LSU gymnasts competing in Cancun today

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• Published: Jan 2, 2009 - UPDATED: 6:45 a.m.

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CANCUN, Mexico — The preseason seventh-ranked LSU gymnastics team will open the season for the second straight year in Cancun, Mexico, as the Tigers will take part in the Cancun Classic today beginning at 1:45 p.m. at the Hilton Golf and Spa Resort.

The appearance will mark the fourth time in program history that LSU has competed outside the United States as the Tigers took part in the Cancun Classic last year as well as competing in the Bahamas in 1996 and 2003.

“We are trying to develop some consistency and self-confidence,” said D-D Breaux, who is entering her 32nd year as LSU coach.

“We are trying to overcome Christmas holidays and jump right into the season, so it’s very important that we establish a rhythm. We had a good warm-up and did some really nice gymnastics today, and tomorrow we have to do the same thing — just come in, relax and compete hard.”

LSU will face eighth-ranked Michigan, 19th-ranked Boise State and North Carolina in the quad meet.

LSU TO FACE FLORIDA ATLANTIC: The LSU men’s and women’s swimming teams will begin the new year with a dual meet versus the Florida Atlantic Owls at 3 p.m. today in Boca Raton, Fla.

Today’s meet will kick off a busy month of January for the program as the teams enter the second half of their seasons. The competition, which is the first dual meet between the two schools, will feature 13 events, but no individual races will exceed the 100-yard format.

“We haven’t prepared this kind of lineup this season, so it should be interesting,” LSU coach Adam Schmitt said. “We’re really looking forward to a fun event, and this winter competition is a great way for the teams to bond and really get rejuvenated with all of the meets we have upcoming.”

The Florida Atlantic meet will be the first competition for LSU swimming since the teams returned from Texas A&M’s Art Adamson Invitational in College Station, Texas, more than a month ago, when eight school records fell and multiple NCAA provisional cuts were posted.

The Lady Tigers (0-2-1) accounted for six of those records, and senior Katherine Noland shattered two school marks with NCAA “B” cut swims in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly. The team’s co-captain earned SEC Female Swimmer of the Week honors on Nov. 26 for that performance.

Freshman Morgan McGee was also recognized by the conference following the invite as the Female Freshman of the Week after posting NCAA provisional times in both backstroke events. In addition, fellow freshman Samantha Goates broke LSU’s all-time mark in the 200 back, and teammates Monica McJunkin and Jane Trepp claimed program records in the 100 back and 100 breaststroke, respectively.

The men’s team (1-1) finished second at the Art Adamson Invitational in November. Sophomores Clint Hallum and Luis Gonzalez each recorded NCAA time considerations. Hallum registered a time of 3 minutes, 52.24 seconds in the 400 individual medley, while Gonzalez reached the wall in 15:22.33 in the 1650 freestyle.