LSU Lady Tigers: Power Out, Power In
LSU Lady Tigers: Power Out, Power In
LSU had a dynamite senior class last year - a group of ladies that were tough to say goodbye to. Among the best were Rheagan Courville, Jessie Jordan, and L
LSU had a dynamite senior class last year - a group of ladies that were tough to say goodbye to. Among the best were Rheagan Courville, Jessie Jordan, and Lloimincia Hall. Courville ranked 4th nationwide in the all-around in her last season and tied for 3rd in the vault and uneven bars rankings. Jordan was also a top all-arounder for the team, ranking 5th for her final season, and she was one of the best beam workers in the country, tying for 3rd in the regular season ranking. Hall will certainly be missed for her famous floor routine, which solidified her in the #1 spot in the floor rankings for the season. She also contributed with consistently high scores on vault and beam.
LSU will be looking to their freshman this season to fill the gaps left by last seasonÂ’s seniors. Fortunately, the team has some huge talent that have joined this year with five freshmen - Lexie Priessman, Sarah Finnegan, Julianna Cannamela, McKenna Kelley and Kaitlyn Szafranski. Where do these newbies fit in and how can they help contribute to the team? WeÂ’ve broken it down by event below to see where the freshmen might be competing for spots.
Vault
LSU’s vault lineup this year will likely include sophomore Myia Hambrick, who proved to be a very consistent vaulter last season with her Yurchenko full. Junior Sydney Ewing, who vaulted in 8 meets last season, is capable of performing a 1 ½ twisting Yurchenko and may also appear in the lineup. Finally, junior Ashleigh Gnat will almost certainly be in the lineup, especially because she can perform a double twisting Yurchenko. This is important given that the full twisting Yurchenko has been downgraded to a 9.95 start value, so Gnat’s vault will be critical for LSU.
With the departures of Courville, Jordan and Hall, there are at least three spots that need to be filled in the vault lineup. Priessman is a shoe-in for one of those spots, provided she is back to 100% health-wise. Vault was arguably her best event as an elite gymnast, and she was one of the select few who could perform the Amanar, suggesting that she could probably perform a double for LSU. Finnegan also consistently scored highly on vault as an elite. In 2012, she competed a double twisting Yurchenko that showed off lots of height and great form. Szafranski could also be a potential addition to the lineup. The Parkettes gymnast has a lot of power and has performed very clean Yurchenko fulls in the past.
Bars
There are potentially two open spots in LSUÂ’s bars lineup, with Courville and Jordan having departed. Junior Shae Zamardi, LSUÂ’s bar specialist, will be in the lineup for sure with her unique and difficult routine. Senior Jessica Savona will also likely be in the lineup, after proving to be a consistent competitor on this event last season. And with her beautiful pirouetting and high-flying gienger, Gnat will likely compete bars as well. Lastly, bars specialist Randii Wyrick, a senior this year, will look to be back in the lineup for her final season.
So who will replace the seniors? Cannamela may have a role here, after winning the bars title at Regionals in 2014. Similarly, Szafranski also won the bars title at the Region 7 Championships and at state championships. SzafranskiÂ’s bar routine at Level 10 state championships was very clean and included some big skills, like a Ray (toe-on straddled Tkatchev). Lastly, the Tigers may choose to add Priessman to the bars lineup. She was capable of doing fairly tough skills on bars as an elite, and itÂ’s likely she could produce consistently high scores for LSU. All three will be competing for a spot in the lineup this upcoming season.
Beam
On beam, Jordan will be a huge loss for the team, as will Courville. Fortunately, Gnat, Hambrick, Ewing, and Erin Macadaeg are all strong beam workers for the team and will likely be in the the lineup. Gnat proved to be a high scorer on beam for the Tigers last season, with the exception of some mistakes at Championships. Macadaeg faced the same problems during Championships, but was one of the teamÂ’s best beam workers during the regular season. Ewing has brought in strong scores for the team in the past and can showcase impressive tumbling on the apparatus. And Hambrick, while not always in the lineup last season, has proved that she can achieve upwards of 9.9 with her routine.
To replace the seniors, LSUÂ’s next big beam worker could be Finnegan, an alternate for the 2012 Olympic team. Finnegan was known to have one of the most difficult beam routines in the world while she was competing elite. Beyond that, her form is impeccable. She will be a strong addition to the lineup for sure. Kelley is also a very solid beam worker, and her power and consistency should help the team this season. Check out Kelley's beam routine from the Nastia Liukin Cup in 2014 below:
Floor
It will of course be difficult to replace Hall, whose floor routine will go down in history as one of the most impressive and entertaining pieces of NCAA gymnastics. Along with Hall, Jordan and Courville were also two of LSUÂ’s best floor workers, leaving potentially three spots open. Gnat, who dazzled on floor last season, will likely remain in the lineup, as will Savona and possibly Ewing.
Two very powerful freshmen who will make a big impact on floor are Priessman and Kelley. In her elite days, Priessman was one of the highest scorers on floor, often hovering near the 15.0 mark, mostly thanks to her difficult tumbling. Kelley, the 2014 JO floor champion, has shown lots of expression in her routines in the past and fills them with big tumbling as well, such as a double layout and double pike. Lastly, Finnegan can definitely contribute on floor, also having very high scores in her elite days, due not only to her high-flying tumbling (her double arabians were especially huge) but also her intricate dance skills.
