Tigers Support Young Gymnast Stricken With Cancer

The LSU gymnastics team had the pleasure of meeting with local gymnast Brenna Huckaby to offer encouragement after practice Thursday. Huckaby, 14, has osteosarcoma which is an aggressive form of bone cancer, and the Baton Rouge native has undergone chemotherapy and has also had an above-the-knee amputation on one leg.

However, she and her family are determined to put up a fight. Brenna is currently doing physical therapy as well as more chemotherapy, and she is working toward being fitted with an artificial limb to start walking again. Brenna is a level 9 gymnast and wants nothing more than to experience the thrill of tumbling on the floor exercise mat again. “I really want to be a coach or a judge when I get older,” Huckaby said. “Right now I really want to start doing floor again once I get my prosthetic leg and start tumbling and see how that goes.”

Head coach D-D Breaux arranged for Brenna and her father Jeff to come by the gym after practice because the entire team wanted to meet the girl who refuses to give up on her dreams. “I’ve known about her for a very long time because the gymnastics community in Louisiana is very close,” head coach D-D Breaux said. “The entire gymnastics community was shocked when we heard of her cancer, so for us to be able to do something that lifts her spirit and takes her mind of what she has faced and what she is facing is comforting to me and my team.”

When Brenna and her father arrived at the gym Breaux presented them with a quilt made by D-D’s mother. “The quilt is one of a kind,” Huckaby said. “It’s really cute, and it has a collage of different LSU things on it. I love it.”

The entire gymnastics team met with Brenna after she received the quilt and shared words of encouragement. “It was amazing meeting them,” Huckaby said. “I always see them competing, and I really liked meeting them face to face and talking to them. It was awesome, and I felt like I was a part of the team.” Breaux said the team was equally as excited to meet Brenna. “Without really knowing who she was, a lot of the team attended a fundraiser for her in October out of respect for her and the situation, and they came away impressed and humbled by her spirit.”

Brenna may have visited the team Thursday as a LSU gymnastics fan, but every member of the LSU gymnastics family is now a fan of hers.

Story by Jake Terry, LSU Associate Sports Information Director

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Coach D-D Breaux In Houma Thursday

D-D Breaux and other LSU coaches will join Director of Athletics Joe Alleva
as guests of honor at the annual meeting of the Bayou Bengal Booster Club in
Houma.

The meeting will be held at the Woodmen of the World Lodge, 309 S. Hollywood
Rd. and begins with a jambalaya supper at 6:30 p.m.

Tiger gymnastics fans in the Houma area, come on out and support your local
LSU Tigers Booster Club! Dues are only $10 per person or $25 per family.

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BBC: 2010 Olympic Gymnastics In 3-D

Move over James Cameron, the BBC is getting into the business of 3-D
television just in time for the 2012 Olympics. According to TechRadar.com,
the broadcast giant of Great Britian is set to highlight gymnastics and
boxing as its primary 3-D sports.

Not that they will compete for Team USA, but just imagine NCAA vault
champions Ashleigh Clare-Kearney and Susan Jackson sprinting down the vault
runway and into your living room...Or the next young Evander Holyfield
throwing an overhand right into your easy chair. Wow.

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Susan Jackson: SEC Female Athlete of the Year

The Southeastern Conference announced today that Susan Jackson has been
awarded the 2009-2010 SEC Female Athlete of the Year Award. The vote was
taken among the conference's Athletic Directors. Heisman Trophy winning
running back Mark Ingram of Alabama received the Male Athlete of the Year.

With the award, Jackson becomes the first LSU gymnast, second LSU woman, and
fifth Tiger overall to win SEC Athlete of the Year.  Other Tiger recipients
include Seimone Augustus, Xavier Carter, Walter Davis, and Shaquille O'Neal.

She joins an elite list of world-class athletes including Rowdy Gaines,
Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, Tracy Caulkins, Chamique Holdsclaw, Peyton
Manning, Tim Tebow, and Courtney Kupets.

Susan Jackson is now the most decorated gymnast in LSU gymnastics history.

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Susan Jackson's Highlight Video From Honda Awards

Check out the highlight video recapping the season of LSU's Susan Jackson,
the first-ever Tiger to win the prestigious Honda Award recognizing the top
female collegiate gymnast. http://awards.honda.com/?p=6

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Conference Shakeup: What It Means For Women's Gymnastics

The ripple effects of Nebraska's decision to leave the Big 12 Conference for
the Bigger 10 will be felt well beyond the football field. No sport will be
more impacted than Big 12 women's gymnastics which, with the Huskers exit
next season, is left with only 3 teams to compete the sport. That's the
fewest number of teams in any sport in the conference. 2010 National
runner-up Oklahoma, 2010 National finalist Missouri, and Iowa State are all
that will remain.

Meanwhile, with Nebraska added to the roster, Big 10 women's gymnastics
grows to 8 total teams - one larger than the Southeastern Conference. It
will include traditional powers Michigan and Penn State along with emerging
programs like Iowa and Illinois.

But that's not all. Utah, whose gymnastics program had not been affiliated
with a conference, has signed up to join the Pac-10. This move cements the
Pac-10 as a true conference powerhouse - one that will rival the SEC year in
and year out. To wit: Utah and UCLA have won a combined 15 of the 29
National Championships in women's gymnastics. And Oregon State and Stanford
are consistent Super Six qualifiers in their own right.

The first question one might ask is "Will the Big 12 continue to sanction
women's gymnastics with only 3 teams?" In the short term, the answer is
most likely yes. With both Title IX and budget concerns looming, large
conferences are not usually keen on canceling, or expanding, women's sports.

However, in the long run, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Missouri could, like
Utah, opt for independent status in the sport - or even join other
conferences for women's gymnastics. Though unlikely, the Big 12 could
persuade another school to start a women's gymnastics program. Both the
University of Texas and Baylor have long been mentioned as possibilities.
There is currently no major university in the State of Texas with a NCAA
women's gymnastics program.

These conference changes will also have significant impacts on scheduling.
Utah has regularly trekked eastward to take on SEC teams such as LSU,
Florida, Georgia, and Alabama in past seasons. But with 7 weeks of
conference opponents to book each year - and a conference championship meet
- there will be precious little time on the calendar for the Utes to
schedule a ton of non-conference opponents.

The opposite holds true for remnants of the Big 12. The Sooners, Tigers and
Cyclones will each have one additional week in which to schedule a
non-conference opponent. Since each of these programs has, and can again,
host NCAA Regional meets, look for some big name opponents to travel to
Norman, Columbia, and Ames - and vice versa.

Nebraska's long gymnastics tradition, terrific fans, and great home venue
are a huge boost to the Big 10. Likewise, Utah's history as a national
power and NCAA leading attendance will elevate the Pac-10 to the next level.
The unfortunate losers in this shakeup are the 3 remaining teams in the Big
12 that sponsor women's gymnastics.

