Meet Five: Auburn

Normally, I would spend this space on the blog reviewing last week’s gymnastics meet, which was at Kentucky. But tonight’s meet at Auburn marks a pivotal point of the 2009 season, so I thought we should dive right in to this week’s edition of “Talkin’ 10’s” and explain why.

First, Auburn is a good team having a terrific season. They have solid senior leadership and have been consistent up and down the lineups. These Tigers are among the nation’s top ten in each event and they expect another great crowd in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum tonight.

Second, LSU is need of a top-to-bottom super meet. Tiger fans have seen flashes of brilliance at times – but now is the time for each gymnast in the vault, bars, beam and floor lineups to step it up to championship caliber.

Third, now is the time because it just doesn’t get any easier from here. Florida, Alabama and Arkansas – each in the top 10 – await LSU. Though wins and losses aren’t the measuring sticks in collegiate gymnastics, the Tigers must prove they can notch solid scores from week to week in order to move up in the rankings.

Let’s take it a look inside the numbers.

National Rankings

The LSU Tigers moved back into the top 10 in the national scoring rankings this week. LSU comes in at #10, about a half-point behind ninth ranked Alabama. Georgia reclaimed the top spot, Florida fell to fifth, Auburn held at #6, and Arkansas is #8. To advance higher in the next week’s rankings, the Tigers need to crack 196.000 tonight versus Auburn.

By event, here’s how LSU ranks heading into week 5 of the season:
• Vault (49.256), 2nd in nation (average decreased slightly but ranking remains same as last week)
• Floor (48.862), 10th in nation (increased average but fell one spot in rankings from last week)
• Bars (48.750), 14th in nation (up 4 spots from last week)
• Beam (48.531), 17th in nation (up 7 spots from last week)

Individually, here’s how the Tigers rank:
• Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 2nd in nation in vault (9.919 avg. which is a scant 7 one-thousandths of a point from #1)
• Susan Jackson, 8th in nation on vault (9.887 avg.)
• Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 7th in nation on bars (9.881 avg.)
• Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 15th in nation in All Around (39.321 avg.)
• Susan Jackson, 24th in nation in All Around (39.169 avg.)

Sabrina Is Back

Junior Sabrina Franceschelli returns to the Tigers lineup tonight after a bout with the flu. Look for her to compete in at least three events against Auburn as she works to re-establish her stamina.

Tonight’s Meet

Auburn is ranked #6 in the nation for a reason. They have hit serious scores when it counts – 196.250 at Florida, 196.375 at Illinois-Chicago and 196.275 against Iowa State, for example. Auburn lost to arch-rival Alabama by the smallest margin possible, .025, nearly snapping a years-long losing streak to the Tide.

Two seniors – Lindsey Puckett and AJ Mills – lead Auburn in every sense of the word. In the national rankings, Mills is #3 on floor, #10 on bars and #14 on floor. Meanwhile, Puckett has been the picture of consistency and is ranked #10 in the All Around (39.325). She is also #5 on vault and #9 on floor.

Puckett heads into tonight’s meet on the heels of a career night last Friday against Iowa State. A 9.975 on balance beam lead the way to her 39.525 All Around score.

Compare The Pre-Meet Quotes

LSU Head Coach D-D Breaux: “I expect us to compete with intensity. I expect us to approach this meet like we approached our competition against Georgia and at Kentucky. I expect that based on the scores we are seeing and the consistency that Auburn is turning in, this will be a tough competition. They (Auburn) are a very much-improved team and have done a great job recruiting because they are getting a lot of scores from freshmen but also getting some good upper-class leadership. At the same time, if our best kids give us their best scores and the rest of the line-up builds to the end, we are a very competitive team. If our best team shows up, Auburn will have their hands full.”

Auburn Head Coach Jeff Thompson: "We want to continue to be consistent and do what we do week in and week out, regardless of what our opponent is doing," head gymnastics coach Jeff Thompson said. "From our perspective, it doesn't matter who were competing against. It's great for our fans that we're home again and it's great for our gymnasts to be home. We're looking for a big crowd on Friday and it should be an exciting meet. They (LSU) have, with Ashleigh Clare-Kearney and Susan Jackson, two of the highest-ranked returning gymnasts on their team. I think that our seniors scores will hold up with their scores, it's how our underclassmen do compared to theirs."

Mike’s Eye On The Tigers

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

• The business-like approach that the Tigers employed at Kentucky to continue at Auburn.
• Continued improvement in the bars and beam line-ups, coming off last week’s season highs on both events.
• The Tigers vault team to approach, if not exceed, its season high of 49.425. This could propel the Tigers through tonight’s meet.
• LSU’s first three performers on each event against Auburn’s first three. This could be where the meet is won.
• The Tiger tandem of ACK and Susan Jackson to seal the deal with breakout performances for 2009.

