogers
Summer Hubbard
Gloria Johnson or Sam Engle
Staci Schwitkis
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Gloria Johnson or Sam Engle - alternate

Rotation 3 - Vault
Kayla Rogers
Gloria Johnson
Staci Schwitkis
Sabrina Franceschelli
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Ashley Lee – alternate

Rotation 4 - Uneven Bars
Staci Schwitkis
Summer Hubbard
Samantha Engle
Sabrina Franceschelli
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney

All Around
Sabrina Franceschelli
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney

Mike’s Eye On The Tigers

At the conclusion of today’s practice, the Tigers appear confident, loose, and ready to compete. With the specter of never making the Super Six a thing of the past, LSU should have little reason for distractions.

This afternoon, one Tiger gymnast told me that if each of her teammates hits routines tomorrow, there is no reason why LSU should not advance into Friday’s Super Six for the second time in school history. The Tigers are that talented. And I agree.

Specifically, here’s what I will be watching for on Thursday:

- The Tigers start on beam and that means ACK does too. Does she break her string of falls on the apparatus? I believe she does – and then runs the table on the all around.

- Who takes the third spot on floor? It’s a critical decision. Will it be an ailing Gloria Johnson who gutted out a 9.80 at regionals? Or will Sam Engle make a return to the floor lineup? Engle has not competed floor since early February. However, she looked spectacular in practice today and that has thrown her into contention for a spot in the lineup.

- Do the normally rock-solid starting three in the beam, floor, vault, and bars lineups remain so under the hot white spotlight of national competition? Kayla Rogers, Staci Schwitkis, and Gloria Johnson have been terrific all season in the lead-off positions.

Many have emailed and bugged me for my Super Six predictions so here goes. From Session 1, I like LSU, Georgia and Stanford. From Session 2, I like Utah, Alabama, and UCLA. I think it shapes up to be the most competitive Super Six in recent memory with three teams from east of the Mississippi River facing off against three teams from west of the Big Muddy.

Normally, I would say “Until Next Week” in this spot on the blog. But, there is no next week. The time is now. The moment has arrived. Let’s see if someone new can win the National Championship. This could be the year.

Tigers Defend Regional Championship, Punch Ticket To Nationals

It came down to the last gymnast on the last event on Saturday evening in Columbus, Ohio. With the NCAA Central Regional Championship on the line, LSU's Susan Jackson needed at least a 9.875 on balance beam to defend the Tigers' regional title. The junior from Spring, Texas, who found herself the lone gymnast performing at the time, methodically nailed a 9.925 to lock up both the team title and the All-Around title for herself.

It was a truly clutch performance by Jackson. As the anchor of the beam lineup, she competed after two of her teammates suffered miscues on the beam. Junior Summer Hubbard was 75% through a flawless routine when a wobble forced her hands down onto the beam. After the mandatory deduction, Hubbard scored 9.65 - a score the Tigers hoped to throw out.

Senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, who had fallen on beam three consecutive weeks leading up to regionals, nailed the portion of her routine that caused her so much earlier trouble. However, something went wrong in the last 5 seconds of her routine in Columbus. A 9.600 or better would lock up the All-Around title, but it was not to be. On a relatively simple maneuver, Clare-Kearney fell off the beam and recorded a score of 9.350.

That set the stage for Jackson to save the day for the Tigers - giving LSU its 6th Regional Championship and 18th berth in the National Championships.

NCAA Pairings Announced

The NCAA has seeded the 12 teams participating in the in the 2009 National Gymnastics Championships next week in Lincoln, Nebraska. Each team's regional score was added to its Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) prior to the regionals. The sum is the NQS, or National Qualifying Score. Teams are then simply ranked from highest to lowest NQS.

LSU received a top 5 seed for the second year in a row. A NQS of 393.635 has given the Tigers a #4 national seed, just behind #3 seed Alabama and ahead of #5 seed Florida. Georgia and Utah are 1-2 seeds, respectively. In all, 5 of the 7 SEC teams have advanced to the Nationals - the most of any conference.

The twelve teams are divided into two six-team sessions. Seeds 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 12 are paired together and will compete in next Thursday's afternoon session. Here's a complete breakdown:

2009 NCAA Championship Field
Seed	School	Region Score	RQS	NQS
1	Georgia	197.70	197.255	394.955	Southeast Region champion
2	Utah	197.675	197.190	394.865	West Region champion
3	Alabama	197.00	196.925	393.925	Northeast Region champion
4	LSU	196.875	196.760	393.635	Central Region champion
5	Florida	196.775	196.715	393.49	North Central Region champion
6	Oregon State	196.80	196.520	393.32	Central Region runner-up
7	UCLA	196.625	196.580	393.205	North Central Region runner-up
8	Oklahoma	196.60	196.465	393.065	Northeast Region runner-up
9	Stanford	196.20	196.825	393.025	South Central Region runner-up
10	Arkansas	196.30	196.440	392.74	South Central Region champion
11	Illinois	196.70	196.015	392.715	West Region runner-up
12	Penn State	195.80	196.240	392.04	Southeast Region runner-up
No-shade denotes teams in LSU's session of April 16 NCAA Championship team qualifying

After finishing on beam at both the SEC and Regional meets, the Tigers will actually start on beam in the afternoon session of the NCAA's. LSU seems to have drawn the most favorable rotation order in many years at nationals. Here's the official rotation for LSU:

Rotation 1 - BEAM
Rotation 2 - BYE
Rotation 3 - FLOOR EXERCISE
Rotation 4 - VAULT
Rotation 5 - BYE
Rotation 6 - BARS

Travel And Practice Schedules

Head Coach D-D Breaux has announced the Tigers will travel next Tuesday to Lincoln. Exact travel plans have not been set, but with classes resuming from spring break on Monday, the team will attend a full day of classes prior to traveling.