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Susan Jackson Wins Yet Another Award

Former LSU Tiger Susan Jackson has been awarded the 2009-2010 Corbett Award recognizing her as the top female amateur athlete in the State of Louisiana. Former LSU baseball pitcher Louis Coleman received the men's Corbett Award, marking the first time since 2000 that LSU has swept both awards. Read more here.

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Vote On Best Road Trip of 2011 Season

Take a second to vote for your most anticipated road trip of the 2011 LSU Gymnastics season in the poll in the left column of this page. The 2011 schedule is among the toughest ever for the Tiger program. LSU has the opportunity to compete in as many as 7 states over the course of the season. And, for the Dallas trip in late January, we're making plans for a Tiger Caravan and Tailgate! More to follow...

New Tiger Already Making Sports Illustrated

She's only just arrived on campus but LSU freshman Sarie Morrison is already making news. Morrison appeared in Sports Illustrated's popular column "Faces In The Crowd" last week. Click the link to read the full story.

Morrison recently completed a rare feat by winning the All-Around title at the Texas State Gymnastics Meet for a third year in a row. In helping her high school team the state championship last month, Morrison also won the vault, bars, beam and floor individual championships in the Lone Star State. She has been named the All Area Gymnast of the Year by the Dallas Morning News.

Morrison joins the likes of two-time National Champion Ashleigh Clare-Kearney in appearing in SI's "Faces In The Crowd" column. ACK appeared in April 9, 2007 issue of SI.

Susan Jackson's Story Top Feature On USA-Gymnastics.org

A couple of weeks ago, LSU gymnastics Sports Information Director Jake Terry wrote a terrific piece on former Tiger Susan Jackson. The story appeared on LSUSports.net and has been picked up by USA-Gymnastics.org and is currently on the front page of this heavily read website.

While you're at it, also read Terry's piece on former LSU great Summer Hubbard.

Click on the links to read the stories. Nice work Jake!

2011 Season Schedule Set

The final touches have been put on the 2011 LSU Gymnastics season. The lineup features 10 regular season meets in which the Tigers will take on a total of 12 opponents. All 12 opponents made the NCAA postseason during 2010. So, you can see where this is heading: this is a very tough schedule for LSU.

The Tigers begin the season with consecutive road meets - at Oregon State on Jan. 7 and then at Auburn on Jan. 14. LSU travels to Dallas, Texas to take on 3 NCAA Championship qualifiers from this past season in the annual Metroplex Challenge Meet on Jan. 29. LSU will take on powerhouses Alabama, Missouri, and Nebraska inside the Dallas Convention Center on a Saturday night in front of thousands of age group gymnasts and their parents. The Metroplex meet is one of the largest age group meets in the nation annually.

LSU's road schedule includes stops in Lexington to take on ever-improving Kentucky on Feb. 25 and then at Alabama to take on the Tide on March 11. LSU is traveling to Alabama because the Tide did not want to count the Metroplex meet as an SEC meet.

Because the Tigers picked up the Metroplex meet in Dallas and allowed Iowa out of its commitment to travel to Baton Rouge next season, LSU will have only 5 home meets in 2011. However, each of the meets should be outstanding.

The first home meet of the 2011 season will be on Jan. 21 when the Florida Gators come to the PMAC. LSU will host three meets in a row on Feb. 4, 11, and 18 against BYU, Arkansas, and Georgia, respectively. The Georgia meet will serve as the annual Etta James Memorial "Breast Cancer Awareness" Meet. The meet against Arkansas should be a doozy. The Hogs and Tigers tied this season in Fayetteville and have quite a budding rivalry underway.

The final home meet of the 2011 season will be on Mar. 4 when LSU hosts New Hampshire. New Hampshire was paired with LSU in the 2010 Penn State Regional.

The SEC Championships will be held on March 19 and NCAA Regionals on April 2. Cleveland, Ohio's Wolstein Center will be the site of the 2011 National Championships April 14-16.

Susan Jackson: LSU's First 3-Time National Champion

With tonight's National Beam Title, LSU's Susan Jackson becomes the first
Tiger to win 3 Individual National Championships. She also won the 2008
Vault title and the 2010 All-Around title. She finished second in tonight's
Vault competition and fourth in the bars competition.

Summer Hubbard is the 2010 National Runner-up on the bars and Ashley Lee
finished 9th in her first-ever national final on vault.

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SUSAN JACKSON NATIONAL BEAM CHAMPION!

Susan Jackson has won the National Balance Beam title with a 9.9625 in
Gainesville, Florida!

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SUSAN JACKSON NAMED NATIONAL GYMNAST OF YEAR

LSU senior Susan Jackson was named the 2010 NCAA/AAI Gymnast of the Year at this morning's Annual Awards Banquet.  It's the first time an LSU gymnast has won the award.

Jackson also won the 2010 National All-Around title on Thursday night in Gainesville, Florida - also the first such title for an LSU gymnast.

Tonight, Tiger gymnasts Ashley Lee and Summer Hubbard will join Jackson in the individual event finals at the NCAA Championships. Listen live and free of charge in the Geaux Zone on LSUSports.net beginning at 5:00 p.m. Central to see if the Tigers can bring home more gold!

Here's the link to the audio broadcast:
http://www.lsusports.net/mediaPortal/player.dbml?&id=388941&catid=0&KEY=&DB_OEM_ID=5200

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Suddenly Susan! Jackson Becomes LSU's First All-Around NCAA Champion

LSU senior Susan Jackson went out in style in what became her final team gymnastics meet as an LSU Tiger.  With her outstanding 39.650 score holding all day - and into the night - in Gainesville, Florida, Jackson became LSU's first-ever All-Around National Champion.  She also set a new LSU school record with 11 All-Around titles for the season, breaking a 30 year-old school record.

Ironically, it was a fall on balance beam that locked up the National Championship for Jackson when Missouri's Sarah Shire fell on the apparatus in the evening session and ended her chance to catch or better Jackson's score.  It was balance beam that ended LSU's chance to repeat as a Super Six finalist for the third consecutive year earlier in the day as the Tigers were forced to count a fall towards their team score.

Jackson's title marks the third year in a row that LSU has recorded some sort of individual National Championship.  Jackson won the vault title in 2008. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney won both the vault and floor titles in 2009.

Saturday evening Jackson will have a chance to add up to 3 more championships to her credit as she competes in the event finals on bars, beam, and vault.

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Pre-Meet Interview With D-D Breaux

Download now or watch on posterous

Premeet Interview.mp4 (26426 KB)

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It's NCAA Meet Day: LIVE from Gainesville!

The LSU Tigers have just concluded their team breakfast at the University of Florida Hilton Hotel and Conference Center - just steps off the Gator’s campus.  At 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time, the Tigers will bus the short distance over to the Stephen O’Connell Center and begin preparations for this afternoon’s first session of the 2010 NCAA Gymnastics Championships.  Meet time is 1:00 p.m. (noon Central) and, along with two-time National Champion Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, we will call all the action LIVE and FREE of charge in the Geaux Zone on LSUSports.net beginning at 12:55 p.m. Eastern (11:55 a.m. Central).

