After suffering three crushing defeats in a row, the LSU gymnastics team answered back in their last meet of the season. The Tigers scored 197.875 to defeat the Missouri Tigers on Friday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The win registered as their second-highest score of the year. Haleigh Bryant and Kiya Johnson contributed to the win when earning perfect tens on vault and the floor.
Newcomer Bryant, arguably the top NCAA freshman this year, scored the first long-awaited 10 of her collegiate career. The perfect score came in the first rotation on vault, surpassing her former career-high of 9.950. The freshman has only scored below a 9.9 once this year in the second matchup against Arkansas at 9.850.
Sophomore Kiya Johnson finally made her return on the floor for the first time since Jan. 15 and scored a perfect 10. The Dallas native started the season opener with a 10 and scored a 9.950 in their second match versus Arkansas. Johnson took some time out afterward to recover from an Achilles heel injury, only competing in the other three rotations for five straight meets. She and Bryant won the all-around with 39.625s in tonight’s meet.
“I am proud of the performance tonight and how the team has responded,” Head Coach Jay Clark said. “To close out the PMAC like that is huge going into postseason. We put up a really great score, got Kiya back in the lineup and now get to rest before SEC Championships.”
Sami Durante, usually performing strictly on bars and beam, tried vault for the fourth time this year and earned a 9.825. Schennikova, a usual powerhouse on vault, followed with a short landing on vault and scored a weak 9.750. Elena Arenas scored above her season average while senior Sarah Edwards accumulated her second-highest score on the season at 9.900. Johnson vaulted second to last and matched her season-high 9.950. Star freshman Bryant anchored the event to score her first perfect 10 in her career.
Both nationally ranked in the top-20 on bars, Kiya Johnson started the rotation with a 9.850, while Schennikova followed later with a strong 9.900. Freshmen Chase Brock and Olivia Dunne scored below their season averages. Ranking seventh in the nation on bars, senior Sami Durante anchored the event at 9.900. Surprisingly, despite currently being second in the nation on bars, the Tigers had their lowest score in this rotation of the night at 49.250.
Christina Desiderio kicked off the beam rotation with a 9.950, accomplishing a new season-high for the senior and matching her career-high. Senior Durante followed with a 9.875 while freshman Bryant scored a 9.800, her lowest beam score of the season. Johnson and Schennikova both earned 9.825, also their lowest beam scores of the season. Even without senior anchor Reagan Campbell, the Tigers passed their average beam score with a 49.425.
The Tigers wrapped up the last rotation on floor strong despite starting with low scores of 9.850 and 9.875 from Desiderio and Shchennikova. Sierra Ballard lived up to her hype from the last home meet and got another 9.925. Senior Edwards kept that consistency and gave LSU another 9.925. Bryant scored a whopping 9.950, her third one in three straight meets. Kiya Johnson anchored the event with her second ten of her collegiate career.
Fans won’t see the Tigers again until the SEC Championships at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The meet will unfold on Saturday, March 20 at a later determined time and will be streamed on SECNetwork+.
