No. 2 LSU gymnastics set out on its second road meet of the season on Friday, hoping to bring home a win against No. 8 Georgia.
Following a second-place finish in the Sprouts Collegiate Quad last weekend, the Tigers fell short once again on Friday night, committing several mistakes across events and finishing the meet with a 0.350-point deficit.
Swinging onto the uneven bars for its first rotation, LSU sent sophomore Lexi Zeiss to take the lead in the same lineup it ran last weekend. Despite the buzz being about Georgia, a stuck landing by Zeiss gave way for a 9.900 to kick off the event.
Strong scores by both senior Ashley Cowan and junior Madison Ulrich kept the Tigers’ electricity alive as the all-around SEC Gymnast of the Week, Kailin Chio, stepped up to the mat.
Things were looking great for Chio as she swung into action until a low bar transition led her to fall on her first event of the night. Despite that, the sophomore took off on the bars once more, sticking the landing for a 9.300.
Following Chio, anchor Konnor McClain led the pack for LSU’s first rotation with 9.950. As the Tigers moved to the vault for the second event, LSU claimed the lead on the Gymdogs by 0.125.
Despite closing bars with a 49.375, the Tigers saw a lower scoring start to vault with an average score of just 9.706 for the first four gymnasts in the lineup, all of which scored below 9.800.
Things seemed to pick back up with junior Amari Drayton stepping up to the end of the runway. Redeeming her unfortunate fall from the weekend before, a 9.850 helped to mend the Tiger’s overall score.
Rounding out the rotation was Chio, looking for redemption from the previous event. A stuck landing would earn her just that with a 9.925, keeping LSU trailing just behind Georgia by 0.075 at the halfway point of the meet.
Though usually known for its strength on the floor exercise, the Baton Rouge team struggled to break into the 9.900s for most of the third rotation.
Senior Emily Innes and Ulrich began the event with matching 9.800s, as McClain followed with a disappointing 8.975 after taking a tumble mid-performance.
Chio brought her teammates some good news, sticking a 9.850 on the floor; however, all eyes were on Kaliya Lincoln as she anchored the floor with a 9.925.
With the Tigers falling behind by 0.325 going into the final rotation of the night, Kylie Coen took the lead-off spot on the balance beam with a 9.850, doing her best to boost the Tigers to victory.
As the Gymdogs found their footing on the floor with their last leadoff routine earning a 9.825, pressure continued to rise, given that the last time Georgia took the win over LSU was in 2016.
Zeiss added a 9.875 on the board, followed by Drayton as she locked in a 9.925 for the Tigers.
At this point, the purple and gold gymnasts were standing at 177.050, clawing their way towards the Gymdogs’ 177.225 as they awaited Chio’s score.
Chio paved the way for her team with a 9.950 on the floor, taking the lead in the all-around competition ahead of Ulrich.
After Ulrich stuck a 9.850 on the floor, it all came down to McClain for LSU, sticking a 9.800, putting the Tigers behind in the competition.
Not only did this mark LSU’s first loss to Georgia in a decade, but it also secured the Tigers’ second losing meet of the season, 197.200-196.850.
The purple and gold gymnasts saw a change in who claimed the all-around title, with Ulrich walking off with a 39.275, compared to Chio’s 39.025.
Given that LSU is a program that prides itself on looking towards the future, Tiger fans can only hope that it will learn from tonight’s mistake ahead of its next meet.
LSU will compete against the University of Kentucky next Friday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, hoping to turn its season around early on.