The Tigers, seeded No. 9, are looking for their third consecutive trip to the Super Six Finals tomorrow.  To get there, LSU must outscore five other teams in today’s first session.  Using the NCAA’s seeding formula, LSU is paired with No. 1 seed UCLA, No. 4 seed Oklahoma, No. 5 seed Utah, No. 8 seed Oregon State, and No. 12 seed Nebraska.  Most observers believe this is the more competitive and wide-open of the two preliminary sessions today.

Only 4 programs have ever won the National Championship in NCAA women’s gymnastics.  Two of those programs – UCLA and Utah – take on the Tigers today.  The Bruins and Red Rocks have 14 National Championships between them.  LSU has faced both Oklahoma and Oregon State earlier this season – defeating the Beavers in Baton Rouge and finishing just behind the Sooners at the NCAA Regional meet two weeks ago.  Oklahoma is undefeated on the season at 22-0.

To advance to tomorrow’s Super Six, LSU will need to post scores between 49.000 and 49.250 on each event.  The Tigers are very capable of doing this, especially with 4 senior leaders who are no strangers to the pressures of the National Championships.

Also determined today will be the participants in Saturday’s individual event championships, the All-Around Champion, and All-America awards.  The top 4 finishers (plus ties) on each event will be named First Team All-American and advance to the event finals.  Those finishing fifth through eighth (plus ties) will receive Second Team All-America honors.  Today’s All-Around competitors from both sessions will be ranked by their respective scores after tonight’s second session.  The winner will be named the National All-Around Champion.

LSU seniors Sabrina Franceschelli (All Around), Summer Hubbard (bars), Susan Jackson (All Around, beam, vault), and Kayla Rogers (floor) are each looking to repeat as All-Americans.  Jackson won the National vault title in 2008 and nearly repeated in 2009, finishing just behind LSU’s Ashleigh Clare-Kearney.

As the only SEC team in today’s first session, it will be interesting to see how many fans from the other SEC schools participating in this year’s Nationals show up to support the Tigers.  LSU should be well represented in their own right – having fulfilled a record number of ticket requests for any away meet in Tiger history.

We’re delighted to be here and bring you all the action live in the Geaux Zone on LSUSports.net beginning at 12:55 p.m. Eastern/11:55 a.m. Central today!

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LSU National Championship Travel Plans Announced

The LSU Tigers' quest for a third consecutive NCAA Super Six berth begins on
Tuesday with the team's departure from Louis Armstrong International Airport
in Kenner at 5:10 p.m. LSU will fly into the Sunshine State via Tampa and
then bus to Gainesville in the evening. The Tiger's team hotel will be the
Hilton on the University of Florida campus.

Wednesday is practice day inside the Stephen O'Connell Center, site of this
year's NCAA Gymnastics Championships. LSU will practice at 12:20 p.m.
Eastern Time.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday are each competition days and we'll have
plenty of information coming your way throughout the week. LSU is set to
travel home on Sunday morning, arriving back in Kenner at 12:45 p.m.

Posted via email from LSU Gymnastics

Susan Jackson Featured Again On ESPN, NCAA TV Also

Breaking News: Breaux, Jackson Receive Regional Coach, Gymnast of Year Awards

LSU Head Coach D-D Breaux has been named the 2010 NCAA Central Region Coach
of the Year. LSU senior and SEC Gymnast of the Year Susan Jackson has been
named 2010 Central Region Gymnast of the Year. More to come...

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How To Get LSU Tickets To NCAA Championship

LSU has received an allotment of tickets to next week's NCAA Gymnastics Championship in Gainesville, Florida.  You can purchase them directly from the LSU Ticket office and be assured of sitting with the rest of the Purple and Gold fans.  But you need to act FAST!  The deadline to purchase tickets in the LSU section is tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.

Please call (800) 960-8587 or locally at (225) 578-2184 to order.  You can also email your order to tickets@lsu.edu.

Tickets are $55 each.  One $55 ticket is good for all four NCAA Championship sessions – the first two preliminary rounds on Thursday, April 22, the Super Six Finals on Friday, April 23, and the Individual Event Finals on Saturday, April 24.  At this point in time, single session tickets are not available.

LSU had the largest traveling crowd in recent memory at the NCAA Regional meet at Penn State last weekend.  Let’s keep the momentum rolling by supporting the Tigers on their Road the National Championship next week!

 

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National Championship Pairings

April 22, 2010
Stephen O'Connell Center
Gainesville, Florida

2010 NCAA Women's National Gymnastics Championships

Session 1 (afternoon session)
#1 seed UCLA
#4 seed Oklahoma
#5 seed Utah
#8 seed Oregon State
#9 seed LSU
#12 seed Nebraska

Session 2 (evening session)
#2 seed Florida
#3 seed Alabama
#6 seed Stanford
#7 seed Arkansas
#10 seed Missouri
#11 seed Michigan

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LSU Advances To National Championship Meet

The LSU Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners have advanced from the NCAA Northeast
Regional at Penn State University to compete for the 2010 National
Championship!

LSU scored 196.400 and senior Susan Jackson won the bars and vault titles
with near perfect 9.95 scores.

More later...

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Video link: Pre-meet motivation

I was honored to be asked to speak to the LSU Tigers this morning prior to the NCAA Gymnastics Regional at Penn State.  The video is in two parts:

Part 1

Part 2

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Video: Regional Practice Day

First Photos From NCAA Regional At Penn State

The LSU Tigers just arrived at Rec Hall on the Penn State campus for its
practice session. Here are the first photos from the Rec Hall, which also
hosted a 2008 NCAA Regional. A photo gallery is to the left of this page.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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LSU Looks For 3rd Straight NCAA Regional Title

Download now or preview on posterous

Meet Notes - NCAA Regional.pdf (385 KB)

LSU Gymnastics Sports Information Director Jake Terry’s preview article for tomorrow’s NCAA Regional in State College, Pennsylvania:

The 11th-ranked LSU gymnastics team will go after a school record third-straight NCAA regional title as the Tigers will compete at the NCAA Northeast Regional hosted by Penn State at 5 p.m. CT Saturday in Rec Hall.

Competing at its 26th-straight NCAA regional, LSU (11-7-1) captured the NCAA Central Regional titles in 2008 and 2009, and a first-place finish at Penn State would mark the first time the Tigers have won three-straight regional titles. LSU won back-to-back titles on one other occasion in 2004 and 2005.

“The regional is always the toughest meet of the year emotionally and physically,” head coach D-D Breaux said, “but I feel like our SEC schedule and Championship prepares us well. We had a practice session today to get used to the equipment and the venue, and all I ask my kids is to do what we have done the last half of the season and compete hard.”

With a first or second-place finish in the regional, LSU would advance to the NCAA Championships for the ninth consecutive season.

