The pressure on the Southeastern Conference’s biggest gymnastic stage was palpable, and unhappiness after LSU’s third-place finish was too.
“We definitely not happy,” said junior all-arounder Ashleigh Gnat. “We can learn a lot from tonight. Tonight is going to motivate us. It’s going to light a fire in us and we will move forward.”
Gnat, who tallied her sixth perfect score this season and fourth on floor, felt displeasure after No. 3 LSU’s 197.500 third-place team score, finishing behind No. 1 Florida at 197.775 and Alabama as runner-up with a 197.750.
The group score of 197.500 is LSU’s lowest since Feb. 13, when the Tigers collected a 196.800 in their last loss to Georgia.
“We did enough to get a good team score but not enough to win the meet, said LSU coach D-D Breaux. “We wanted to win the meet.”
LSU (18-4) began the meet on bars, then traveled to beam, floor then vault.
The Tigers disregarded a fall on both bars and beam in the conference’s most nerve-racking competition against three other top-ten teams competing at the same time.
Breaux said “self imposed pressure and mistakes” hindered the Tigers from capturing their first SEC title since 1981.
“We were just a little outside of ourselves today,” Gnat said. “All in all, it was a good experience for us to be able to be on that podium and for us to be able to have that kind of experience with that high-caliber level of gymnastics.”
As it has become customary, Gnat tallied her fourth perfect score on floor exercise this season, which was her first SEC event title and 23rd overall title this season. Gnat leads the nation with six perfect scores.
“We kept having to restart, and the only event we had any traction on was floor exercise,” Breaux said. “Then we went to vaulting and put ourselves in a position where we had to try too hard.”
On vault, LSU’s final and best event, the Tigers posted a 49.375 event score, tying its fourth-lowest score on the event this season.
Myia Hambrick was LSU’s only all-around performer and finished with a fifth-place score of 39.450 through all four events.
It was a big meet,” Gnat said. “We had a lot of confidence going in. We were very prepared going in. We were all a little tight, and it just didn’t end the way we wanted it to.”
You can reach Christian Boutwell on Twitter: @CBoutwell_TDR
Meet scores:
No. 2 Florida, 197.775 (VT – 49.425, UB – 49.500, BB – 49.425, FX – 49.425)
No. 4 Alabama, 197.750 (VT – 49.425, UB – 49.550, BB – 49.275, FX – 49.500)
No. 3 LSU, 197.500 (VT – 49.375, UB – 49.200, BB – 49.375, FX – 49.550)
No. 6 Auburn, 196.975 (VT – 49.050, UB – 49.325, BB – 49.250, FX – 49.350)
Individual scores:
*Includes first-place performances and all LSU competitors
All-Around – 1. Kennedy Baker (Florida) 39.650, 5. Myia Hambrick 39.450
Vault – t1. Brandie Jay (Georgia) 9.95, t1. Mackenzie Brannan (Alabama) 9.95, t1. Kennedy Baker (Florida) 9.95, t4. Ashleigh Gnat 9.90, t9. Julianna Cannamela 9.875, t9. Sydney Ewing 9.875, t9. Myia Hambrick 9.875, t14. Sarah Finnegan 9.85, t14. Jessica Savona 9.85
Bars – t1. Katie Bailey (Alabama) 9.95, t1. Kiana Winston (Alabama) 9.95, t3. Myia Hambrick 9.925, t15. Shae Zamardi 9.85, t21. Jessica Savona 9.825, t26. Randii Wyrick 9.80, t26. Lexie Priessman 9.80, 48. Sarah Finnegan 9.325
Beam – 1. Alex McMurtry (Florida) 9.95, t2. Sarah Finnegan 9.925, t4. Ashleigh Gnat 9.90, t17. Erin Macadaeg 9.85, t17. Myia Hambrick 9.85, t17. Sydney Ewing 9.85, t41. Julianna Cannamela 9.65
Floor – 1. Ashleigh Gnat 10.0, t3. McKenna Kelley 9.925, t3. Jessica Savona 9.925, t8. Randii Wyrick 9.90, t34. Myia Hambrick 9.80, t43. Sydney Ewing 9.75