LSU met UCLA, Michigan State and Utah for the national semifinals in Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday night. Entering as the top seed, the defending national champions repeat hopes quickly took a turn for the worst.
In a meet unlike any this season, the previous champs went down early in the night. A hard-fought attempt at a comeback looked promising, but eventually left them empty handed when UCLA’s beam squad stole second.
The Tigers began their journey through this semifinal storm on the uneven bars with all-around freshman Lexi Zeiss leading them off tonight.
Zeiss stuck a 9.900, setting high hopes for this rotation. But Zeiss’ score was as good as it would get on this event.
Sophomore Konnor McClain and graduate student Haleigh Bryant followed with a close 9.875, but they couldn’t hit the same mark as Zeiss.
LSU finished the first rotation with a 49.3250, but UCLA shined on the floor and took the lead after the first rotation with a 49.5250.
LSU came up third – an alarming start for the previous national champs.
The competition didn’t get any easier, as the balance beam thundered a bigger challenge.
The first three routines earned two 9.875s and a 9.800, then with McClain managing a 9.9000 in the fourth spot.
Senior Aleah Finnegan – the beam anchor who gave LSU the championship title last year – had a different performance tonight. Some execution flaws in the routine cost her, and the senior was handed a 9.2250.
After another below average rotation, the scores rolled in, and the bracket’s No. 1 seed found themselves in last place at halftime with a 98.6500.
Performing while down has not been a familiar position for them this season, but LSU is used to high pressure late in the meet.
The winds behind the Tiger’s tails began to pick up in the third rotation, with McClain starting on the floor with a 9.825.
LSU turned up the heat as Amari Drayton took the third spot with a 9.900, with Finnegan following with a 9.9375 – the highest score of the meet yet – and Bryant anchoring in a 9.9125.
The team’s temperature shot through the roof as it climbed from fourth to the second with a 148.1500, trailing the Bruins’ 148.1875 after its nail biting floor routines.
Finally, it was time for the fourth rotation, and LSU would be taking over the vault, its strongest event.
The competition was tight, but with the Tigers in second place, they didn’t have to be perfect, just strong enough to weather the final storm ahead of them.
Senior KJ Johnson stuck her shot on the springpad with a 9.8375, followed by a 9.800 from Zeiss.
Finnegan looked through the hurricane of pressure ahead of her, and found her footing with a 9.8500. Drayton followed her lead with a 9.8125.
A look of relief rounded out on Chio’s face as she vault the highest score of the night for LSU with a 9.9750, with Bryant adding a 9.900.
LSU finished with a 197.5250, and fans sat at the edge of their seats waiting for the other teams’ score to roll in.
MSU – 197.3625l
Utah – 197.7625.
Then, the final straw of the night was drawn as UCLA finished on the balance beam, rounding its team score to a 197.7375.
The pressure had passed, the rain had settled and the winds were no more as LSU placed third in tonight’s competition.
After a promising regular and postseason for LSU, where it weathered both storms big and small, the Tigers fell through the cracks of the road once paved in their favor.
LSU’s storybook season didn’t get its fairytale ending, instead, it found itself saying goodbye to the 2025 chapter sooner than expected.
Instead, UCLA and Utah will move on and compete against Missouri and Oklahoma in the final round for the national championship title.
