LSU coach D-D Breaux has a simple four-word phrase she’s ingrained in her squad’s mind from the beginning of the season. Throughout the course of their historic year, the Tigers have echoed their coach’s advice to “stay in the process,” firmly believing that the task at hand trumps whatever outcome may come from their performances.
It’s why there were neither feelings of frustration nor remarks of disappointment after the LSU gymnastics team failed to capture the national title in the NCAA Super Six Finals on Saturday.
“From the start of the season all the way until the end of the season, we fought, and we have nothing to look back on and nothing to regret,” said junior all-arounder Rheagan Courville. “We really stuck to our process and the goals that we had, and we never strayed one time from what we wanted to do.”
In Saturday’s championship meet, the LSU gymnastics squad scored a 197.600 to finish third behind co-champions Florida and Oklahoma, effectively ending this year’s dreams of bringing LSU its first gymnastics national title.
Despite failing to capture the crown, the entirety of the LSU gymnastics program — from the gymnasts to the coaches, to the training staff, to the fans who made the trip to Birmingham, Ala. — rejoiced after the squad’s third-place finish because it undoubtedly cemented their status as the best team in program history.
“I told them to hold their heads high because the team fought like Tigers,” Breaux said. “Their body of work all season long was great, and there aren’t a whole lot of teams that can finish as high as we did. They’ve represented themselves, their university and their families to the very best of their abilities, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Prior to this season, the best ending for an LSU gymnastics squad was a fourth-place finish in 1988, and there had been only three Super Six appearances.
But Breaux has declared this the finest team in all her 37 years of coaching. Given the numerous school records the squad shattered this season en route to the highest finish in school history, it appears the Tigers have justified their coach’s claim.
“The squad really redefined what the next benchmark is for this team,” Breaux said. “We were ranked all year long because of our body of work, and we finished third in the country. We had to beat some really good teams to get here.”
Yet despite an overall solid performance, LSU simply couldn’t overcome the superiority of Florida and Oklahoma, the two squads that tied for the title Saturday. The Gators’ lineup is sprinkled with former Olympians, most notably sophomore Bridget Sloan, and the Sooners badly wanted to erase the memory of finishing second last season.
But LSU sophomore Jessica Savona pointed out the words of associate head coach Jay Clark. During his coaching tenure at the University of Georgia, Clark was part of a staff that guided the Gym Dogs to seven NCAA National Titles, including an NCAA record five consecutive championships. According to Savona, Clark has the first-hand knowledge of what constitutes champions.
“[Coach Clark] told us after the meet that there are teams that finish second year after year until they finally took advantage of that one chance they got to win,” Savona said. “We’re in that part of the climb right now, and next year’s going to be our chance to shine again.”
After the championship meet, junior Jessie Jordan recalled her freshman season, when the team failed to even qualify for the championships. But after two consecutive Super Six appearances, she said the program is showing the signs of growth that accompany title-winning teams.
“Of course we were let down because we were going after that title, but LSU gymnastics hasn’t had many Super Six appearances, and this year we finished third,” Jordan said. “My freshman year, we didn’t even make it to Super Six. We’re continuing to grow and build on the years, and we’ll build some more next year.”
However, there are two gymnasts who will no longer contribute to LSU’s continuing climb to the top tier of collegiate gymnastics: seniors Sarie Morrison and Kaleigh Dickson.
Morrison couldn’t fight back the emotions after her final collegiate performance Saturday, perhaps because it concluded what’s been an unforeseen limited career. The once all-arounder has suffered numerous ankle issues for most of her time at LSU, restricting her to only two events.
But Morrison’s continuous battle through injuries gained the respect of her teammates and coaches. When Breaux and her staff have been asked of the squad’s leadership this season, Morrison has been the first name that pops from their mouths.
Now Morrison will leave LSU with the most bars titles in school history, 28, and her finals bars performance received a 9.925. After Saturday’s meet, Breaux couldn’t offer enough praise to her now former gymnast.
“[Morrison’s] had ankle problems for four years now, and kids with less character would have given up. But she never, ever wavered,” Breaux said. “She did her job for us, and after she finished her last bars routine, Sarie took off her grips and cried. That’s heart and soul.”
Dickson also fought through her own injuries for the Tigers. Dickson suffered a foot injury in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional on April 5, and she too was limited to two events. But she delivered in the Super Six Finals in spite of the injury, scoring a leadoff 9.900 on bars that set the tone for the squad’s night.
Now that her career’s over, Dickson said she’s ready to watch the program build on the foundation that’s been set.
“We broke so many school records this year, and finishing third was the cherry on top of it all,” Dickson said. “It takes teams years to become champions, and this was one step closer. LSU will be national champions one day.”