Tonight’s meet is available free-of-charge in the Geaux Zone beginning at 7pm. Don’t forget to listen in for all the great action from the plains of Eastern Alabama tonight!

GEAUX TIGERS – LSU that is!

Meet Four: Kentucky

A record home opening crowd watched a terrific SEC gymnastics meet inside the PMAC last Friday night. The LSU Tigers posted season highs on floor, beam and bars towards a season high team score of 195.950 while the Georgia Gym Dogs posted a season high 196.850 in its first road meet of the season.

Olympian and NCAA All-American for Georgia Courtney Kupets made her final PMAC appearance by sweeping three individual titles and the All Around, while tying for the vault title. Also making her final PMAC appearance was Georgia head coach Suzanne Yoculan. Yoculan will retire at the end of this season after 26 years.

For the Tigers, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney tied Kupets for the vault title (9.95) – her 90th career individual title.

The 4,369 fans in attendance last Friday made for the largest opening night crowd in LSU Gymnastics history. The PMAC is an extraordinary arena – and with that many Tiger fans inside, it made for a memorable night. The Tigers will need that many fans and then some for the next home meet, February 6, against Florida. It’s entirely possible that the Gators could come into Baton Rouge as the number one ranked team in America.

Georgia Superlatives

• Ashleigh Clare-Kearney for a very nice vault and subsequent score of 9.95.
• Sophomore Sam Engle for solid floor and bars routines – two 9.80 scores.
• Junior Susan Jackson for a steady 39.300 All Around score, good for third place against the Gym Dogs.
• Junior Summer Hubbard for a 9.80 on bars after struggling the first two weeks of the season – way to rebound!
• Junior Kayla Rogers for a tying a team high 9.85 on floor.

Is Bluegrass Green In The Wintertime?

The answer is no. In fact, the bluegrass of Kentucky looks a bit Tiger gold this colder time of year. LSU is in Lexington to take on the Wildcats in another SEC showdown tonight at Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers had an uneventful trip into the Bluegrass State yesterday, toured around downtown Lexington during the evening, and started meet day with a breakfast this morning in the team hotel that adjoins historic Rupp Arena.

Around 3pm Central Time, LSU will load up for the short bus ride over to the arena. There’s a chance of snow tonight after the meet.

Missing Sabrina

Junior Sabrina Franceschelli has remained behind in Baton Rouge after coming down with the flu this week. She is crushed not be with the team and her All Around will be missed this week. Look for sophomore Staci Schwitkis to fill-in tonight in Kentucky – her first All Around nod as a Tiger.

Also, look for sophomore Paige Cipolloni and freshman Ashley Lee to warm-up on vault tonight. It will be a meet-time decision by the coaching staff as to which Tiger enters the six person line-up.

National Rankings

The Tigers jumped three spots to #11 in the national scoring rankings this week – just 18 one-thousandths out of the top 10. Any score above 195.000 tonight versus Kentucky will increase the Tigers’ average, giving them a shot to climb back into the top 10.

By event, here’s how LSU ranks heading into week 4 of the season:
• Vault (49.283), 2nd in nation
• Floor (48.792), 9th in nation
• Bars (48.567), 18th in nation
• Beam (48.367), 24th in nation

Individually, here’s how the Tigers rank:
• Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 2nd in nation in vault (9.925 avg.)
• Susan Jackson, 8th in nation on vault (9.892 avg.)
• Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 9th in nation on bars (9.867 avg.)
• Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, 20th in nation in All Around (39.108 avg.)
• Susan Jackson, 23rd in nation in All Around (39.100 avg.)

Tonight’s Meet

LSU takes on a very capable Kentucky squad this evening at 6pm Central Time. The Cats are 1-1 on the season having scored 191.000 in their victory and 194.075 in the one defeat to Alabama last week in Tuscaloosa. In particular, watch for junior Hillary Ferguson to score well in the All Around. She’s capable of 39.300 or better. Ferguson is ranked 13th on the Floor Exercise nationally this week.

Also watch for senior Natalie Rubenstein who is a strong bars worker for Kentucky, having scored 9.85 in both meets. That’s good enough for a #14 ranking nationally on the event.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, tonight’s meet is not being held in Rupp Arena. Kentucky gymnastics’ home arena is Memorial Coliseum, which is on campus. Rupp Arena is in downtown Lexington where a monster truck show is on tap tonight.