Wednesday is practice day inside the Bob Devaney Center, which is located on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds. LSU will practice at 11 a.m.

Doors to the arena for Thursday's competition open at 10:45 a.m. and the competition begins at 1:00 p.m. Friday's Super Six competition begins at 7:00 p.m.

NCAA Regional Afternoon Update

Each of the six teams is warming up inside St. John Arena here on the campus of Ohio State University. LSU is nearly complete with its warmup - currently on balance beam (the last event).

The Tigers will compete in this order today:
Rotation 1 - BYE
Rotation 2 - Floor Exercise
Rotation 3 - Vault
Rotaton 4 - BYE
Rotation 5 - Uneven Bars
Rotation 6 - Balance Beam

Here's our broadcast schedule for today:
5:00 p.m. CDT on the air at LSUSports.net
Rotation 1 guest - Head Coach D-D Breaux, recap LSU opponents today, set other regionals
Rotation 4 guest - LSU Chancellor Dr. Mike Martin, recap other regional action
Post meet - Recap meet highlights, Head Coach D-D Breaux, recap other regionals, look ahead

NCAA Regional Morning Update

With a bright morning sun and temperature at freezing, the LSU Tigers awoke this morning to regional day in Columbus, Ohio. The Renaissance Hotel in downtown Columbus is the official meet hotel. Each of the teams has a fan presence inside the hotel which makes for a fun atmosphere.

LSU started the day with "Power Circle" - the Tigers' pre-meet ritual during which each competing gymnast performs a walk-though of their routine. Assistant Coach Philip Ogletree led Power Circle this morning as D-D Breaux and Bob Moore attended a NCAA meeting in the team hotel. The team seemed very loose and ready for the day ahead - a welcome sign after the travel adversity the Tigers experienced this week.

The official team lunch was next up on the agenda. It's same lunch that follows the Tigers wherever they travel - grilled chicken, rice and steamed vegetables. LSU will depart the team hotel at 2:45 pm Eastern Time and head directly to St. John Arena, which is about 15 minutes away. Open stretch begins at 3:45 pm Eastern and official warmups about 30 minutes after that.

St. John Arena is a venerable facility with Ohio State Big Ten Championship banners hanging high in the rafters from as far back as 1925. One of the portals inside the arena has an impressive photo of Jesse Owens, taken during his time as a Buckeye. Looking around the arena yesterday, the movie "Hoosiers" came to mind. With the wooden seats, high balconies and old banners, it's easy to picture Jimmy Chitwood coming into the game to run the picket fence. Yet, I digress.

Fans will literally sit on top of the action tonight. The seating areas slope steeply up to the balcony. The competition floor is tight but comfortable. One corner of the floor exercise is nearly inside a lower level portal.

It should make a for a great setting for the NCAA Central Regional this evening. Our broadcast starts at 5pm Central Time inside The Geaux Zone on LSUSports.net. I'll update the blog again prior to the start of the meet.

Meet Thirteen: The 2009 NCAA Central Regional

The Road to the Super Six got off to a bumpy start for the fifth-ranked LSU Tigers. Thursday was to be travel day to Columbus, Ohio, site of the 2009 NCAA Central Regional. However, inclement weather and a mechanical failure on one of the Tigers’ Delta Airlines flights out of Baton Rouge caused the entire trip to be scrubbed for the day.

Thanks to quick calls by D-D Breaux and with solid support of the LSU Athletic Department, a charter flight was arranged for the Tigers for Friday morning – direct from Baton Rouge to Columbus.

The only down side to arriving Friday is that it is mandatory practice day in St. John Arena on the campus of Ohio State University. LSU was originally scheduled to practice at 1:00 p.m. Central Time – just two hours after landing. But Thursday evening D-D petitioned the NCAA to move the practice time to later in the day. Thankfully, the request was granted.

Now, with all the travel woes behind them, the Tigers can focus squarely on the task at hand – winning the regional and advancing to the NCAA Championships two weeks from now.

25 Years Straight- A Historical Achievement

The NCAA began sanctioning Women’s Gymnastics in 1982. With the #1 seed to this year’s Central Regional, LSU has reached the “playoffs” of gymnastics an incredible 28 of 29 years. The 2009 berth marks 25 straight years the Tigers have advanced to a regional.

According to staff historian and LSU gymnastics SID Jake Terry, here’s how the Tigers have finished:

First place – 5 times
Second place – 12 times
Third place – 8 times

That means LSU has earned a trip to the NCAA Championships (by finishing first or second in a regional) 17 times in 28 years – truly a remarkable accomplishment.

ACK #1 In LSU History

The floor exercise has proven a girl’s best friend – Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, that is. Her floor performance at the SEC Championships was great enough to earn her second conference title in as many years. In so doing, the senior from Manchester, Connecticut secured her 110th career individual title – putting her atop the LSU record book. For her career, ACK has 26 floor titles, 34 vault, 18 bars, 10 beam, and 25 All Around. The previous school record was held by April Burkholder who, between 2003-2006, collected 109 titles.

