The sixth-ranked LSU gymnastics team jumps back into SEC competition when the Tigers take on No. 16 Kentucky at 6 p.m. CT Friday in Memorial Coliseum.

LSU (5-2, 1-1 SEC) is coming off a season-high 197.100 at the Metroplex Challenge, the first 197 score since March 2010, and the Tigers will look to carry that momentum into the meet against the Wildcats in what marks the third leg of a four-meet road swing.

Last week LSU exploded for a 49.500 on vault, 49.450 on bars and 49.400 on floor en route to the 197.100, and six different Tigers tallied at least one 9.90 or higher.

Heading into the showdown with Kentucky, the Tigers will attempt to maintain that scoring consistency away from the friendly confines of the Maravich Center.

"We went in to practice this week and focused on correcting the little things and making the improvements that need to be made," LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. "The kids responded well to that challenge, and we saw a lot of determination and effort to improve.

"We have to maintain consistency because the team that stays on the beam and dominates that event with everything else equal will win the meet."


(c) Jesse Medina

LSU enters Friday's competition with four Tigers ranked in the top 25 in the individual standings. Rheagan Courville ranks No. 4 on floor, No. 14 on vault and No. 17 in the all-around. Kaleigh Dickson is No. 4 on bars and No. 18 in the all-around after she set a career high with a 39.275 at Metroplex. Sarie Morrison is No. 6 on bars and No. 10 on vault, and she won the vault title last week with a career-high tying 9.925. Randi Lau is No. 8 on vault after she tied her career mark with a 9.90 last week.

Maliah Mathis is the reigning SEC Specialist of the Week, scoring 9.90's on vault and floor at Metroplex. Jessie Jordan is coming off career-high 9.875's on bars and floor, and Randii Wyrick posted a season-high 9.85 on bars at Metroplex as well.

Kentucky (4-2, 2-1) ranks 16th nationally with a 195.238 average. The Wildcats are 15th on floor, 18th on bars, 19th on beam and 25th on vault as a team. Junior Audrey Harrison leads Kentucky with a 39.019 all-around average and a 9.80 mark on floor. Kenzie Hedges is first on the team with a 9.831 vault average, while Kayla Hartley is first on bars at 9.806 and Marissa Beucler is the leader on beam at 9.788.

LSU is 66-5 all-time against Kentucky, including a 13-3 mark in Lexington, but the series has been competitive of late with LSU going 3-2 in the last five regular season match-ups against the Wildcats.