The LSU gymnastics team had walked out of Coleman Coliseum a winner only once in school history before this season.That changed Friday night when the No. 11 Tigers defeated No. 5 Alabama, 196.625-195.750, their first win in Tuscaloosa, Ala., since 1976.The loss at home was the Crimson Tide’s first to any team other than Georgia in 29 years.”We beat Alabama at Alabama. Nobody does that,” said LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux in a postgame radio interview. “We beat them from the first performer to the last performer.”Posting a high score is a higher priority in gymnastics than winning the meet because the scores determine national rankings. But the Tigers came into this competition with extra motivation to accomplish both.”[Breaux] told us to stay in the process like she always does,” said LSU junior Sabrina Franceschelli. “She told us we don’t usually think about winning the meet, but we really wanted this one.”LSU senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney won three individual titles in the meet — the vault, floor exercise and all around — giving her 100 career titles.”It’s really an honor,” Clare-Kearney said. “It really is because of my teammates, my coaches, and all the LSU athletic staff. They were behind me all the way, so it’s just as much their accomplishment as it is mine.”LSU junior Susan Jackson finished second in the all-around with a score of 39.375. She tied her season high on the balance beam with a score of 9.875.The Tigers held a 96.375-96.300 lead at the end of the first rotation. But they took control of the meet in the third event when Alabama posted a 48.750 on the balance beam, a season low for the Tide.Franceschelli and freshman Gloria Johnson posted season highs on the balance beam. Each scored a 9.825.Johnson also posted a season high on the floor exercise, scoring a 9.775.”[Gloria] went out there and really showed off and performed to her best,” Clare-Kearney said. “We need both of them [Johnson and Franceschelli] in the lineup because they are capable of posting high scores.”LSU tied its season-high score on the vault, posting a 49.250, and scored more than a 49.000 on the floor exercise for only the second time this season.Two Tigers posted individual season highs on the vault. Sophomore Staci Schwitkis and freshman Ashley Lee scored a 9.875 and a 9.800, respectively.After the huge upset the Tigers now set their sights on Feb. 20 when Illinois-Chicago and North Carolina travel to the PMAC for the Tigers’ “Mardi Gras” meet.”I’d love to see a big crowd,” Breaux said. “Maybe it will rain, and people will party early and come to the PMAC.”Contact Rob Landry [email protected]