BATON ROUGE – The No. 2 LSU gymnastics team exploded for a program-best 198.375 score to beat No. 16 Minnesota’s 195.450 …
“The whole meet experience tonight was incredible,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said “We had to make adjustments in lineups tonight, and the ladies handled that responsibility and got the job done. …
… how utterly enjoyable to see the imposing AT&T Stadium filled with leos! This massive building is home to the Dallas Cowboys, and it is the fourth largest stadium in the U.S. National Football League. Tonight, it was home to the top Junior Olympic gymnasts in the country as they competed in the 6th annual Nastia Liukin Cup. …
… Alicia Boren will have left the arena feeling a bit undone. She posted the highest scores on three events tonight, but an 8. 750 after peeling off on her tkatchev on bars took her out of the medals. …
CBS National News–in town doing a story on the Utah gymnastics team and its amazing home meet atmosphere–couldn’t have scripted a better show than what happened tonight in the Huntsman Center. An NCAA gymnastics record crowd of 16,019 was on its feet for much of the night …
As big as the crowd was, the volume was even bigger, especially for routines by the magnificent senior class of Georgia Dabritz, Corrie Lothrop, Becky Tutka and Tory Wilson. …
Both Utah and Michigan put on a show, combining to hit 48-of-48 routines and 26 scores of 9.90 or better. …
“To go 49.50 on the balance beam–that is big for us,” said Marsden. “That puts beam on par with the other three events.” …
USAG will be streaming and archiving every routine on YouTube. Much of that is geo-blocked, only available for those in the USA, but the routines will eventually make their way to YouTube.
… “Nastia Liukin has always been a role model to me,” said Campbell, a Level 10 gymnast from Carrollton, Texas. “I’ve always wanted to be like her. She was so graceful on floor and on bars, swinging so fluently. I’d like to go elite and, one day, maybe try for the Olympics, too.”
Campbell is among three dozen of the country’s top Junior Olympic female gymnasts who qualified Nastia Liukin Cup, set to get underway at 8 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium.
As an added bonus, the gymnasts were invited to spend some time with Liukin, 25, hours before the competition at a nearby hotel. After breakfast, they participated in a question-and-answer session (no coaches allowed) and were offered fun activities to prep for the meet, such as having their nails painted and decorated with Swarovski crystals. …