The Tigers enter the regional as the No. 2 seed behind undefeated and second-ranked Oklahoma. Penn State is the No. 3 seed, and Maryland, Ohio State and New Hampshire will also compete for a spot in the national championships.

“The competition is tough,” Breaux said. “It is a very competitive region, and this will be a real battle for the top two places.”

LSU will rely on its four All-American seniors to lead the team as Sabrina Franceschelli, Summer Hubbard, Susan Jackson and Kayla Rogers have provided high scores all season.

Jackson, the 2010 Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Year, will also look to defend her regional all-around crown. Last season, Jackson won the central regional title with a 39.600 total.

Jackson will also attempt to break another LSU record with an 11th all-around title of the season at the regional. Jackson is currently tied with former Tiger Sandra Smith with 10 titles in a season.

Junior Samantha Engle ranks 19th in the beam rankings with a 9.870 regional qualifying score, and Hubbard ranks 16th on bars with a 9.885 RQS.

Sophomore Gloria Johnson has stepped up as she earned Second Team All-SEC honors at the SEC Championship with a 9.875 on vault.

The Tigers will also count on sophomore Ashley Lee and freshmen Ericka Garcia and Shelby Prunty for solid scores.

Live audio will be provided in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net, and fans can also find a live stats link on LSUsports.net. Live updates will be available on twitter by following @LSUgym.

If LSU finishes in first or second place, the Tigers will continue their quest for a third-straight Super Six berth at the NCAA Championships in Gainesville, Fla., April 22-24.

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News Story: LSU's Jackson, PSU's Personett Know Each Other Well

The two Texans set to square off tomorrow in Central Pennsylvania for LSU
and Penn State, resepctively. A nice story by "The Daily Collegian" writer
Jared Shanker

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News Story: Penn State Says LSU Is The Target

The Nittany Lions gymnastics team has LSU in its sights, so says today's NCAA Regional preview article from the Penn State student newspaper "The Daily Collegian."

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2010/04/09/lions_set_for_playoffs.aspx

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News Story: Joe Paterno Speaks To Gymnasts

From today’s issue of the Penn State's student newspaper "The Daily Collegian":

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2010/04/09/paterno_lightens_practice_offe.aspx

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Video: Tigers Travel Day To NCAA Regionals

Video: Susan Jackson Pre-Regional Interview

Tigers NCAA Travel Plans Announced

LSU will depart for State College, Pennsylvania early Thursday morning. The
Tigers fly out of New Orleans at 7:35 a.m. The team is scheduled to arrive
about 3:30 p.m.

For the duration of the NCAA Regional, the team's hotel will be the Penn
Stater Hotel on Innovation Street. Practice will be Friday afternoon in
Penn State's Rec Hall.

The Tigers have an early departure on Sunday morning, leaving the team hotel
about 5am Central time. Touchdown in New Orleans is set for about 12 noon.

Posted via email from LSU Gymnastics

LSU 4th At SEC's; Jackson Wins Vault Title, Named SEC Gymnast of the Year

LSU finished strong on vault (49.300) to salvage a 4th place finished at the 2010 SEC Gymnastics Championships in Jacksonville, Florida. The Florida Gators took 1st place with a 197.050 score while Alabama nipped Georgia for third 196.875-196.825. Auburn finished 5th while Arkansas and Kentucky came in sixth and seventh, respectively.

Susan Jackson was name SEC Gymnast of the Year marking the third Tiger to take home the award (April Burkholder, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney).

Susan Jackson won the SEC Vault title for the second time with a 9.90 score. For Susan it is her third SEC title overall.

A more complete wrap-up will follow later.

SEC Rotation Order

Five minutes remain in the final warm-up rotation here in Jacksonville as we get set for the 30th Annual SEC Gymnastics Championship. Here's your official rotation order:

Rotation 1

VT-ALA

UB-LSU

BB-KY

FX-ARK

BYES-FLA, AUB, GA

Rotation 2

VT-FLA

UB-AUB

BB-LSU

FX-KY

BYES-ARK, ALA, KY

Rotation 3

VT-ARK

UB-ALA

BB-AUB

FX-KY

BYES-LSU, GA, FLA

Rotation 4

VT-GA

UB-FLA

BB-AUB

FX-LSU

BYES-KY, ARK, AUB

Rotation 5

VT-KY

UB-GA

BB-FLA

FX-AUB

BYES- LSU, ARK, ALA

Rotation 6

VT-LSU

UB-GA

BB-ARK

FX-ALA

BYES-AUB, KY, FLA

Rotation 7

VT-AUB

UB-KY

BB-GA

FX-FLA

BYES-LSU, ALA, ARK

SEC Championship Today!

Listen live and free of charge in the Geaux Zone at LSUSports.net beginning at 2:55 p.m. Central time.

Here is the LSU lineup and competition order for the SEC Championships. There are 7 rotations today.

ROTATION #1 - Bars

Sabrina Franceschelli

Shelby Prunty

Ericka Garcia

Samantha Engle

Summer Hubbard

Susan Jackson

ROTATION #2 - Beam

Shelby Prunty

Gloria Johnson

Ericka Garcia

Summer Hubbard

Samantha Engle

Susan Jackson

ROTATION #3 - Bye

ROTATION #4 - Floor

Kayla Rogers

Ashley Lee

Sabrina Franceschelli

Summer Hubbard

Samantha Engle

Susan Jackson

ROTATION #5 - Bye

ROTATION #6 - Vault

Kayla Rogers

Sabrina Franceschelli

Ashley Lee

Gloria Johnson

Ericka Garcia

Susan Jackson

ROTATION #7 - Bye

Jackson Ties School Record, LSU Improves RQS At Centenary

Despite less than ideal conditions for a gymnastics meet, LSU scored a season-high road score of 196.425 at Centenary College Friday. The Tigers will raise their all-important Regional Qualifying Score to 196.415 when the new national rankings are posted on Monday morning. It's possible LSU could climb one spot to No. 10 in the rankings, depending on the outcome of other meets this weekend.

LSU senior Susan Jackson won the all-around title (39.500) for the 10th time in 11 meets this season tying the 30 year-old school record for all-around titles won in a season. Jackson now shares the lead with Sandra Smith who held the record since 1980. Jackson will have at least two more opportunities to have the record all to herself at the SEC Championships and NCAA Regionals.

As expected, LSU swept first, second, and third place in each event against the under-manned Ladies of Centenary. Jackson (9.90), Summer Hubbard (9.875), and Sam Engle (9.80) went 1-2-3 on bars to open the evening. The Tigers tallied 49.050 on the uneven bars - the lowest team score on the event since the last road meet at Georgia on Feb. 26.

The Tigers vault team was led by Kayla Rogers and and Ashley Lee who shared the vault title with 9.85 scores. For Lee, it marked consecutive vault titles for the sophomore from Vacaville, California. Susan Jackson took third place in the vault with an uncharacteristic 9.825. The team vault score was 49.125, the second lowest road score of the season.

