Tigers to play spring game after 14 practices, page 3 OPINION: Police departments should make use of body cameras, page 5 lsunow.com/daily
FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016
thedailyreveille
@lsureveille
Volume 121 · No. 58
thedailyreveille GYMNASTICS
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photo by HASKELL WHITTINGTON / The Daily Reveille
Tigers vie for Super Six berth in Semifinals BY JACOB HAMILTON @jac0b_hamilt0n All 12 teams competing at the NCAA Championships this weekend are capable of winning the national title, said LSU gymnastics associate head coach Jay Clark. Stepping onto the national stage for a shot at the NCAA championship is the No. 3 LSU gymnastics team, which will compete in NCAA Semifinal I beginning at 1:00 p.m. today at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. LSU is one of six teams in the first of two sessions vying for a top-three finish for a NCAA Super Six berth on Saturday. Joining the Tigers (18-4) are No. 2 Florida, No. 6 Auburn, No. 9 Georgia, No. 14 Minnesota and No. 18 Stanford. “If we can compete free of mind, we should be fine,” Clark said. “If we’re not confident, then who is? We believe this team is really prepared. We know these kids, based on their body of work, they deserve to win.” But it’s impossible to ignore the elephant that will be in the Convention Center when LSU steps onto the competition stage. That elephant, of course, is LSU’s dismal beam performance in last year’s competition that thwarted its bid for the first
see SEMIFINALS, page 7 FOOD
Graduate student creates sugar-free, gluten-free muffin recipe BY TIA BANERJEE @tiabanerjee_ Food sciences graduate student Amber Jack created a sugar-free, gluten-free banana muffin — not that you could tell by the taste. The treat boasts all the taste and texture people have come to expect from their muffins. A gluten-free diet is beneficial for people with Celiac Disease, which is prevalent in the United States, Jack said. Celiac Disease has been linked to diabetes,
which is why she strove to create a muffin that was both glutenand sugar-free. Another motivating factor was the rise in popularity of gluten-free products, as well as her own lifestyle. Jack said she tries to maintain a gluten-free diet and used that knowledge, as well as the research and studies of others, to start her project. “I did a little bit of both. I mixed my knowledge plus their knowledge,” Jack said. In North America alone, 3 to 4 million people are diagnosed
with Celiac Disease, said Witoon Prinyawiwatkul, food science professor and Jack’s faculty adviser. The rise in the popularity of gluten-free diets in the United States is one of the reasons gluten-free product research is important, he said. “It’s a hot topic we should consider,” Prinyawiwatkul said. “The market for gluten-free product is huge.” After going through 20 formulations and three different
see MUFFINS, page 7
LSU food science graduate student Amber Jack prepares her sugar- and glutenfree recipe for banana muffins on April 5 in the Animal and Food Science building.
HASKELL WHITTINGTON /
The Daily Reveille