The No. 3 LSU gymnastics team failed to outscore a Southeastern Conference opponent for the first time this season after posting a 7-0 record against the SEC during the regular season.
The No. 2 seed Tigers (19-2, 13-2 SEC) finished in second place at the SEC Championships in Duluth, Georgia at Gwinnett Center on Saturday night.
LSU competed in Session II of the championships against top-seed and No. 2 nationally-ranked Florida, third seed and No. 5 Alabama and fourth seed and No. 8 Auburn.
Alabama won the conference title with a 197.525 team score, followed by LSU with a 197.450. Florida, Auburn, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky finished third through eighth, respectively.
“We had no falls and no major breaks, we just weren’t our very best,” said LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux. “To win this thing you have to be your very best … Alabama started on beam and set the pace. [Alabama] won that event and, consequently, won the meet.”
LSU surpassed its season average on bars with a 49.375, but Florida scored a season-high 49.625 on vault to take the lead after the first rotation.
The Gators, led by junior all-arounder Bridget Sloan’s perfect score on bars, extended their lead in the second rotation. They accounted for four scores of 9.900 or better, while LSU dropped to fourth place at the midway mark after tallying just three scores of 9.80 or better on beam.
LSU picked up on its usual high-scoring with a 49.550 on floor in the third rotation. LSU counted four scores of 9.900 or better, including senior all-arounder Lloimincia Hall’s SEC title-winning 9.975 in the anchor spot.
“We tried to stay with the mindset that no matter how the meet went, we would complete the meet,” Hall said. “At that point we were just trying to fight because when you dig a hole you have to fight to get out of the hole. “
Florida scored a 48.625 on beam after counting two scores of 9.600 or lower, and Alabama scored a season-high 49.500 on vault to give the Crimson Tide the lead heading into the last rotation.
LSU totaled a 49.525 in the final rotation on vault, but it wasn’t enough to surpass Alabama.
Senior all-arounder Rheagan Courville shared the all-around title with classmate Jessie Jordan, as they both accounted for scores of 39.525. Courville won the SEC all-around title for the second time in her career and added a second vault title.
Hall posted a meet-high 9.975 on floor to win her fourth-straight SEC floor title.
Freshman all-arounder Myia Hambrick scored a career-high 9.950 on vault to win her first career SEC title. She shared the title with Courville, Florida senior all-arounder Kytra Hunter, Florida freshman all-arounder Alex McMurtry and Alabama senior all-arounder Kaitlyn Clark.
“[Myia] has been amazing on that event and so consistent,” Courville said. “She has grown every time she competed. She has big things in her future, as for the whole freshman class.”
Breaux was proud of her team’s resilience in the second half of the meet but insisted it must work on being more aggressive on the first two events at the NCAA Regional on April 4.
“We can’t sleep through the first events,” Breaux said. “In the first half of the meet we have to be aggressive. We have some work to do between now and regionals, and the kids know it. “