Things got interesting on the floor as the judges on the event couldn't agree on two start values. One judge insisted Sabrina Franceschelli's start value was 9.80 while the other marked it as 10.0. After a D-D Breaux official inquiry to the meet referee and more than 5 minutes of haggling, 10.0 was determined. Sabrina's final score was improved to 9.80. Then, in one of the strangest turns of the evening, Susan Jackson's start value was set at 9.90 by the same judge who marked Franceschelli's 9.80.

On our radio broadcast, two-time National Champion Ashleigh Clare-Kearney and I agreed that Susan's performance on floor was the most complete of the season and deserving of no less than a 9.95. The head judge on the event marked Jackson's effort as a 9.90 on a 10.0 start value. The other judge, who was quickly becoming notorious in the arena, marked Jackson's routine at 9.75 on a 9.90 start value. Again, Breaux inquired to the meet referee.

After another 5 minute plus delay, the start values were equalized at 10.0. But the drama didn't stop there. For some strange reason Judge 2 refused to raise Susan's score after raising the start value. Judge 1 stepped in again and insisted the routine be re-scored appropriately. In the end, Jackson walked away with a 9.90.

Senior Kayla Rogers took second on the floor with a 9.825 score while Franceschelli grabbed third place with the much modified 9.80 score. Overall, the Tigers notched a team floor score of 49.050.

More start value questions came during the Tigers' balance beam. Again, it was Franceschelli along with Ericka Garcia who were in question. It didn't take nearly as long to sort out the correct values this time, however. LSU ended with 49.175 points on beam which was the highest road beam score of the season.

Sam Engle was incredible on beam as she nailed a 9.925 routine that tied her career high on the event. Susan Jackson was second with a 9.875 and Gloria Johnson took third with a 9.825 score.

Inexperienced judging mistakes weren't the only issue in play in the Gold Dome Friday night. The balance beam and uneven bars were turned at 45-degree angles in such a manner that mounts and dismounts faced the crowd - which was seated on one side of the arena. The floor exercise was heavily taped in sections and very bouncy, probably a result of the post-meet tradition of allowing 100+ people to "do the Cupid Shuffle" on it at the end of each meet. And, the uneven bars had significant sway in them, no matter how tightly adjusted.

It's possible that Friday night's visit to Shreveport will be LSU's last in gymnastics. Quoted in The Shreveport Times this morning, Centenary head coach Gretchen Goerlitz said, "It was definitely a fluky meet for us." That was the understatement of the night. Her team managed to score only 187.700 in dropping to 0-7 on the season. The nearly 8.5 point margin of victory for LSU is the largest in recent memory.

Meet Eleven: Centenary

The LSU Tigers board a bus at 11 a.m. this morning for a 3½ hour ride north to Shreveport. On tap is a 6 p.m. start time, an hour earlier than usual, in Centenary’s Gold Dome as the Tigers take on the Ladies in the final dual gymnastics meet of the 2010 season. After tonight, the postseason begins and it’s one sure to be filled with as much hope as there are questions.

But first things first – LSU needs to have a successful meet tonight. To be sure, success tonight is solely defined by a high team score that will add to the Tigers Regional Qualifying Score. Currently standing at 196.200, LSU’s RQS could vault to a maximum of 196.560 should the Tigers score 197.150 or better tonight.

Why is this important? The RQS determines teams’ seedings in the postseason “tournament” and where each team will compete in the NCAA Regionals next month. A top 6 finish in the RQS would guarantee the Tigers a No. 1 seed and a favorable draw. A 196.560 RQS would’ve been good enough for No. 6 in this week’s rankings.

Senior Group Shines In Final PMAC Meet

Each of the LSU senior gymnasts scored 9.80 or better on every event they competed last Friday night, pacing the Tigers to the highest team score of the season – 197.150 against Iowa. The meet marked the home finale for Sabrina Franceschelli, Summer Hubbard, Susan Jackson, and Kayla Rogers. In last week’s survey, you agreed with me that this group of 4 is the best senior class we’ve seen at LSU.

Team Score Highest In Nation

The 197.150 scored last week against Iowa stands as the highest team score in the country last week. Utah owns the second highest score for the week– 196.975. The score allowed the Tigers to drop the 196.475 scored against Alabama on February 5 and, instead, count toward the RQS the previous high score of 196.925 scored against Oregon State two weeks ago.

Jackson Chasing More History

LSU senior Susan Jackson has another school record in her sights. This one could fall tonight in Shreveport as she competes in front of many family members traveling in to watch her final Louisiana performance.

Jackson is currently tied with Ashleigh Clare-Kearney for second-most all-around titles in a season with 9. Jackson has won the 9 titles in 10 meets this season. Clare-Kearney won 9 in 16 meets during the 2008 season.

Sandra Smith holds the school record with 10 all-around titles won during her 1980 freshman season. She accomplished the feat in 13 meets that season.

Tigers Winning Streak Advances To 2011

Last Friday’s win against Iowa gave the Tigers an undefeated season at home for 2010. LSU swept its opponents in the Maravich Center this season giving them 10 consecutive home victories dating back to the 2009 season. LSU opens next season’s home slate against Florida on January 21, 2011.

Tiger Superlatives

- Sam Engle for her second beam title (9.90) of the season last week against Iowa.

- Ashley Lee for her first-ever event title. She scored 9.875 on the vault to share the title with Susan Jackson and Kayla Rogers.

- Susan Jackson for adding three more event titles (vault, bars, floor) to her credit along with the all-around. She now has 63 total titles, second most in LSU school history.

- Summer Hubbard for solid scores of 9.825, 9.875, and 9.875 on bars, beam, and floor respectively last week. She is currently ranked 16^th in the country on the uneven bars.

Mike’s Eye On The Tigers

Here’s what I will be watching for tonight as LSU travels to Shreveport to take on Centenary:

- LSU to be focused and ready to score big against the Centenary. However, I’m not sure that it will be 197.000-plus big. Centenary is winless this season and the judges could seek to keep the meet from getting out of hand.

- The senior group to once again lead the way. Watch Sabrina Franceschelli closely – she’s due for a strong all-around tonight.

- Susan Jackson to tie Sandra Smith for most all-around titles in a season with 10 in 11 meets this season. Also, don’t be surprised if she gives the school all-around scoring record a run tonight. It’s currently held by April Burkholder but might not be after tonight.

Our airtime in the Geaux Zone is 5:55 p.m. tonight from Shreveport. Don’t miss a minute of it!

Ericka Garcia Named SEC Freshman of the Week

Ericka Garcia picked up the first of what will hopefully be many awards to come. The Southeastern Conference office named her Co-SEC Freshman of the Week for her performance last Friday night against Iowa.

The Mexico City native helped the Tigers to the team's first 197+ score of the year by hitting a career high 9.825 on beam, 9.825 on bars and 9.80 on vault.

Georgia's Christa Tanella shared the honor with Garcia.