Susan Jackson ’09 SEC Beam Champion

Junior Susan Jackson earned the SEC balance beam championship with a 9.90 in Nashville. Jackson earned first team All-SEC for the second year in a row. Courtney Kupets of Georgia and Casey Jo Magee of Arkansas shared the title with Jackson, both scoring identical 9.90. For Jackson it was her 6th career beam title and 26th overall. That mark is good enough for second among current Tigers.

2009 NCAA Central Regional Competition

By finishing the regular season ranked 5th nationally, LSU received one of six #1 seeds in NCAA Regionals. For opponents, the Tigers have drawn #2 seed Oregon State (ranked 8th nationally), #3 seed Ohio State (ranked 17th), #4 seed Kent State (ranked 22nd), #5 seed Kentucky (ranked 24th), and #6 seed Michigan State (ranked 26th).

The Beavers of Oregon State are a tremendous team and hail from a resurgent Pac-10 Conference. Their top score of the 2009 regular season was 197.500 – a tenth better than LSU’s top team score of the season. Beam and floor are the Beavers strong suits – ranking 5th and 10th nationally, respectively. Two gymnasts to watch for in the black and orange are Mandi Rodriquez (7th nationally in the All Around) and freshman Leslie Mak (4th nationally on bars).

The host team, Ohio State Buckeyes, have a season high team score of 196.475 and finished 5th in the Big Ten. Watch for a solid effort on the uneven bars – the Buckeyes rank 16th nationally at 49.000.

The Kent State Golden Flashes could be the sleeper team of this regional. More hot than cold of late, KSU has scored 196.750 this season. The Flashes are best on floor exercise where they rank 14th with a RQS of 49.175.

Mo Mitchell’s Kentucky GymKats are a familiar SEC team for the LSU Tigers. The two cats tangled in Lexington this season with the Tigers posting one of their highest road scores of the season. UK has one of the country’s best freshman in Whitney Rose, who was named SEC Freshman of the Year. She averages 39.100 in the All Around.

Michigan State makes two Big Ten teams in this year’s Central Regional. The Spartans are coming off a disappointing sixth-place finish in the conference championships two weeks ago. They do have one of the country’s best beam performers in Kelsey Morley. She ranks 3rd in the nation on the event at 9.915 RQS. Watch for Morley to advance to the NCAA Championships as an individual event specialist.

Do some of these teams look familiar to Tiger fans? They should. Ohio State, Kent State, and Kentucky all competed with LSU in last season’s NCAA Central Regional in the Maravich Center on the LSU campus. It was a great night for the Tigers as LSU scored a school record regional score of 197.625.

National Rankings

Here are the final regular season point standings followed by each team's RQS and ranking trend since last week. The Top 18 teams received seedings of 1-3 in the 6 regionals being hosted around the country. Eleven of LSU’s opponents finished the season ranked in the Top 25.

1 Georgia 197.255 0
2 Utah 197.190 0
3 Alabama 196.925 +1
4 Stanford 196.825 -1
5 LSU 196.760 -1
6 Florida 196.715 0
7 UCLA 196.580 0
8 Oregon State 196.520 +1
9 Oklahoma 196.465 +1
10 Arkansas 196.440 +1
11 Auburn 196.390 -3
12 Penn State 196.240 +3
13 Nebraska 196.095 0
14 Illinois-Champaign 196.015 +2
15 Missouri 196.005 -2
16 Michigan 195.985 -2
17 Ohio State 195.735 +1
18 Minnesota 195.710 -1
19 Boise State 195.590 +4
20 Denver 195.430 NR
21 West Virginia 195.390 -1
22 Kent State 195.335 +2
23 Iowa State 195.070 +2
24 Kentucky 195.295 0
25 Arizona 195.280 -6

By event, here’s how LSU ranks heading into the NCAA Regionals:

• Bars (49.335), 4th in nation
• Vault (49.295), 5th in nation
• Beam (49.105), 9th in nation
• Floor (49.180), 12th in nation

ACK and Susan Jackson 3-4 In Nation

LSU’s “Top Guns” have risen to the occasion of late. Senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney and junior Susan Jackson finished the regular season ranked 3rd and 4th, respectively, in the All Around nationally. LSU is the only #1 regional seed that has two gymnasts inside the Top 10 in the All Around.

Here’s how they stack up in individual events:

• Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 1st in nation on floor (9.945 RQS)
• Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 4th in nation on vault (9.930 RQS)
• Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 5th in nation on bars (9.910 RQS)
• Susan Jackson, 12th in nation on vault (9.900 RQS)
• Susan Jackson, 14th in nation on bars (9.885 RQS)
• Susan Jackson, 16th in nation on beam (9.880 RQS)
• Summer Hubbard, 25th in nation on beam (9.870 RQS)
• Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 3rd in nation in All Around (39.515 RQS)
• Susan Jackson, 4th in nation in All Around (39.505 RQS)

Saturday’s Probable LSU Regional Line-Up

Vault
Kayla Rogers
Gloria Johnson
Staci Schwitkis
Sabrina Franceschelli
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Ashley Lee – alternate

Uneven Bars
Staci Schwitkis
Summer Hubbard
Samantha Engle
Sabrina Franceschelli
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Lauren Klein – alternate

Balance Beam
Gloria Johnson
Samantha Engle
Summer Hubbard
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Staci Schwitkis- alternate

Floor Exercise
Kayla Rogers
Summer Hubbard
Gloria Johnson
Staci Schwitkis
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney

All Around
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney

Mike’s Eye On The Tigers

No doubt about it, the Tigers are hungry. The SEC Championships were a bit of a “downer” for LSU – not for the order of finish, necessarily – but for the overall team score. Bars and beam were a bit disappointing for the Tigers, and hand a hand in the resulting 196.500 team score. LSU trailed only Alabama heading into the final competitive rotation in Nashville, yet finished in 4th place.

