The LSU gymnastics program has proved once again that it’s not going down without a fight this year. Despite all the adversity they’ve faced this season, the Tigers not only advanced to the NCAA Championships but topped the entire competition on Thursday afternoon at the Dickies Arena.
“I think this team has so much capability,” Haleigh Bryant said. “Everybody on this team is here for a reason. Even if we lost some of our stars I think we can all came together and decided we’re going to do this for those who can’t contribute right now.”
The team endured a slow start at the beginning of the meet on the beam. LSU closed out the first rotation in the third spot, well behind Florida and California. Fortunately, junior Bryant and anchor Aleah Finnegan kept the team afloat with a 9.9375 and a 9.9125 respectively.
In their usual fashion, the Tigers heated things up to stay in the fight once they moved to the floor. Sierra Ballard delivered a 9.8000 in the leadoff position while senior Alyona Schennikova posted a 9.8875. KJ Johnson returned with a 9.8750 after being out with an injury for the past few weeks. Finnegan shook things up with a 9.9625 to register the highest floor score of the night. Bryant closed out the half with a solid 9.9500.
The team climbed into second spot after the second rotation with a 98.7500, just barely trailing California. The Gators, who led after the first event dropped to the bottom of the leaderboard once the second rotation concluded. Florida seemed to have an uncharacteristic night on the beam, which is usually their highest-scoring event. Besides the leadoff and anchor’s scores, the team was forced to include one of two routines that didn’t hit in their final score (49.0875) on the event.
“Extremely proud of the fight that this team shows as it continues to persevere,” Florida Gators head coach Jenny Rowland said. “Not a flawless meet by any means for the Gators and yet it pays off to stay on the equipment sometimes.”
Florida found its footing in the third on floor, propelling themselves back up to the top. The purple and gold barely held on during vault to stay in the second spot. Bryant registered the highest score for the team on the event at a 9.8625. Finnegan, Bryce Wilson and rising star Chase Brock followed with scores of 9.8500.
Luckily for the Tigers, California and Denver ran into some trouble during the third rotation. California was forced to accept a fall on bars to end the event at 48.7125. While on beam, Denver also had to count a low score after two falls on the event.
The Tigers moved onto the bars for their final rotation of the night. Alexis Jeffrey led with one of her lower scores of the season at a 9.7750. Freshman Ashley Cowen registered a 9.8750 in her first nationals routine. Sophomore Tori Tatum also made her first NCAA appearance to post a 9.8750. Finnegan and Bryant delivered in their usual fashion with a 9.9250 and a 9.9375 to close out the meet.
Bryant finished out the meet in the No. 1 spot in the all-around division with a score of 39.6875. Denver’s Lynzee Brown finished her collegiate career with a 39.6625 while Finnegan trailed closely in the third spot at 39.6500.
Today, LSU’s success lay in what it has been delivering all season long: perseverance. Add that with the consistency the Tigers have given since the postseason began, and it’s possible that the they can take down powerhouses Oklahoma and Utah for their first National Championship in program history.
Fans can watch the Tigers battle in the Final Four on Saturday at 3p.m. CT in Fort Worth, Texas. The meet will be streamed on the ABC channel.