Mike’s Eye On The Tigers

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

• The much anticipated return of senior Lauren Klein to the line-up. She’ll go tonight on bars.
• Staci Schwitkis in the All Around. Is she just filling-in, or will she emerge as a weekly contender for a spot in all four events?
• The first 9.90 or better on bars for a Tiger this season.
• The vault team to throw another high score – keeping pace with Utah as the nation’s best vault team.
• A business-like approach to the meet, whereby the Tigers go 6 for 6 on each event a head home with a solid road score.

Tonight’s meet is available free-of-charge in the Geaux Zone beginning at 6pm Central time. Don’t forget to listen in for all the great action from Lexington, Kentucky!

GEAUX TIGERS!

Meet Three: Georgia

What a difference a week can make! The Tigers traded in the warm sands of Cancun for the snowy expanse of Iowa and came back a winner – sort of.

While LSU won the meet in Iowa City with a team score of 194.175 over Southeat Missouri State (191.675) and host Iowa (191.375), the Tigers looked lackluster in doing it. Three falls on beam, two on bars and a fall on floor overshadowed one of the more impressive early-season vault scores the Tigers have had in a number of years (49.425). In fact, the Tigers team vault score is tied for highest in the nation so far this season (Utah).

The Tigers will need a complete change of focus and determination on Friday as the defending National Champion Georgia Gym Dogs come to the Maravich Center to open the 2009 home campaign.

D-D Said It
“We’re gonna fix what is broken,” was D-D’s mantra after the Iowa meet. It was one hard week of practice. Enough said.

Movin’ On Up

With two more event titles (bars/floor) in Iowa to her credit, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney stands at 89 individual titles for her career.

“Stonewall” Jackson Takes Stand in Iowa

Junior Susan Jackson paced LSU in the tri-meet at Iowa. She won vault with a 9.95 effort – with only a very slight step on the landing keeping her from being perfect. She also tallied scores of 9.825 on bars (second place) and 9.800 on beam (second place) to go along with a 9.775 on floor. Her All Around score of 39.350 won the meet and ranks among the top 10 in All Around scores nationally at this early point in the season.

Iowa Superlatives
The Tigers vault team proved to be the lone bright spot on an otherwise cold and snowy night. Kudos to the following for helping to post a 49.425 score:

Susan Jackson 9.95
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney 9.925
Staci Schwitkis 9.875
Kayla Rogers 9.850
Gloria Johnson 9.825

Another superlative goes out to Sam Engle, the Tigers super sophomore from Plano, Texas. Sam scored the first event title of her career at Iowa in winning the beam with a score of 9.825.

This Friday’s Meet
It just doesn’t get much better than this in collegiate gymnastics. LSU versus Georgia to open the 2009 home schedule for the Tigers. I really hope you’ve gotten your tickets for this one. It features two bitter rivals and two returning National Champions and is not to be missed!

Georgia returns former Olympian Courtney Kupets to the lineup after a season-ending Achilles injury a year ago. She’s picked up right where she left off – leading the nation in All Around average after week one. The Gym Dogs also feature returning beam National Champion Grace Taylor and 12 time All American Tiffany Tolnay.

It will be “Beat Georgia Night” in the Maravich Center. The first 1,000 fans through the doors will receive 2009 schedule magnets. It will be a student point night and the first 200 students will receive a free 2009 gymnastics T-shirt. Right before I announce the final team and individual scores, we will have a special performance from gymnastics sensation “Russian Bar.”

Mike’s Eye On The Tigers
Here are a few things I will be looking for this week’s meet against Georgia:

• Sabrina Franceschelli continuing her rise in the LSU lineup. She took second in the All Around in Cancun. Will her consistency continue?
• Kayla Rogers leading off the vault and floor lineups. Her solid lead-off scores helped the Tigers tremendously. Does she remain in this spot and does success continue?
• Susan Jackson to absolutely kill the bars in Iowa. She was most unhappy about slipping off the Mexican uneven bars and is out for revenge.
• ACK versus Iowa’s Simbhudas in the All Around. Two terrific athletes in their element. This will be fun to watch.

Have a great week!

Meet Two: Iowa

The Seashores of Old Mexico proved friendly territory for the LSU Gymnastics team last week as the Tigers turned in a solid opening performance in the Cancun Classic. LSU outpaced Boise State, Michigan and North Carolina by scoring 194.900 to bring home the Big Sombrero and Mayan King trophy.

LSU opened on beam and scored 48.625 – by all accounts a score that did not represent the skills demonstrated by the Tigers. Early low scoring by the judging corps raised more than a few eyebrows in the Hilton ballroom. At least four-tenths were left on the table by the judges as LSU should have broken 49 for the event.

Floor was next and, well, it was an adventure to say the least. The floor exercise equipment was well below standards and nearly forced LSU to count a fall. The mat’s sub-floor caved in on a critical tumbling pass during warm-ups, was repaired, then caved again during sophomore Sam Engle’s performance. Junior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney nearly fell into the same hole in the floor but was able to save her routine. The Tigers persevered and tallied a 48.575 team score.