Meet Ten: Iowa and Senior Night

Tonight we say “thank you” to four ladies who have worked together to form the core of the LSU Gymnastics program over the past four years. Tonight is Senior Night in the Maravich Center – our annual opportunity to recognize, honor and show respect for careers well done. If you’ve not been to a meet this season, please take a moment to attend this one. You will be glad you did.

Terrific Piece Written On LSU’s 2010 Senior Class

Congratulations to Sidney Kleinpeter for a wonderful article on LSU’s senior class. Please take a moment and read it on LSUSports.net. The article says far more than I can. Here’s the link to it:

http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=27855&SPID=2171&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=204905746

Senior Group Best All-Time?

The 4 LSU seniors – Sabrina Franceschelli, Summer Hubbard, Susan Jackson, and Kayla Rogers – are among the most accomplished gymnasts in Tiger history. Let the debate begin about where they fall all-time, but here’s my two cents: they’re the best senior group ever.

Here’s a combined resume’ for your consideration. During their tenure these Tigers have:

- 2 Super Six appearances including the first in school history

- 2 straight NCAA Central Regional Championships

- 3 straight appearances in the NCAA National meet

- 75 wins and counting

- 12 All-American honors

- 1 individual National Championship and 1 runner-up

This senior group has a winning percentage of .645, which is currently third best in school history to the 1991 senior class’ (Rachelle Fruge’, Jami Snopek, Aimee Churchill) record of .691 and the 2009 senior class’ (Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, Lauren Klein) record of .683.

With a few meets left to go in the 2010 season, this year’s seniors have shot to move into the second all-time in winning percentage. And, this year’s group can set the record for most All-America honors – a record of 14 currently held by the 2006 class of April Burkholder, Kelly Lea, Terin Martinjak, and Megan Durning.

But What They Don’t Have…

Is a perfect 10.0 on any individual event. Wouldn’t it be great tonight to see one or more of these seniors hit one to close out their home career? Ashleigh Clare Kearney did it last year in her final appearance in the Maravich Center – a 10.0 on vault.

Large Alumnae Group Expected Tonight

The largest-ever group of LSU Gymnastics alumnae is expected to attend tonight’s meet against Iowa in the Maravich Center. It will be great to see them again. Yesterday, I ran into Marina Degteva and Sharene Mamby in the LSU Gymnastics Training Facility. The pair of former Tigers is in town from Toronto for tonight’s meet. Both are part of the 2002 class.

Degteva was a standout on vault, bars and floor while Mamby is the only Tiger to ever hit a perfect 10.0 on bars.

Susan Jackson Makes ESPN Top 10

The story about Susan Jackson’s first pitch at a recent LSU baseball game was in last week’s blog. ESPN noticed and ran it during Monday’s SportsCenter show. In case you missed it, here’s the link to what SportsCenter anchor Josh Elliot said, “That may be the greatest first pitch I have ever seen in my life.”

http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=27855&SPID=2171&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=204904584

5 Straight 196.000+ Scores

Since the disappointing performance at Florida on Jan. 29, the Tigers have reeled off 5 consecutive team scores of 196.050 or better. Three of those scores were against teams ranked No. 1, No. 5, No. 6, and No. 6 at the time.

Tonight’s meet against Iowa is critical because a new season high home score would allow the Tigers to count the 196.925 scored last week against Oregon State to count towards their Regional Qualifying Score.

The Last Time LSU Scored 197.000 Or Higher…

…was almost exactly one year ago. LSU scored 197.150 against NC State on Senior Night – the same night as ACK’s perfect 10 on vault.

Tigers Look For 10 Straight Home Wins

After losing to eventual National Champion Georgia to open the home schedule last year, LSU has reeled off 9 straight wins in the Maravich Center. This year’s senior class looks to make it 10 in a row tonight against Iowa. During this span, the Tigers have knocked off 5 teams ranked in the Top 11 including No. 1 Alabama earlier this year.

A win tonight would give the 2010 Senior Class 20 wins in 24 home meets.

RQS Goes Above 196 For First Time This Season

The Tigers’ RQS jumped another two tenths of a point this week after last Friday’s season high score posted against Oregon State. The Tigers’ RQS of 196.110 was strong enough to hold the No. 10 spot in the national rankings this week.

The 196.925 team score against Oregon State allowed LSU to count a 196.475 score towards the RQS while dropping a 195.650 score the Tigers earned earlier this season at home against Auburn.

In the team event rankings, LSU jumped to No. 8 on bars, No. 10 on beam, No. 12 on vault, and No. 15 on floor.

Cox Replay Of Oregon State Meet Tomorrow Evening

The first Cox Sports replay of last week’s upset of sixth-ranked Oregon State will be tomorrow (Saturday) evening at 5:30 on Cox Channel 4.

Dickson Off Crutches

Freshman Kaleigh Dickson continues her rehab of a season-ending knee injury. The injury, the first major of her career, occurred just before the start of the season. It was great to see her off crutches and walking on her own yesterday. She will redshirt this season. Look for her to lend a major scoring role for the Tigers next season.

Larissa Makes Her Return, A Look At Iowa

Former LSU Tiger gymnast and LSU assistant coach Larissa Libby has been the head coach of the Iowa GymHawks for the past six years. Larissa was a standout gymnast for LSU from 1992-95. She was a four-year captain on the team and helped LSU to three Top 10 finishes. She won the Central Region bars championship her senior year as a Tiger.

Libby is the reigning NCAA North Central Regional Coach of the Year for guiding her GymHawks to a 10-5 record in 2009. The year before she was named co-Big Ten Coach of the Year.

Her team is paced again this season by senior all-arounder Rebecca Simbhudas who has an AA RQS of 39.085. Iowa is coming off back-to-back important wins for their program at Iowa State and at home against Southern Utah – two Top 20 teams.

Junior Houry Gebeshian shared the all-around title with Simbhudas in last week’s meet – both scoring 39.325.

Mike’s Eye On The Tigers

Here’s what I will be watching for tonight as LSU hosts Iowa on Senior Night in the Maravich Center:

- LSU to hit 197.000 for the first time this season. This is the time of year the Tigers really begin to shine.

- LSU’s four seniors to go out in style. Don’t be surprised if you see some career high scores fall tonight.

- OK, I am stepping out on this one. Tonight Susan Jackson goes 10.0 on vault for the first time in her career.

- Watch the continued improvement of junior Sam Engle. She has been a delight to watch this season with her steady and sure progress. Last week’s beam routine was gorgeous.

- The Tigers have worked hard this week on sticking landings and taking care of the little things that can add up to larger deductions from the judges. Look for the routines tonight to be clean and relaxed – just in time for the post-season run.

Until next week, GEAUX TIGERS!

Mike

Tigers Claw Beavers, Notch New Season High Score

Paced by Susan Jackson's 39.650 all-around score, Summer Hubbard's 9.925 bars score, and Sam Engle's 9.925 on balance beam, the #10 LSU Tigers dominated the #6 Oregon State Beavers 196.925 to 195.525 Friday night in Baton Rouge. With this new season high team score, LSU's RQS will rise to 196.110 when the new rankings are released Monday morning.

