When Jessie Jordan stepped up to the beam in front of more than 4,000 fans in the PMAC last Saturday, she was only practicing.
At least, that’s what she told herself.
In reality, the junior gymnast was about to anchor No. 3 LSU’s beam lineup as No. 12 Auburn turned out a 49.300 team score on floor exercise to increase its lead. The deficit grew larger with each Auburn routine, and LSU desperately needed to swing the momentum.
Moments later, Jordan stuck her landing, and a frenzied PMAC crowd begged the judges to award her a perfect 10. Jordan received a 9.925. The damage was done – LSU went on to post a season-high 49.525 on floor during the final rotation to snatch victory away from Auburn.
“I knew it was going to come down to me after seeing [freshman] Ashleigh Gnat take a bobble or a fall,” Jordan said. “I knew that when I got up there, I needed to hit. I’m a junior now, so I really needed to step up to the plate and show my maturity.”
While Jordan’s beam score stood out, that wasn’t the only way she contributed to LSU’s victory Saturday. Jordan notched a pair of 9.875’s on vault and floor and a 9.725 on bars to finish fourth in the all-around with a 39.400.
Fans had the opportunity to revel in Jordan’s success Saturday, but her path to prominence began months ago on the heels of disappointment.
LSU capped a breakout season last year by taking second place in a national semifinal to clinch its first berth in the NCAA Super Six Championship since 2009. The Tigers trailed heading into the final rotation of the national championship meet, but they had a legitimate shot at winning the title on vault.
But LSU tallied a 49.175 team score on the event, well below its season average of 49.403. Jordan earned a 9.825 on vault and an uncharacteristically low 9.700 as the anchor of the beam lineup.
“All I wanted to do was improve for my team,” Jordan said. “We placed fifth at Super Six last year, and I’m ready for our team to take it up another notch and win a national championship and definitely place higher than that.”
Jordan’s quest to better herself didn’t go unnoticed. LSU coach D-D Breaux claimed Jordan was the most-improved gymnast during the off-season, and the junior has given credence to hear coach’s words.
Jordan’s average score on all but one event has increased since last season, and her vault total is just six-thousandths of a point shy of her 2013 mark. She is tied with senior Kaleigh Dickson for seventh in the all-around standings with a 39.425, and her 9.900 average on beam is good for fifth nationally.
“[Jordan] did a great job this summer, and her fitness is at a tremendous level,” Breaux said. “She’s on top of her gymnastics, and she’s beautiful to watch. She has really led the charge for the changes that we wanted to see this team make.”
Though Jordan has shattered her numbers from previous years, she has also developed as a leader for LSU. Breaux said the junior leads by example, which translates well with the Tigers’ makeup.
For all of Jordan’s success, she tries to remain unaware of the circumstances during competitions. Jordan doesn’t watch any routines before her own, even if she’s the last gymnast in the rotation.
“I don’t watch people perform, and I’ve been doing that all my life,” Jordan said. “In some ways, it psyches me out mentally. That’s just how I compete. Usually I stand near a trainer since he has a very calm energy. I tend to gravitate toward calmer people and try to relax my mind.”
Fellow junior all-arounder Rheagan Courville was the first to embrace Jordan following her beam routine Saturday. Courville, the No. 1 all-around performer in the country, agreed with Breaux’s assessment of Jordan’s off-season improvement and showed respect for her attitude and abilities.
“Jessie has gotten so much more confident, and you can see it in every performance she does,” Courville said.