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