But that was then, and this is the post-season. It’s time for this year’s Tigers to turn it on and reach their full potential. Truth is, LSU has not reached it's high water mark yet this year.

Here’s what I will be looking for in Saturday’s Regional meet:

- Will ACK stay on beam? She’s fallen three weeks in a row. If she stays on, look for her to dominate this NCAA Regional meet.

- Look for Susan Jackson to score big on vault. This is her time of year and she has some making up to do. Only 4 times this season has the defending NCAA vault champion scored 9.90 or better. It’s time to close the deal and defend her title.

- Watch for a resurgent Sabrina Franceschelli. She returned to the All Around line-up two meets ago and has, for the most part, excelled. Look for a 39.200+ from her on Saturday.

- How will the younger Tigers react to the tough travels and long two days that it took to reach Columbus? Will they focus or fold? LSU cannot afford to have any gymnast fold under pressure.

The heat is on! A repeat regional title and return to the NCAA Championships is on the line. I look for the Tigers to hit 196.750 and punch their ticket to Lincoln, Nebraska.

Our airtime from the St. John Center is 5 p.m. Central Time Saturday evening. Join us live – and free – in the Geaux Zone at LSUSports.net.

Until next week, GEAUX TIGERS!

Mike

Tigers Awarded #1 Seed For NCAA's

As predicted, the LSU Tigers gymnastics team has been awarded a #1 seed for next weekend's NCAA regionals. LSU finished the regular season ranked fifth in the national point standings which was good enough to secure one of the six #1 seeds.

LSU has been assigned to the Columbus, Ohio regional and will compete in St. John Arena on the campus of Ohio State University on Saturday, April 4 at 5pm Central Time.

The Tigers will match up against #2 seed Oregon State, #3 seed (and host) Ohio State, #4 seed Kent State, #5 seed Kentucky, and #6 seed Michigan State.

According to NCAA rules, the #1 seed begins the competion with a bye and moves to the floor in rotation 2. Then it's off to vault, bye, bars, and beam to finish the competition. Look familiar? This is the same rotation the Tigers drew at the SEC Championships this past weekend.

Ticket info is already available for the regional. Click here for more.

More on the upcoming regional and a look back at Nashville a bit later in the week.

SEC Gym Tickets, Travel Plans Announced

Would you like to join the Travelin' Tigers in Nashville this weekend?

LSU Head Coach D-D Breaux has announced tickets are available in the LSU section of the Sommet Center for Saturday's SEC Gymnastics Championships. Tickets are $15 each and are available by calling the LSU Ticket Office at (225) 578-2184 or toll-free for the Tiger Nation at (800) 960-8587. If you want to sit in the LSU section, it's important that you purchase your tickets through the LSU Ticket Office.

Also, the Tigers' team hotel will be the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Nashville. At last check a few rooms were available. And don't forget to check out Southwest Airlines travel deals into Nashville. They offer a direct flight from New Orleans, and other locales, to Nashville for very reasonable prices.

Why Is It Important You Travel With The Tigers?

According to BunnieGene's expert math, the Tigers can finish no lower that 5th when the final RQS standings are released on Monday. As you know, these are the standing which determine the seeding for the NCAA Regionals. Teams finishing in the top 6 will receive #1 seeds to one of six regionals. This means LSU really has nothing to lose at the SEC's - and an SEC title to gain, something the Tigers have done only once in school history.

So, after talking to D-D, her mantra this week in practice has been just that - GEAUX FOR IT! Expect the Tigers to be loose and ready to pull out all the stops in what should be a gymnastics meet for the ages. There is truly nothing to lose.

That's why you need to be there, in the seats, wearing your colors and representing the Purple and Gold Nation with pride. See you Saturday!

Tigers Nation's Hottest Team, Up To 4th In Standings

The NCAA gymnastics post-season is beginning to take shape. Conference championships are on tap next weekend, but Monday's national point standings will reflect the East vs. West dichotomy that defines the elite programs in women's collegiate gymnastics today.

Here's is how the Top 10 RQS should look when officially released on Monday morning. Two teams compete on either Saturday or Sunday, but the outcomes won't necessarily change the makeup of the Top 10, only perhaps the order. Should UCLA reach its max potential RQS, the Bruins could climb to 6th in the rankings. Georgia should remain first after the Gym Dogs home meet on today with Michigan.

LSU is the nation's hottest team - rising 7 spots in the rankings in the past two weeks. The last time the Tigers were ranked 4th or higher was on March 26, 2007. The past two weeks, LSU has replaced lower home and away scores with stronger 197.150 and 196.650, respectively.

A team's net change in the standings from last week is reflected by the +/- after the RQS. Many thanks to BunnieGene for the calculations!

