LSU gymnastics won its first away meet of the season with a score of 197.625-197.075, proving its ability to score high numbers on the road.
Haleigh Bryant continued to break records, scoring her thirteenth perfect 10 on the balance beam and winning her twentieth career all-around title.
But Bryant wasn’t focused on her personal achievements. She was more concerned with how it affected the team.
“I definitely don’t really think about the scores,” Bryant said. “I really just came in, one skill at a time, one event at a time, one routine at a time, and really just try to focus on what I do, day in and day out at the gym. I know if I do that, I’m going to get the best score for this team.”
Bryant now has perfect 10s in all events, also known as a ‘gym slam.’ She’s the No. 1 all-around gymnast in the country.
But Bryant’s 10 was only one of the Tiger’s many highlights in the second half.
After a rough start to the meet, the No. 3-ranked Tigers found their rhythm in their best rotation, the floor.
The bottom of LSU’s lineup delivered after the Tigers were in a slump, scoring only a handful of 9.90s throughout the meet.
KJ Johnson was the first to hit a 9.90 on the floor for the Tigers, and Aleah Finnegan followed with a 9.925. Bryant then scored a 9.950 and Kiya Johnson anchored with a 9.925.
For the first time this season, Olivia Dunne led-off for the Tigers on the floor scoring a 9.80. Amari Drayton followed with a 9.825.
Although the Tigers dominated in the second half, the first half didn’t look as promising.
Once again, LSU struggled to stick its landings. Similar to its meet against Missouri, LSU lacked control within its performances.
“We were a little bit hesitant, a little bit tentative,” head coach Jay Clark said. “We didn’t land a vault but KJ [Johnson].”
Fortunately for the Tigers, Georgia was having the same problem.
The Bulldogs didn’t score in the 9.90s until their final rotation on the floor. Their young team filled with 13 underclassmen allowed LSU’s experience to shine through.
LSU didn’t have a score higher than 9.875 until Johnson’s vault pass, where she scored the first 9.90 of the meet. Bryant followed with a 9.950.
At the start of the meet, LSU struggled on the uneven bars, an uncharacteristic flaw for them. The Tigers failed to get a score higher than 9.875, even with Bryant as an anchor.
Despite their lack of strong finishes, the Tigers were still leading 98.675-98.300 going into the second half of the meet.
They finished the meet on their lowest-scoring event, the balance beam.
Although they struggled on the beam in the beginning of the season, the Tigers showed significant improvement in their past few meets. Ultimately, the Tigers closed out the meet with a 49.425 in the rotation, sealing the win.
LSU and Georgia share many similarities. Both are in the SEC, both utilize underclassmen, both had Clark as a head coach, and until tonight, both had yet to win an away meet.
But one of the things that can set the Tigers apart is their ability to make adjustments.
Throughout the season, they have continued to improve on all events, no matter how small the change.
“One step at a time, 1% better each meet,” Bryant said. “And we’re gonna keep going.”
