The LSU gymnastics team’s year came to a heartbreaking end when they finished fourth at the NCAA Championship Final on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers concluded the meet at the Dickies Arena with a score of 197.525.
“We fought to the very end,” head coach Jay Clark said after the meet. “We’ve been through adversity, but everyone gave everything they could for this team. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
With a score of 198.3875, Oklahoma took home its sixth national championship in the past nine years. The Sooners dominated after every rotation despite Florida’s efforts to catch up. The Gators finished second with a score of 197.2375 while Utah finished in third at 197.9375.
The biggest victory for the Tigers was found in the all-around. Despite competing against most of the most accomplished gymnasts in the nation, junior Haleigh Bryant dominated the division with a score of 39.725.
Her score marks the best for an LSU gymnast at an NCAA Championship in program history. Oklahoma gymnast Jordan Bowers fell in second place, trailing Bryant by 0.375 of a point. Unfortunately for Bryant, she didn’t win the individual national title.
Florida’s Trinity Thomas’s collegiate career came to a fitting end on Saturday. The fifth-year senior tied the record for most perfect scores for a collegiate gymnast in history when she earned her 28th on vault. The York, Pennsylvania, native was held to only two events because of a recent injury, however, she was still determined to make history before clocking out.
The purple and gold started off with a shaky start on bars, finishing with a 49.3125. Alexis Jeffrey led with a 9.8375 while sophomore Tori Tatum scored a 9.875 to match her NCAA Championship best.
Aleah Finnegan registered a 9.825 in the fourth spot while Bryant anchored the event with a 9.95. Her highest score of the night matched the highest on the event for any Tiger in school history at an NCAA Championship.
LSU hopped on beam for their second rotation of the night to attempt a quick comeback. Alyona Shchennikova set the tone, scoring a 9.8125. Jeffrey and Sierra Ballard both scored 9.825s in the following spots. Bryant heightened the stakes with a 9.85 while Finnegan anchored the event for a solid 9.925. She finished with the sixth-highest beam score from any team on the night.
Still, it wasn’t enough to keep the Tigers from the last spot on the leaderboard.
Nevertheless, the Tigers kept fighting to stay in the mix. The floor lineup put up a worthy effort in the third rotation. Ballard opened with a 9.8125 while Schennikova followed with a 9.85. Elena Arenas made a comeback from her rocky beam routine to score a 9.9125.
Rising star Chase Brock matched her career high 9.925. To wrap things up, Finnegan finished with a 9.925 while Bryant anchored for a 9.9375. Overall, Bryant scored the third-highest floor score of the meet while Finnegan and Brock tied for fifth.
Despite having no chance at a comeback at this point, the Tigers kept doing what they’ve done all season. The team finished the meet on vault with their highest team score of the night at 49.525. This is the program’s highest vault score at a championship final.
Arenas started the lineup strong with a 9.90 while Finnegan heated things up with a 9.8625. Brock and freshman Bryce Wilson put up 9.8875s each. Bryant anchored the 9.9875 to finish out their night.
Oklahoma now has 42 national championships under its belt. This was the Sooners’ 10th time to score above a 198 in just the 2023 season. They even had to compete without one of their assistant coaches, Ashley Kerr, who went into labor at 9:30 Saturday morning.
The Tigers may have finished in last place, but they put up an admirable fight considering they were without all-stars Kiya Johnson, KJ Johnson and Kai Rivers due to injuries.
“Nobody at all gave us a chance,” Clark said. “We utilized every kid that we might not of competed a whole lot this year. And they stepped up and did an amazing job.”
With that said, LSU is showing a lot of potential for next year. This season demonstrated that they have not just a few gymnasts, but an entire arsenal of talented gymnasts who can contribute to each and every meet. If the injured can make a full recovery by 2024, the purple and gold could possibly be unstoppable.
