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!