NOTES
This Weekend?s Meet
The No. 18 University of Kentucky gymnastics team (7-1, 1-1) travels to Baton Rouge to take on No. 13 LSU (7-4, 1-1) Friday at 7 p.m CT. The meet will mark the 55th meeting between the two schools.
Rankings
The Wildcats check in at No. 18 in the recent GymInfo Poll (2/6). All seven schools in the SEC who sponsor gymnastics are represented in the rankings. Defending National Champion No. 1 Georgia, No. 3 Alabama, No. 5 Florida, No. 13 LSU, No. 16 Auburn, No. 18 Kentucky and No. 21 Arkansas all reside in the top 25.
Overdue
This weekend would be a perfect opportunity for the Cats to swing the momentum of the LSU series back in their favor. UK is 3-51 all-time against the Tigers with the last win for Kentucky coming in 1996 at the SEC Championships. Last year (2/18), LSU slid past UK, 196-925-195.550, in Lexington.
Regional Rankings
The Cats are strongly showcased in the recent GymInfo Central Region poll and statistics. As a team, UK ranks fourth behind national powers Alabama, LSU and Auburn. The Cats are also tied for first with No. 3 Alabama for team beam avg. (48.528). Individually, Krystle Cook ranks fifth in all-around competition, third on bars and 11th on floor. Heather Hite checks in at sixth on beam.
UK Gymnast of the Week
For the second time this season, Krsytle Cook was named UK Gymnast of the Week by the coaching staff. Cook led the Cats against No. 3 Alabama last weekend with a career-high 39.125 in the all-around competition. Cook tied for second on bars (9.875) with teammate freshman Natalie Rubinstein and fourth on vault (9.850) and floor (9.825). The Austin, Texas native has now placed first or second in all-around competition in all five meets for UK. For the season, Cook ranks 16th nationally on bars with a 9.845 avg. and 34th in the all-around (38.895 avg.).
Scouting LSU (7-4, 1-1)
The Tigers are led by nine-time All-American and 2005 Central Region Gymnast of the Year April Burkholder. Burkholder ranks ninth nationally in all-around competition (39.237), seventh on floor and ninth on vault. As a team, the Tigers are a consistent bunch, ranked 10th on vault, t-11th on bars, 12th on floor and 16th on beam. Last week, despite putting up a season-high score of 196.100, LSU was defeated by No. 1 Georgia (197.150) in Athens.
Looking Ahead
The Cats return home for their final SEC home meet of the season vs. nationally ranked Florida, Fri., Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum.