1) UGA 197.210 - meet on Saturday (max possible RQS 197.415), 0
2) Utah 197.03, 0
3) Stanford 196.825, 0
4) LSU 196.760, +2
5) Bama 196.720, -1
6) Florida 196.565, -1
7) Oklahoma 196.464, +3
8) Arkansas 196.440, +3
9) UCLA 196.430 - meet on Sunday (max possible RQS 196.580), +/- TBD
10) Oregon State 196.4, -1

Meets Ten and Eleven: NC State and Centenary

BREAKING NEWS: Susan Jackson Named SEC Gymnast of the Week!

For the first time in her career, LSU junior gymnast Susan Jackson has been named the Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week for her All Around effort of 39.700 on Saturday. Jackson won three event titles and the All Around to give her 12 for the season. Way to geaux Susan!

Now Back To Regular Programming

Weeks from now when the final chapter is written about the 2009 LSU Gymnastics season, followers of the program will more likely than not point to the month of February as the defining time of the season.

A huge home score (for that point in the season) versus Florida opened the month – and propelled the Tigers to a historic victory over Alabama in Tuscaloosa the next week. Then, when some said a letdown was in order, the Tigers answered with a 197.400 at home against Illinois-Chicago and North Carolina the following week. LSU closed the book on February with a gritty win against a strong Arkansas gym team despite not necessarily hitting on all cylinders.

Four meets and four wins for LSU during the 28-day span have defined the Tigers as a tough-minded, strong-willed bunch. From the early moments of the Cancun Classic until now, talent has never been the issue. But the mental aspect of the competition had been, until now.

The 2005 LSU gymnastics squad set the standards for wins in-a-row and wins in-a-season. But that team, for all its talent, couldn’t seem to master the art of the mental. Those Tigers missed the Super Six by 0.075.

The 2009 Tigers seem different. They’re a complex bunch to be sure. But, with February behind them, they have shown the ability to reach down and summon the will to win when called upon. That could be a real difference-maker in the chase for a championship.

Etta James Memorial Meet A Huge Success

“Pink meets” have been all the rage in women’s gymnastics. It’s a great thing – and a natural fit – for gym teams to embrace the fight for a cure for cancer. And the pink meets that I have attended have been well done. But, there’s no comparison to the spectacle that LSU produces.

What made this year’s event unique was having it on a Saturday night. This opened up the gymnastics experience to Tiger fans that might normally not be able to attend a Friday meet. Over 6,000 fans helped raise over $50,000 for Foundation 56. This surpassed last year’s total by over $20,000.

No detail was overlooked by the host committee. Success was made possible only by the dozens of volunteers who donated countless hours to making sure the meet came off without a hitch. Specifically, the LSU Athletic Department (including A.D. Joe Alleva and his lovely wife Annie), Bradie James (and his gang of NFL players who attended and supported the pre-meet auction), the Bengal Belles, Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority, and Head Coach D-D Breaux were the driving forces behind the second annual event.

Here’s to a great Etta James Memorial Meet in 2010!

LSU vs. North Carolina State Recap

Amidst the electric pink atmosphere of the PMAC, a very good gymnastics meet took place on Saturday evening. NC State, representing the EAGL, came in with high hopes of reaching the NCAA gymnastics “tournament” field of 36 teams. The Wolfpack scored a season-high 195.725 against the Tigers – a road score that helped them to a number 35 ranking this week. So, goal achieved for NC State.

LSU had every reason to let down this week and just take in the atmosphere. In addition to the pink meet, it was also Senior Night – with LSU honoring manager Tina Suhr along with gymnasts Lauren Klein and Ashleigh Clare-Kearney. But the Tigers showed focus and poise in notching the second highest score of the season, 197.150.

Three Big Stories Emerge From NC State Meet

First, Junior Susan Jackson had the best all around meet of her LSU career, hitting 39.700 in all four events. This is a new career high for the Spring, Texas native. She scored no lower than 9.90 (vault), and hit 9.925 on bars (season high), 9.95 on beam (career high), and 9.925 on floor (season high). The 39.700 score is tied for 9th best in school history.

Second, senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney got the PMAC rocking in Rotation 1 with a perfect 10.0 on vault. It was an amazing effort that seemed as effortless as it was flawless. Her finishing routine on floor received a standing ovation from over 6,100 fans in attendance. For not a slight step out on her first tumbling pass, the floor routine would’ve notched a perfect 10.0 as well. The 10.0 on vault was just the second in the NCAA this season. UCLA’s super freshman Vanessa Zamarippa has the other.

Third, the protective boot ACK placed on her ankle immediately after her floor routine did not go unnoticed by the fans. The injury didn’t happen during that routine, rather a week earlier. ACK awoke the day after the Arkansas meet with a high ankle sprain – unaware that she had suffered any injury in the meet. The LSU training staff worked all of last week in order to get her ready for the final home meet of her career – making the perfect 10 she scored an even more remarkable achievement.

ACK Out For Centenary Meet

Out of an abundance of caution, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney will be held out of the final regular season gymnastics meet this week at Centenary College in Shreveport. With SEC’s, NCAA regionals, and a possible birth in the NCAA Championships ahead, it seems like the smart thing for the LSU coaches to do. Hey, maybe I can get her to join the radio broadcast with me? (hint, hint ACK!)

National Rankings

Saturday’s score of 197.150 replaced a much lower team score from a week earlier, thus the Tigers jumped dramatically in the national point standings this week, as predicted. The upcoming road score at Centenary will replace (hopefully) the lowest of the road scores currently counting towards the LSU regional qualifying score. That score is the 195.300 that the Tigers scored in Auburn back in January.