For Jackson, it is her 8th all-around title in 9 meets this season. Engle's beam score was a new career high.

Over 5,600 fans attended the meet, which is particularly impressive considering the #1 LSU baseball team was in action just down the street at a sold-out Alex Box Stadium. Over $38,000 was raised to benefit Foundation 56 - former LSU Tiger and current Dallas Cowboy Bradie James charity. Foundation 56 raises funds and awareness for breast cancer early detection in the local area.

In all, a big night for LSU gymnastics. Next up, the Tigers welcome Iowa for senior night in the Maravich Center on Friday night.

Meet Nine: Oregon State and the Etta James Memorial Meet

What a terrific night for LSU Gymnastics and Foundation 56 last night in the Tiger Stadium Club! Several hundred folks turned out to help support the gymnastics Tigers’ primary charitable cause – breast cancer awareness and research.

Alongside former LSU Tiger and current Dallas Cowboys football great Bradie James, whose number 56 is shared in his foundation’s name, Head Coach D-D Breaux and many others joined to raise several thousands of dollars for both a silent and live auction. James’ mother, Etta, died of breast cancer in 2002 while he was a member of the LSU Tigers.

Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints memorabilia were among the hottest items auctioned. A football signed by every member of the Saints fetched $1,800 in the live auction alone. Trips to Hawai’i, Wyoming and Fourchon were also auctioned. However, the most touching part of the night was seeing a hand-made king-size purple and gold quilt – sewn by D-D Breaux’s mother and two other ladies – draw a $1,500 bid.

Billed as the “Foundation 56 Tiger Tailgate,” the event served as the official kick-off to the Third Annual Etta James Memorial Meet weekend. Tonight’s gymnastics meet in the Maravich Center will also serve as a fundraising opportunity for Foundation 56 and its effort to promote breast cancer awareness in our local communities.

Tigers Perform Well In Georgia

Despite falling behind by four tenths after the first rotation in last week’s meet at No. 5 Georgia, the LSU Tigers battled the GymDogs even for the final three rotations in an impressive display of perseverance and focus. The Tigers were led by Sam Engle and Susan Jackson, who won the all-around title for the seventh time in 8 meets this season. Engle set a new career high mark on balance beam (9.875) and a season high on floor exercise (9.825).

Other superlatives included Sabrina Franceschelli’s 39.050 all-around score, Summer Hubbard’s 9.825 on both bars and beam, and Ericka Garcia’s 9.85 on vault.

Though not as large as expected (and largely quiet throughout), the Georgia crowd did little to rattle the younger Tigers.

Susan Jackson Notches Another Record

Some great research courtesy of LSU Gymnastics SID Jake Terry reveals another school record for senior gymnast Susan Jackson. The Spring, Texas native has been ranked No. 1 in the all-around nationally for seven straight weeks. This breaks the record of two-time National Champion Ashleigh Clare-Kearney who was ranked No. 1 for three weeks during the 2007 season.

How good has she been this season? Prior to this season, Jackson had earned 5 total all-around titles. She has 7 in 8 meets this season.

Jackson Throws Out First Pitch At LSU Baseball Game

The No. 1 LSU baseball team honored Susan Jackson last weekend by inviting her to throw out the first pitch of the Sunday afternoon game. Well, she “threw” it all right. Just take a look at the video on LSUSports.net and enjoy her “curve ball.” My-oh-my what that catcher must have thought! The video link is here: http://www.lsusports.net/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=696022&db_oem_id=5200

Tigers Hitting Mid-season Stride

D-D Breaux has a simple philosophy about a gymnastics season. Start modestly. Find your strengths. Build up your weaknesses. Hit a mid-season stride, but don’t peak too soon. Go all-out from the SEC meet through Nationals.

That philosophy has been reflected in the last four gym meets, where the Tigers have notched team scores of 196.475 (twice), 196.200, and 196.050 at Georgia.

Rankings On Way Up Too

The Tigers’ RQS jumped two tenths of a point this week to 195.945 courtesy of the solid road score at Georgia. The 196.050 at Athens replaced the 195.050 the Tigers’ scored at Florida in the RQS formula. LSU remained ranked No. 10 in the national polls this week just behind 9^th ranked Utah (196.155).

In the team event rankings, LSU jumped to No. 12 on the beam, No. 14 on floor, No. 10 on bars, and No. 12 on vault.

Cox Sports Broadcasting Tonight’s Meet

Lyn Rollins and Jewell Fourrier will have the call of the meet tonight as LSU takes on Oregon St. The meet will be recorded for broadcast on March 13 at 5:30 p.m.

Oregon State Is Very, Very Good

No. 6 Oregon State has a very good gymnastics team. The Beavers are 10-1 this season, with their only loss coming at No. 3 UCLA two weeks ago. As a team, Oregon State ranks in the Top 10 on each event. Senior All-American Mandy Rodriguez is outstanding and has a all-around RQS of 39.370. The Baldwin Park, California native will certainly give Susan Jackson a run for the all-around tonight.

As you might suspect, the Beavers compete in the PAC-10 Conference which has 5 teams ranked in the Top 25 this week. It’s been a while since Oregon State has ventured to Baton Rouge. In 1980, the Beavers and the Tigers faced off in the AIAW National Championships. Oregon State finished ahead of LSU that night, so the Tigers are officially 0-1 against the Beavers all-time in Baton Rouge.

The last time these two teams faced off they battled for the NCAA Central Regional title last season in Columbus, Ohio. LSU edged out Oregon State by .075 as both teams advanced to the NCAA National Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Tonight marks the first time these two teams have squared off in a dual meet. LSU owns an overall lead in the series 9-6-1.

Mike’s Eye On The Tigers

Here’s what I will be watching for tonight as LSU hosts Oregon State for the first time in the Third Annual Etta James Memorial meet:

- LSU to hit a team score higher than 196.475. This will allow the Tigers to count both of its current season high scores of 196.475 towards the Regional Qualifying Score. This will continue to raise the Tigers’ seeding for the post season.

- A classic battle for the all-around tonight. Susan Jackson and Mandy Rodriguez. It will be fun to watch to say the least.

- Summer Hubbard and Kayla Rogers to have great meets tonight. They are both due for breakouts.

- Sam Engle and Sabrina Franceschelli to maintain their consistency on multiple events.

- A large crowd, approaching a record, in the Maravich Center tonight. The school record is 7,717 fans. Can we break it and, in so doing, raise our goal of $56,000 for Foundation 56?

Regardless if you’re a consistent follower of gymnastics or not, tonight is a meet not to be missed. The LSU Athletic Department is throwing everything it has into the promotion of this meet. Wear pink to the meet and you could win a chance to sit with Bradie James and watch from the floor. Also, “America’s Got Talent” performers “Dragon Masters Showcase” will show off its talent after the meet.

