Third place never seemed so promising.
Freshman gymnasts Sarie Morrison and Kaleigh Dickson helped jumpstart the No. 25 LSU gymnastics team (1-5, 0-2 SEC) to its highest team score of the season Saturday at the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
LSU’s season-high total of 195.550 included season highs on bars (48.90), beam (48.95) and floor (48.725). The Tigers’ vault score was still a respectable 48.975.
LSU’s season-high team score before the meet was a 194.475.
“I’m proud because every week we’ve been asking them to give us a little more,” said LSU coach D-D Breaux. “We needed to create some momentum, and they did. They went out there and created the kind of team atmosphere that other people want to be a part of.”
No. 6 Alabama (6-0, 2-0 SEC) won the meet handily with a 196.825, while No. 10 Nebraska (3-3, 2-0 Big 12) finished second with a 195.60. Unranked Missouri (1-5, 0-2 Big 12) finished fourth with a 193.40.
Morrison, a Dallas native, said she had about 60 fans supporting her at the competition. She scored at least a 9.80 in each event, finishing third in the all-around competition.
“I couldn’t wait to show everyone what I’d been working on,” Morrison said. “I hadn’t seen them in forever, and just to see everyone out there cheering me on and LSU on, it was a special day.”
Morrison tied or set career highs in each event, while Dickson set career highs on bars, beam and floor. Both Morrison and Dickson set career-high all-around totals of 39.40 and 39.125, respectively.
Dickson posted a 9.825 on beam and floor, which marked the first time she eclipsed a 9.80 in any event as a Tiger.
“We set the bar tonight,” Dickson said.
Alabama senior Kayla Hoffman took the all-around title with a 39.525, tying for first in vault, bars and beam.
Senior Sam Engle, a Plano, Texas, native, who was also in front of a home crowd, posted a 9.775 in bars. Engle participated only in bars for the second-straight week following an ankle injury.
Freshman Sarah Zoldos also competed solely in bars because of an ankle injury, scoring a 9.75.
The Tigers were noticeably better in the apparatus. Their previous season-high in bars was a 48.60 and all five Tiger gymnasts tied or set season highs in the event.
“We’ve been practicing all week on hitting our bar routines,” Morrison said. “Today it just all came together.”
LSU’s lowest score was in the floor exercise, but freshman Maliah Mathis still tied for the floor title with a career-high 9.875.
Breaux said she expects the Tigers to “surprise some people” by the end of the season.
“We had our recruits for next year sitting in the stands watching us, and they need to be seeing this and saying, ‘Wow, put me in this next year, and we are going to be great,'” she said.
 
 
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Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]