Here’s how Top 25 panned out this week after 9 weeks of competition along with how many spots each team has moved up or down in the rankings since last week. Note that the teams finishing in the Top 18 at regular season’s end received automatic berths into a NCAA regional. Nine of LSU’s opponents this season are ranked in this week’s Top 25.

1 Georgia 197.210 0
2 Utah 196.985 0
3 Stanford 196.825 0
4 Alabama 196.720 +1
5 Florida 196.530 -1
6 LSU 196.490 +5
7 UCLA 196.430 -1
8 Auburn 196.390 0
9 Oregon State 196.370 0
10 Oklahoma 196.365 -3
11 Arkansas 196.290 -1
12 Nebraska 195.830 0
13 Missouri 195.665 0
14 Michigan 195.595 0
15 Penn State 195.560 +4
16 Illinois-Champaign 195.485 -1
17 Minnesota 195.370 +1
18 Ohio State 195.310 -1
19 Arizona 195.140 -3
20 West Virginia 195.105 0
21 Iowa State 195.070 0
22 Kent State 194.960 +2
23 Boise State 194.810 +6
24 Kentucky 194.785 0
25 Iowa 194.720 -2

Here are the LSU Tigers who ranked in the nation’s Top 50 this week on each event: (rankings in the order of VT, UB, BB, FX, AA)

LSU Team: 5th, 4th, 6th, 14th, 6th (196.490)
Clare-Kearney: 2nd, 6th, 42nd, 1st, 3rd (39.515)
Jackson: 13th, 10th, 20th, 43rd, 5th (39.440)
Schwitkis: 41st, 51st, NR, NR, NR 39.350
Engle: NR, 43rd, 69th, NR, NR
Hubbard: NR, 59th, 41st, NR, NR

ACK One Away From History

The school record for individual titles belongs to April Burkholder. The 2006 NCAA Beam Champion recorded 109 titles (23 vault, 9 bars, 25 beam, 27 floor, 25 All Around) as a Tiger.

Here’s a listing of the number of individual event titles won by current Tigers.

Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, senior
108 total titles
(34 vault, 17 bars, 10 beam, 25 floor, 22 all-around)

Susan Jackson, junior
22 total titles
(5 vault, 5 bars, 5 beam, 4 floor, 3 all-around)

Summer Hubbard, junior
8 total titles
(5 bars, 3 beam)

Lauren Klein, senior
8 total titles
(1 vault, 7 floor)

Staci Schwitkis, sophomore
4 total titles
(4 bars)

Sabrina Franceschelli, junior
3 total titles
(2 bars, 1 floor)

Samantha Engle, sophomore
1 beam title

Gloria Johnson, freshman
1 vault title

Kayla Rogers, junior
1 floor title

LSU Gymnastics Meets Facebook

Signup as a supporter of LSU Gymnastics on Facebook! You can help the Tigers achieve the most supporters of any gym team in the NCAA. Visit www.facebook.com and search LSU Gymnastics!

Friday’s Meet

Going to Shreveport is always a fun trip. The Tigers will depart Baton Rouge around lunchtime and take the 3 ½ hour drive north. For the first time ever, we will be able to broadcast the meet from Centenary – thanks to the folks at their facility, called The Gold Dome. Our airtime will be 7pm in The Geaux Zone on LSUSports.net.

High scores for the Tigers have been a staple of LSU/Centenary meets. The school record book is dotted with season highs, career highs and perfect 10s over the years when these teams have gotten together.

Centenary is a member of the Midwest Independent Conference for gymnastics. The Ladies will be the third team from this conference that LSU has competed against in 2009. Other teams on LSU schedule include Southeast Missouri State and Illinois-Chicago. The Red Hawks of SEMO lead that conference and The Flames of UIC are second.

Centenary is lead by All Arounder Courtney Hawkins who enters Friday’s meet with a season high in the All Around of 38.925. As a team, The Ladies best event is bars where their season high score is a respectable 48.975.

Friday’s Probable LSU Line-Up

Vault
Ashley Lee
Kayla Rogers
Gloria Johnson
Staci Schwitkis
Sabrina Franceschelli
Susan Jackson

Uneven Bars Lauren Klein
Staci Schwitkis
Summer Hubbard
Samantha Engle
Sabrina Franceschelli
Susan Jackson

Balance Beam
Gloria Johnson
Samantha Engle
Summer Hubbard
Sabrina Franceschelli
Staci Schwitkis
Susan Jackson

Floor Exercise
Kayla Rogers
Sabrina Franceschelli
Summer Hubbard
Gloria Johnson
Staci Schwitkis
Susan Jackson

All Around
Susan Jackson
Staci Schwitkis
Sabrina Franceschelli

Mike’s Eye On The Tigers

Here are a few things I will be looking for tonight against Centenary:

• Expect many of the LSU reserves to see action on Friday night in Shreveport. How do they react to their time in the spotlight?

• How do the LSU coaches balance the need for a solid road score (see previous story about this) versus the need to rest key gymnasts? The most critical part of the season lies immediately ahead, but LSU a Top 6 finish secures a #1 seed for the Tigers in the postseason.

• Does Lauren Klein re-enter the bars line-up and/or return to the floor exercise for the first time this season?

• Does Susan Jackson rest or go for another big set of scores?

• How does ACK perform in her radio debut? I suspect it will be as good, if not better, than her 10.0 vault from last week.

