The LSU Tigers will battle it out against the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Thursday, Jan. 13th at the Lady Luck Invitational meet in Las Vegas. LSU had a stellar breakout performance in their first meet against Oklahoma and are currently tied for first place in the rankings. NC State, who finished in 33rd place last year, also had an impressive first meet against Penn State, who finished 13th last year. Both teams will hope to keep up the momentum and will be counting on key performances from some of their top stars on the team. Check out our breakdown below of top gymnasts to watch out for at this meet.
 

Sarah Finnegan, LSU

Finnegan was one of the best beam workers in her elite days, so we were all anxious to see her perform on this event for LSU. Fortunately for the Tigers, she absolutely nailed her debut performance and scored a 9.925, the highest score for the lineup. Highlights include her triple wolf turn, stuck dismount, and perfect form throughout. You have to squint to see where the judges found deductions. Check out her routine below:


In addition to beam, Finnegan also performed on bars, where her toe-point and stuck dismount stood out the most, scoring her a 9.85. 
 

Ashleigh Gnat, LSU

Gnat brings a lot to the table for the Tigers as an all-arounder, but she is especially clutch on the power events. On vault, she's capable of performing a double twisting yurchenko. She performed this vault in competition last week and had great form in the air and nearly stuck the landing, scoring a 9.9. On floor, Gnat anchored for the Tigers and contributed the highest score of the meet for the Tigers - a 9.95. The highlight of her routine is her tumbling which is so huge - a double layout to start, a 2 1/2 twist to punch front, and a double pike to round it out. Check out her dynamite floor routine below:

 

Shae Zamardi, LSU

Zamardi surprised everyone last weekend when she appeared in the floor lineup for the first time in her NCAA career. Zamardi is known for her work on bars, and she didn't disappoint on that apparatus in her first meet. As the anchor for the team, Zamardi performs with top execution with unique skills such as a Khorkina release and a double arabian dismount. Check out her bar routine below:


On floor, she boosted the Tigers' score with a huge 9.925, so I think we can expect to see her in the lineup again for sure. Zamardi demonstrated big tumbling, including a double Arabian to open, and her landings were very controlled.
 

Nicole Wild, NC State

Sophomore Wild gained valuable experience on the NC State team as a freshman last season, when she competed in every meet on bars. She competed on bars and beam in last week's meet against Penn State and impressed on both. On bars, Wild is very clean, hitting every handstand and exhibiting great toe-point. She scored a 9.825 for her routine, just inches away from her career best of 9.825. But it was on beam that she was really spectacular. Her routine scored a 9.9 - a new career best, and included a stuck dismount.
 

Chelsea Knight, NC State

Chelsea Knight performs in the all-around for the Wolfpack, but is particularly known for her powerful vaults. As a freshman, she was named to the 2015 All-EAGL First Team on the event and notched a career high of 9.9 in two meets last season. She performed a clean Yurchenko full in the meet against Penn State to score a 9.825. It's also worth paying attention to Knight on beam, where had one of her best performances last week, tying her career-high of 9.825. 
 

Courtney Turner, NC State

Senior Turner was another Wolfpack gymnast who achieved a career-high last weekend, this time on bars with a 9.825. Turner displayed beautiful form in her routine and included a high-flying jaeger and a stuck dismount. Her scores have improved drastically over the years on bars - in her sophomore year, her highest was a 9.675. She'll be one to watch on this event as the season progresses.

Check out some of the highlights from NC State's Intrasquad in the video below:


LSU will be competing against NC State tonight at the Lady Luck Invitational. You can watch the meet LIVE on FloGymnastics at 7:00pm CST. Be sure to sign up for a FloPRO account to gain access to all content.


Related:
Myia Hambrick on #1 LSU's Spectacular Start, Pumped Up Freshmen & Lady Luck Travel Meet
LSU Lady Tigers: Power Out, Power In