A rally mounted when LSU moved to vault. Several strong performances helped the Tigers to a meet-high 49.200 team score. Four of six Tigers scored 9.8 or better – practically sealing the meet at that point in time.

LSU finished up in Cancun on the uneven bars. The Tigers first three performances were terrific, but junior Susan Jackson suffered a fall during her routine and junior Summer Hubbard, the Tigers anchor on bars, missed her mount to force LSU to count a fall for the first time on the young season. The 48.500 score was the final team total for LSU on bars.

D-D Said It

Overall, Head Coach D-D Breaux counted the Cancun meet as a successful one. As in last year’s performance South of the Border, she praised the efforts of her younger Tigers, including freshman Gloria Johnson. Johnson hit both her routines, scoring 9.675 on beam and 9.825 on vault.

D-D noted that the Cancun trip had three purposes. First, take care of business and win the meet. Second, develop the line-up in each event. And third, have fun and bond as a team. You can put a checkmark by all three.

ACK – Spell it R.O.C.K.

Ashleigh Clare-Kearney should take her initials ACK (which double as a nickname) and spell it ROCK. After all, that’s what she is in the gym. With three new event titles (floor, vault, bars) and the all-around title in Cancun, ACK now has 87 career individual titles to her credit.

Here’s the breakdown:
Vault 29
Bars 13
Beam 9
Floor 18
All-Around 18

Staying healthy and focused for the remainder of the season could mean 100+ titles for her career. That’s truly amazing.

Cancun Superlatives

• Ashleigh Clare-Kearney for winning the all-around, floor, bars and vault titles
• ACK for avoiding injury while trying to save herself from the Cancun crater (a.k.a. the hole in the floor exercise)
• The Tiger vault team for picking up the slack while missing two teammates due to injury
• Gloria Johnson for starting her collegiate career with strong efforts on beam and vault
• Sabrina Franceschelli for placing second in the all-around with a score of 38.775.
• Staci Schwitkis for a strong third place vault of 9.85 which should’ve been higher
• Staci Schwitkis for learning how to peel shrimp while in Mexico
• D-D Breaux, Bob Moore and Philip Ogletree for a wonderful coaching job preparing the Tigers to start the season

Injury Report

Senior Lauren Klein suffered a significant ankle injury during Thursday’s practice session in Cancun. The Tigers miss her floor and vault routines very much. Let’s hope she can get back in the line-up. Sophomore Nicole Lyons remains out of action due to off-season foot surgery.

This Friday’s Meet

The scenery changes dramatically for the LSU Tigers as it’s off to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes and Southeast Missouri State at Carver- Hawkeye Arena. Our airtime will be 7 p.m. in the Geaux Zone for the meet, and I certainly hope you will join us.

Iowa returns 12 letterwinners from last year’s team which advanced to the NCAA Regionals. Head Coach Larissa Libby was named Co-Big Ten Coach of the Year and returns one of the top all-around gymnasts in the country in Jenifer Simbhudas.

Simbhudas returns for her first meet since a freak accident on the uneven bars at regionals cost her a bid to the national meet as an all-around competitor. If she returns to form, Simbhudas and her Hawkeyes can score in the mid to upper 195 range as a team.

LSU should do well in this meet. Two straight weeks on the road and the bitter cold of Iowa aside, the Tigers are a focused bunch to start the season and it should show in the land of snow.

Mike’s Eye On The Tigers

Here are a few things I will be looking for this week at Iowa:

• Sabrina Franceschelli continuing her rise in the LSU line-up. She took second in the all-around in Cancun. Will her consistency continue?
• Kayla Rogers leading off the vault and floor line-ups. Her solid lead-off scores helped the Tigers tremendously. Does she remain in this spot and does success continue?
• Susan Jackson to absolutely kill the bars in Iowa. She was most unhappy about slipping off the Mexican uneven bars and is out for revenge.
• ACK versus Iowa’s Simbhudas in the all-around. Two terrific athletes in their element. This will be fun to watch.

A Fun Weekend Ahead

After returning from Iowa on Saturday afternoon, the Tiger gymnasts will join Mike the Tiger’s Kids Club for an autograph session on Sunday afternoon. The session takes place at the women’s basketball game in the PMAC at 2 p.m.

The Tigers will then play host to an old-fashioned birthday party for Selia Jindal, daughter of Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, at the gymnastics center.

Don’t forget to tune in to the Geaux Zone at 7 p.m. Friday evening to catch all the action live from historic Carver-Hawkeye Arena from the campus of the University of Iowa!

Have a great week!