It’s the final regular season meet for LSU and, for the first time, we will broadcast it live for you from Centenary. Our airtime from Shreveport will be 7:00 p.m. Central. Don’t miss a second of the action!

Until next week, GEAUX TIGERS!

Mike

Meet Nine: Arkansas

Up until 11:00 p.m. last Friday night, the LSU Tigers held the highest gymnastics team score in Nation at 197.400. Ten times the Tigers set new or matched existing career highs on various events during the meet– a rare event in collegiate gymnastics. Then, approximately 2,000 miles to the west, Utah put on a clinic of its own – scoring 197.525 in a sold-out home arena. So goes the weekly battle among the nation’s elite programs.

To be sure, the Tigers home meet against North Carolina and Illinois-Chicago was a thing of beauty. Fittingly, LSU took the opportunity to finally break through on the floor exercise. The first four Tigers on the floor broke their career highs on the event, helping the Purple and Gold to a season high 49.475 – which stands as the high score nationally going into week 9 of the season.

But it was the Tigers’ uneven bars team that set the tone for the night with a 49.500 – the highest team score on the event in six years. In short, LSU rocked the PMAC in the height of Mardi Gras season.

Staci Sticks It, Glo Glows

San Diego sophomore Staci Schwitkis continues to shine. In just her second shot at All Around, she had her best meet as a Tiger. Staci set career highs on beam (9.825) and floor (9.85) while tallying scores of 9.80 on vault and 9.875 on bars. That adds up to a 39.350 in the All Around.

Staci’s continued improvement in the practice gym and on the competition floor has given the LSU coaching staff the added confidence to place her in a key position on the team – that of third All Arounder – behind ACK and Susan Jackson. To compete in the NCAA’s, LSU will need the added depth that Schwitkis brings to each event. Watch her carefully on Friday night for another strong performance.

Freshman Gloria Johnson’s strong three-event outing was recognized by the SEC as the best for a freshman last week. Johnson was honored with her second Freshman of the Week award in a row. Glo, as she is known by her teammates, has truly come on strong in the last three weeks. Like Schwitkis, she could be a young difference maker in the stretch run of the season.

National Rankings

LSU was the biggest mover in the country this week (see the blog from earlier this week for an exact explanation how this came to be). The Tigers jumped four spots in the national point standing to check in at 6th. Here’s how it stacks up in the point standings after 8 weeks of competition along with how many spots each team has moved up or down in the rankings since last week.

1 Georgia 197.015 +1
2 Utah 196.885 -1
3 Stanford 196.590 +1
4 UCLA 196.340 -1
5 Auburn 196.260 0
6 LSU 196.250 +4
7 Florida 196.220 -1
8 Oregon State 196.215 +1
9 Arkansas 196.210 -2
10 Oklahoma 196.105 +1
11 Alabama 196.010 -3
12 Nebraska 195.465 0
13 Missouri 195.430 0
14 Michigan 195.345 +1
15 Illinois-Champaign 195.215 -1
16 Arizona 194.930 +3
17 Penn State 194.900 0
18 Minnesota 194.755 1st week w/RQS
19 Ohio State 194.725 -3
20 West Virginia 194.630 -2
21 Iowa 194.525 +2
22 Iowa State 194.500 +1
23 Michigan State 194.410 -1
24 Washington 194.330 0
25 Maryland 194.325 0

Here are the LSU Tigers who ranked in the nation’s Top 50 this week on each event: (rankings in the order of VT, UB, BB, FX, AA)

Clare-Kearney: 4th, 5th, 24th, 1st, 3rd (39.515)
Jackson: 12th, 13th, 11th, NR, 5th (39.410)
Scwitkis: 26th, 50th, NR, NR, NR 39.350
Johnson: 37th, NR, NR, NR, Not AA
Engle: NR, 38th, 50th, NR, Not AA

Klein Still Recuperating

Senior Lauren Klein, mainstay in last season’s line-ups, continues the long road back from a tough ankle injury suffered in the opening meet of this season. She has exhibitioned bars in the last few meets, but she continues to improve on the stamina and strength needed to return to the floor line-up. Though the rest of the Tigers have admirably stepped up to cover for her loss, Klein’s floor adds a “wow” factor that will be sorely missed come tournament time if she cannot return.

LSU Gymnastics Meets Facebook

Signup as a supporter of LSU Gymnastics on Facebook! You can help the Tigers achieve the most supporters of any gym team in the NCAA. Visit www.facebook.com and search LSU Gymnastics!

More LSU On Gymnastike.com

The new gymnastics-oriented website Gymnastike.com visited the PMAC last Friday and has quality interviews and meet action on its website. Visit www.gymnastike.com to learn more about what’s happening in the world of gymnastics today!

Friday’s Meet

First and foremost, let me say this. GET YOUR TICKETS for this one! I realize that you may be saying “this is Arkansas” and not Georgia, Alabama or Florida. But realize that Arkansas has established a very strong program in a very short amount of time and has beaten the likes of Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama this season.

