LSU gymnastics competed in a tight race against Utah, Kentucky and Arizona State on Saturday night. The fighting Tigers placed second with a score of 197.750, its highest away score of the season and second best score in an NCAA regional in school history. 
“We survived and advanced tonight,” Head Coach Jay Clark said. “I loved the fight in these kids. This was an incredible regional and it came to the very end. It felt like a national championship tonight. We had such great energy all day and you could feel it for this meet. I am especially proud of this senior class. They really got it done today. They showed up today and never let up.” 
The team opened the meet on floor and put up a score of 49.475. Alyona Schennikova and freshman Sierra Ballard scored 9.9s while Kiya Johnson anchored the event at 9.95. Haleigh Bryant could not land her final pass on floor for the second night in a row, finishing with a 9.35. 
The Tigers moved to vault next. Freshman Bryant redeemed herself by scoring her second perfect 10 of her career. Elena Arenas managed a 9.875 while senior Sarah Edwards and Schennikova followed with 9.85s. All-around Johnson snagged a 9.9, giving the team another 49.475 for the second event. 
LSU’s pace slowed on third rotation at bars, with Johnson starting the event with a 9.325. Freshmen Chase Brock, Olivia Dunne and Bryant all followed with 9.85s, scores not quite strong enough to overcome their opponents of the night. Senior Sami Durante anchored the event to give the team its sole 9.9 on the event. 
Down by a considerable deficit, the Tigers knew that the beam rotation would be the deciding factor for their ticket to the Championships. With beam usually being the team’s weakest event, the meet had a chance of going either way for LSU. The seniors were fully aware of the stakes and completely delivered. Senior Christina Desiderio started with a 9.9 while senior Durante followed with a whopping 9.95, breaking her former career-high on beam. Senior Bridget Dean matched her career-high with a 9.925. Schennikova was inserted into the lineup at the last second in place of Bryant, scoring a 9.825. Johnson struggled in her routine and finished with a 9.150. Senior Reagan Campbell anchored the event at 9.925 to give LSU a 49.525, its highest event score of the night. 
The Tigers narrowly survived against the competition at Regionals and will only face even more challenging teams in the coming weeks at Fort Worth, Texas. LSU will compete in NCAA Semifinal II at the Dickies Center on April 16. The meet will stream on ESPN2.