Coming off last week’s come-from-behind victory against Auburn, LSU coach D-D Breaux hoped her squad would build momentum early to avoid falling behind against Southeastern Conference rival Alabama.
Her squad clearly got the message.
The No. 3 Tigers (3-1, 2-1 SEC) gained an early lead after the first rotation and never looked back, defeating the No. 7 Crimson Tide (3-2, 3-1 SEC) 197.650-196.825 in front of the second-largest crowd in program history.
It was LSU’s first victory against Alabama since 2010.
From the beginning, it was evident the Tigers were eager to jump out to an early lead.
They set season highs in their first two events, scoring 49.575 on the vault and 49.400 on the uneven bars.
These scores helped the Tigers record their highest final score of the season and fifth highest in school history.
The highlight of the night was all-arounder Lloimincia Hall’s performance on the floor routine, which received a perfect 10 and a thunderous reaction from the 8,055 fans in attendance.
It was the third perfect score of Hall’s career and second she’s had against the Crimson Tide.
Before Hall’s performance, Breaux gave her All-American some last-minute words of advice.
“I told her she’s not competing against anyone on our team,” Breaux said. “It was her turn to do a great routine and contribute to the team. I think that she kind of walked into that today.”
Fellow junior Rheagan Courville, the No. 1 gymnast in the country, captured her fourth consecutive all-around title of the season with a final score of 39.500.
She also earned the vault title, scoring a 9.975 in the event.
However, Courville struggled on the beam, scoring a season-low of 9.675. But the reigning SEC Gymnast of the Year was happy her teammates performances helped overcome her mistakes.
“I knew that I had obviously made some errors, but my team had done well enough on beam to bring that back,” Courville said. “I just knew I needed to post a big number on floor to make up for that.”
Courville’s contributions on the floor combined with Hall’s perfect score helped the Tigers post a 49.550 in the event, another season high.
But the biggest improvement the team made was on the uneven bars, and Breaux has recently noticed a change in the team’s mindset going into the event.
“I think there’s a level on intensity in the gym on that event that we’ve never had,” Breaux said. “I think that [coach] Jay has done a tremendous job changing how they approach that event in practice and in competition.”
Senior Sarie Morrison led the charge on the uneven bars, scoring a 9.950 to claim the title, which tied a career high.
After two straight weeks at home, LSU now begins a long road stretch, with the next four competitions taking place away from the PMAC.
The first of these will be at No. 10 Arkansas next Friday, followed quickly by a match against No. 1 Oklahoma two days later.