The vast majority of scoring for the GymBacks comes from the quartet of Casey Jo Magee, Jaime Pasani, Michelle Stout, and Sarah Nagashima. Each competes in the All Around and each has the capability of scoring 9.90 or better on every event. Here’s how the Arkansas gymnasts rank in the Top 50 this week: (rankings in the order of VT, UB, BB, FX, AA)

Magee: 39th, 14th, 9th, 24th, 10th (39.335)
Pisani: 13th, NR, NR, 15th, 13th (39.275)
Stout: 15th, 18th, NR, 16th, 15th (39.250)
Nagashima: NR, NR, 38th, NR, 24th (39.100)
LaChance: NR, NR, NR, 36th, NR

Friday’s Probable LSU Line-Up

Vault
Kayla Rogers
Gloria Johnson
Staci Schwitkis
Sabrina Franceschelli
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Ashley Lee – alternate/exhibition

Uneven Bars
Staci Schwitkis
Summer Hubbard
Samantha Engle
Sabrina Franceschelli
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Lauren Klein – alternate/exhibition

Balance Beam
Gloria Johnson
Summer Hubbard
Sabrina Franceschelli
Staci Schwitkis
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Samantha Engle – alternate/exhibiton

Floor Exercise
Kayla Rogers
Summer Hubbard
Gloria Johnson
Staci Schwitkis
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney

All Around
Susan Jackson
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney
Staci Schwitkis

Mike’s Eye On The Tigers

Here are a few things I will be looking for tonight against Arkansas:

• I know I said this last week, but the Tigers must keep the momentum that has built up and down the line-up. With this team, it seems that there’s no middle ground – either LSU is very, very good or not so much. Too much is riding on anything less than their best performace against a super Arkansas team.

• Arkansas freshman Jaime Pisani scored large last week at home against Georgia in the All Around. Can she repeat the performance on the road and pace the GymBacks their first-ever victory over LSU?

• The 2, 3 and 4 spots in the Tiger lineup to continue scoring high. 197’s are made in these spots in the line-ups.

• What kind of crowd shows up? Will it be a Mardi Gras type crowd from a week ago? Or the raucous type crowd from the Florida meet? You know, in football it’s said that the home team gets a three-point advantage in picking the games. In gymnastics, I believe the home mat advantage can be three-tenths throughout the meet.

• The highest home score of the year! (WOW, I pegged this one last week!) But back to reality, I expect this meet to be in the high 196 range for both squads. The team that sticks the most landings, hits the most handstands, and sparkles most on floor will win with a very high score. Sounds simple. But that’s what it boils down to this time of year. I like the Tigers to go 14-0 against Pig Sooie in a close one.

It’s the final regular season SEC meet for LSU and it’s a BIG one! Please make every effort to come out and enjoy it. These are two terrific teams and we expect nothing short of an SEC battle that you’ve come to expect from LSU/Georgia, Alabama and/or Florida over the years. It’ll be that good folks.

D-D Breaux Interviews With Gymnastike.com

LSU Head Coach D-D Breaux sat down with gymnastics website Gymnastike.com in her office last Saturday morning (2/21/09) to talk about a wide range of topics. Here are three segments from the interview. Published here with permission of Gymnastike.com.

Part 1: D-D talks about the upcoming Arkansas meet and what lies ahead for the Tigers



Part 2: D-D talks at length about Ashleigh Clare-Kearney



Part 3: D-D talks recruiting

Tigers Leap In Point Standings, Gloria Johnson Honored

The LSU gymnastics team continued its mid-season surge with a huge point night last Friday against North Carolina and Illinois-Chicago. The Tigers scored a season-high 197.400 - the second highest team score in the country this season (Utah 197.525). As a result, LSU jumped 4 spots in the national point standings this week from 10th to 6th. LSU checks in just one-tenth of a point out of the top 5.

For her efforts in Friday's meet, LSU freshman sensation Gloria Johnson was honored as SEC Freshman of the Week for the second week in a row. Johnson competed in three events - vault, beam and floor - and won her first event title of her career by scoring 9.90 on vault. Johnson's 9.90 on floor was good enough to take third place in the event while her 9.80 on beam was good enough for fifth place.

So how exactly did the dramatic jump in the point standings occur? Let's break it down. As I explained in Friday's blog, the RQS system is now being used. Esentially, the RQS is comprised of a team's top 6 scores, three of which must be road scores. The highest of the six is dropped and the five remaining scores averaged to reveal the RQS. Each of the Division 1 gymnastics schools are then ranked from highest RQS (the #1 team) to lowest.

Entering Friday's meet, LSU carried the following scores for its RQS (in order of competition):
(road meet) Cancun Classic 194.900
(home meet) Georgia 195.950
(road meet) Kentucky 196.575
(road meet) Auburn 195.300
(home meet) Florida 196.800
(road meet) Alabama 196.625

The Florida score, being the highest, was dropped and remaining five averaged to get a week 7 RQS of 195.870. Now, with the new season high score from week 8, here are the scores that helped the Tigers reach an RQS o 196.250 and #6 in the country:

(home meet) Georgia 195.950
(road meet) Kentucky 196.575
(road meet) Auburn 195.300
(home meet) Florida 196.800
(road meet) Alabama 196.625
(home meet) UNC/UIC 197.400

The key difference? The difference between The Cancun Classic score and the Florida meet score is almost two full points, resulting in a nearly six-tenths rise in the average.

So why is this Friday's meet against Arkansas so important? Well, the Tigers' three road scores are locked into the RQS until the Centenary meet on March 13. So, the only way for LSU to continue its rise in the point standings (and enhance its post-season bid) is to beat one of the three home scores currently counted in the RQS.

For example, a 196.500 against Arkansas this Friday would increase LSU's RQS to 196.360 - which this week would've place the Tigers fourth in the country.