While the team is losing some of their greats, they are getting some fantastic talent coming in as well who will hopefully bring the team lots of success in this upcoming season. WeÂ’re excited to see how the lineups shape up.
Related:
2015-2-16 NCAA Incoming Freshmen: LSU
LSU will be looking to their freshman this season to fill the gaps left by last seasonÂ’s seniors. Fortunately, the team has some huge talent that have joined this year with five freshmen - Lexie Priessman, Sarah Finnegan, Julianna Cannamela, McKenna Kelley and Kaitlyn Szafranski. Where do these newbies fit in and how can they help contribute to the team? WeÂ’ve broken it down by event below to see where the freshmen might be competing for spots.
Vault
LSU’s vault lineup this year will likely include sophomore Myia Hambrick, who proved to be a very consistent vaulter last season with her Yurchenko full. Junior Sydney Ewing, who vaulted in 8 meets last season, is capable of performing a 1 ½ twisting Yurchenko and may also appear in the lineup. Finally, junior Ashleigh Gnat will almost certainly be in the lineup, especially because she can perform a double twisting Yurchenko. This is important given that the full twisting Yurchenko has been downgraded to a 9.95 start value, so Gnat’s vault will be critical for LSU.
With the departures of Courville, Jordan and Hall, there are at least three spots that need to be filled in the vault lineup. Priessman is a shoe-in for one of those spots, provided she is back to 100% health-wise. Vault was arguably her best event as an elite gymnast, and she was one of the select few who could perform the Amanar, suggesting that she could probably perform a double for LSU. Finnegan also consistently scored highly on vault as an elite. In 2012, she competed a double twisting Yurchenko that showed off lots of height and great form. Szafranski could also be a potential addition to the lineup. The Parkettes gymnast has a lot of power and has performed very clean Yurchenko fulls in the past.
Bars
There are potentially two open spots in LSUÂ’s bars lineup, with Courville and Jordan having departed. Junior Shae Zamardi, LSUÂ’s bar specialist, will be in the lineup for sure with her unique and difficult routine. Senior Jessica Savona will also likely be in the lineup, after proving to be a consistent competitor on this event last season. And with her beautiful pirouetting and high-flying gienger, Gnat will likely compete bars as well. Lastly, bars specialist Randii Wyrick, a senior this year, will look to be back in the lineup for her final season.
So who will replace the seniors? Cannamela may have a role here, after winning the bars title at Regionals in 2014. Similarly, Szafranski also won the bars title at the Region 7 Championships and at state championships. SzafranskiÂ’s bar routine at Level 10 state championships was very clean and included some big skills, like a Ray (toe-on straddled Tkatchev). Lastly, the Tigers may choose to add Priessman to the bars lineup. She was capable of doing fairly tough skills on bars as an elite, and itÂ’s likely she could produce consistently high scores for LSU. All three will be competing for a spot in the lineup this upcoming season.
Beam
On beam, Jordan will be a huge loss for the team, as will Courville. Fortunately, Gnat, Hambrick, Ewing, and Erin Macadaeg are all strong beam workers for the team and will likely be in the the lineup. Gnat proved to be a high scorer on beam for the Tigers last season, with the exception of some mistakes at Championships. Macadaeg faced the same problems during Championships, but was one of the teamÂ’s best beam workers during the regular season. Ewing has brought in strong scores for the team in the past and can showcase impressive tumbling on the apparatus. And Hambrick, while not always in the lineup last season, has proved that she can achieve upwards of 9.9 with her routine.
To replace the seniors, LSUÂ’s next big beam worker could be Finnegan, an alternate for the 2012 Olympic team. Finnegan was known to have one of the most difficult beam routines in the world while she was competing elite. Beyond that, her form is impeccable. She will be a strong addition to the lineup for sure. Kelley is also a very solid beam worker, and her power and consistency should help the team this season. Check out Kelley's beam routine from the Nastia Liukin Cup in 2014 below:
Floor
It will of course be difficult to replace Hall, whose floor routine will go down in history as one of the most impressive and entertaining pieces of NCAA gymnastics. Along with Hall, Jordan and Courville were also two of LSUÂ’s best floor workers, leaving potentially three spots open. Gnat, who dazzled on floor last season, will likely remain in the lineup, as will Savona and possibly Ewing.
Two very powerful freshmen who will make a big impact on floor are Priessman and Kelley. In her elite days, Priessman was one of the highest scorers on floor, often hovering near the 15.0 mark, mostly thanks to her difficult tumbling. Kelley, the 2014 JO floor champion, has shown lots of expression in her routines in the past and fills them with big tumbling as well, such as a double layout and double pike. Lastly, Finnegan can definitely contribute on floor, also having very high scores in her elite days, due not only to her high-flying tumbling (her double arabians were especially huge) but also her intricate dance skills.
While the team is losing some of their greats, they are getting some fantastic talent coming in as well who will hopefully bring the team lots of success in this upcoming season. WeÂ’re excited to see how the lineups shape up.
Related:
2015-2-16 NCAA Incoming Freshmen: LSU