Meet Eight: Georgia

The LSU Tigers awoke this morning in the historic City of Athens, Georgia – the self-proclaimed epicenter of collegiate gymnastics. After an easy flight from Baton Rouge to Atlanta, the Tigers suffered through Atlanta rush hour traffic before arriving at the team’s Athens hotel around 8:00 p.m. Eastern last night.

The Tigers’ morning meeting, called “Power Circle” by Head Coach D-D Breaux, has just ended. Breaux’s motivational words of the day: confidence, attitude, swagger, and focus. And after two solid weeks of practice back home, LSU looks primed and ready to take on the Georgia GymDogs, winners of 5 consecutive national titles, tonight in Stegeman Coliseum.

A Word Of Thanks

Last week I was sidelined with the worst case of flu I have had in my life. Of course, the year I don’t get the flu shot and this happens. Many thanks to LSU SID Jake Terry and Ashleigh Clare-Kearney for stepping in to last week’s broadcast at Arkansas and doing a terrific job. This week’s blog will be a little longer than usual to make up for last week’s hiatus.

2010 Season Half Done

It’s truly hard to believe that the second half of the 2010 gymnastics season has begun. Two weeks ago, the LSU Tigers hosted Texas Woman’s in the Maravich Center and tied a season-best team score of 196.475. This matched the team’s score against Alabama a week prior. In the Texas Woman’s meet, LSU senior Susan Jackson took the all-around title – her sixth in a row to start 2010. This effort broke a 30 year-old school record.

Other big news out of the Texas Woman’s meet was the emergence of the LSU uneven bars team. The impressive 49.325 team score is second best in the SEC this season. The Tigers were led by junior Sam Engle who was nearly perfect with a 9.95 score.

Last week, the Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks battled to the last routine and ended in a 196.200 tie. The tie was the first in 10 years for LSU. The GymBack’s Casey Jo Magee edged out LSU’s Susan Jackson for the all-around title, ending Jackson’s run of titles at six. Jackson suffered a sub-par beam routine (9.75 score) but was able to notch a remarkable 39.425 all around score nonetheless.

Sabrina Franceschelli turned in a very nice performance for the Tigers in Fyetteville after suffering a leg injury the week of the Texas Woman’s meet. She turned in scores of 9.800, 9.775, and 9.850 on vault, bars and floor, respectively.

So, Where Are We?

As we enter the second half of the season, where are the Tigers as a team? In short, they are a team on the rise. The past three meets the Tigers have really begun to put it together. Back-to-back season high team scores of 196.475 coupled with a season-high road score of 196.200 have put the Tigers into the Top 10 nationally.

Also during the last three weeks, the Tigers have hit season high scores on bars (49.325) and beam (49.225), demonstrating the strong capabilities of this team on the two most technical events.

Freshman Ericka Garcia has made her long-awaited debut. But her entrance into the vault, bars, and beam line-ups has, so far, meant more to the team in practice than in the one meet she has appeared. Garcia’s presence as a potential scorer in each event has driven up the level of competition for those spots in practice. This, in turn, has helped the entire team raise its level of performance as demonstrated by the scores just described.

The rest of the regular season sets up very nicely for the Tigers to grow that all-important Regional Qualifying Score (RQS). After tonight’s meet, the Tigers have but one remaining regular season road meet at Centenary College, a place where LSU has traditionally racked up scores. The Tigers figure to score well at the two remaining home meets against Top 5 Oregon State and Iowa.

Moving On Up

The NCAA gymnastics rankings have completed the mid-season switch from team average to the RQS calculation. A quick reminder that the RQS is a compilation of six scores (three road scores and three home scores) with the highest of the six scores dropped. The remaining 5 are averaged to compute the RQS. The Tigers’ RQS of 195.745 is good enough to place LSU tenth nationally this week. Utah is 9^th at 195.995.

In the team event rankings, LSU remained No. 11 on vault with a 49.065 average, jumped three spots to 9th on bars with a 48.960 average, remained ranked 13^th on beam (48.685) but dropped six spots on floor to No. 16 (48.900).

Susan Jackson continues to lead the nation in the all-around. The senior from Spring, Texas continues to pace the field with a 49.525 RQS. She has been the model of consistency so far this season, scoring between 39.775 and 39.275 in the all-around. In the events, she is ranked second on vault (9.920) and bars (9.895). She is No. 11 on balance beam (9.845) and ninth on the floor (9.880).

Sam Engle is the other Tiger in the national rankings this week. The Plano, Texas native is ranked No. 19 on the uneven bars with a 9.840 RQS.

ESPN2 Broadcasting Tonight’s Meet

The World Wide Leader is in Athens to cover tonight’s meet. The air date for the meet is March 7 at 2:00 p.m. Central.

Tonight’s Probable Line-Ups

Bars

Sabrina Franceschelli

Shelby Prunty

Kayla Rogers

Sam Engle

Summer Hubbard

Susan Jackson

Ericka Garcia – exhibition

Vault

Kayla Rogers

Sabrina Franceschelli

Ashley Lee

Ericka Garcia

Gloria Johnson

Susan Jackson

Shelby Prunty – alternate

Floor

Kayla Rogers

Ashley Lee

Sabrina Franceschelli

Summer Hubbard

Sam Engle

Susan Jackson

Shelby Prunty – alternate

Beam

Shelby Prunty

Sabrina Franceschelli

Ericka Garcia

Summer Hubbard

Sam Engle

Susan Jackson

Kayla Rogers – exhibition

All-Around

Sabrina Franceschelli

Susan Jackson

Mike’s Eye On The Tigers

Here’s what I will be watching for tonight when LSU takes on Georgia:

• LSU’s upperclassmen have competed inside Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum numerous times in their careers. Look for the rowdy crowd and noisy environment to have little effect on these Tigers.
• The routines are in solid and in place. So, sticking landings will be key tonight. The Tigers can ill-afford to give back needed tenths unnecessarily. Watch for this very closely.
• Like LSU, Georgia has been on a roll of late hitting 197.000+ plus team scores in two of the last three meets. UCLA comes into town next week, so is this LSU meet one the GymDogs overlook?
• Susan Jackson and Sabrina Franceschelli may be the only two all-arounders in tonight’s meet. Georgia has been throwing a series of event specialists in each lineup and forgoing all-arounders of late.
• The Tigers have not beaten Georgia in a dual meet in Athens in 27 years. The events of this trip to north Georgia remind me of the last major LSU upset on the road– last season’s win in Tuscaloosa against Alabama. LSU has had two great weeks of preparation. I’m just saying…

With a capacity crowd in attendance tonight, the atmosphere should be electric for LSU and Georgia – two of last season’s Super Six teams. Don’t forget that our meet time tonight is 6:30 p.m. Central time. So join Ashleigh Clare-Kearney and myself as we call all the action for you live in the Geaux Zone on LSUSports.net beginning at 6:25 p.m.

Until next week, GEAUX TIGERS!

Mike