FORT WORTH, Texas — LSU junior all-arounder Ashleigh Gnat’s dream may become a reality tomorrow.
After finishing in second place in NCAA Semifinals Session I on Friday, the No. 3 LSU gymnastics team will compete in the Super Six on Saturday for the national championship trophy, which Gnat said she has dreamt about holding all season.
“It feels pretty good [in the dream], but it’s not as good as the real thing,” Gnat joked.
But Friday’s performance meant more than a chance to claim the NCAA championship, it was redemption for LSU.
The Tigers had to wait 364 days until they could return to the Fort Worth Convention Center for the NCAA Semifinals, where their 2015 campaign came to an end on the balance beam last season.
“Last year the stars didn’t line up, but this team has created [its] own energy and [its] own team dynamics,” said LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux. “They’re destined to do great things because they’re just so passionate about what they do.”
Upon their return, it was the very apparatus that ended their bid for the first national championship in program history that helped the Tigers prove they rank among the top six teams in the nation.
Fresh off a first-place finish in the NCAA Athens Regional with the second-best regional score in the nation, LSU finished in second place in the first of two semifinals sessions with a 197.3375 team score.
The Southeastern Conference champion and three-time reigning national champion Florida Gators (197.4750) finished in first place, and Georgia (196.7250) finished behind LSU for third place.
All three teams advance to the Super Six, while Stanford (195.5750), Auburn (195.0500) and Minnesota (194.9875) were eliminated.
“We had good confidence in warmups,” Gnat said. “Being able to keep that momentum up and keep up the energy, that’s the most important thing. We did a good job.”
Starting with a bye, the Tigers took to the uneven bars in the second rotation exactly how associate head coach and bars coach Jay Clark envisioned.
Sophomore all-arounder Myia Hambrick and freshman all-arounder Lexie Priessman both tallied a 9.8875, setting the bar high for the rest of the lineup. Freshman all-arounder Sarah Finnegan rose to the challenge with a 9.90, leading LSU’s 49.3250 effort.
Then came beam.
LSU showed no ill-effects from last year’s deflating performance, tallying the session’s second-highest score, 49.300.
With dual 9.875s to start the rotation, sophomore all-arounders Erin Macadaeg and Myia Hambrick showed the last 364 days mentally prepared them for the moment.
LSU’s third routine was its drop score after freshman all-arounder Julianna Cannamela came off the beam, but junior all-arounder Sydney Ewing swung the momentum back in the Tigers’ favor with a composed routine for a 9.80.
“[Macadaeg and Hambrick] set the table,” Breaux said. “We had a freshman in the third spot … She had a little break today, but we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Finnegan posted a 9.850, and Gnat’s anchor routine earned a 9.90 to secure the team’s second-highest beam score at the NCAA Championships in school history.
“[Bars and beam] are naturally going to be the slower events before you get to pick it up into the energetic events,” Gnat said. “Once we finished beam it was just let loose and have fun.”
Finishing on floor and vault, the events on which LSU ranks No. 2 and No. 1 in the nation, respectively and following a second bye, the Tigers breezed into the Super Six with the session-leading score on floor (49.3750) and second-best vault score (49.3375).
Hambrick finished second in the all-around with a 39.5625 and Gnat’s 39.5000 was good for sixth place. 
For the third time in the last four years the Tigers will compete in the Super Six on Saturday at 8:00 p.m.
“Nothing compares to the feeling of competing in the Super Six,” Gnat said. “We’re just really excited.”