All-American Isabella Magnelli will be one of the big personalities at Friday's LSU-Kentucky matchup. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Tim Garrison knows what a challenge Kentucky gymnastics faces Friday night when it hosts defending national champion LSU.
“They just beat the current No. 1 team (Oklahoma). They are a strong team and had their second 198 (point total) of the season,” said the Kentucky coach. “We have had a lot of success in the past against LSU. We are building toward something special this season.”
He knows there is no reason to put “extra pressure” on his team going into the match but also understands there are “correctable, minor mistakes” his team cannot make against LSU and win.
“They can be corrected with more focus and there are just little things we can correct to make us a much stronger team,” Garrison said. “Changing our normal is not what you can do. You do not want to try to be exceptional or do something you normally don’t do or it gets unpredictable. We don’t like unpredictability. But we have got to raise the level of our normal against LSU.”
He noted that to compile a 198-point team score requires an average of 9.9 for five competitors in four events.
“A meet like this can get out of hand if you are scoring 9.885 and they are scoring 9.9. We are getting closer to consistently having 9.9 scores,” Garrison said. “LSU also has to perform in front of our crowd (at Memorial Coliseum). I think our crowd gives us a sizable advantage. They are loud and raucous.
“Our venue makes it feel like fans are right on top of you. To think they (LSU) will get rattled may not happen but I feel like we can feed off that environment and they have to perform the visiting rotation and that’s not always easy.
“There is no defense and no schemes against the other team but there is offense and momentum if you are performing at a high level. They (LSU) can look over and see our scores and that can have an impact.”
The athleticism on display at SEC gymnastics is impossible not to appreciate and certainly will be noticeable in Friday’s match.
“Every big routine in gymnastics is like a slam dunk (in basketball). You see unbelievable performances that have to be appreciated,” the UK coach said.
Garrison even sometimes will break into a smile/cheer and do a fist pump after a successful routine.
“I will enjoy a few seconds. There are not many environments that I enjoy more than on the competition floor with my team and it is hard to simulate,” he said. “I can’t contain myself sometimes because I don’t want to. You have to appreciate what just happened. If you watch the girls’ faces and they know they just did something amazing, they can’t contain themselves either.”
There were less than 200 tickets remaining for Friday’s showdown with LSU late Wednesday afternoon.
“This Friday will be a hard ticket to get but will be well worth it,” Garrison said on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk. “I think we will have a packed house. There will be a lot of great gymnasts and a lot of big personalities on both sides and I think this could be a night to remember for a long time if you get to come and experience it live.”
