The postseason is officially on the rise within college gymnastics, which means No. 2 LSU is gearing up for its next battle.
Traveling to Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Tigers will be featured in Session II of the SEC gymnastics championship as the No. 2 seed.
They will compete against No. 1 seed Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Alabama, starting at 7 p.m. CT in the BOK Center arena. Their performance will precede the competition’s first session, which will feature No. 9 seeded Kentucky, No. 8 Auburn, No. 7 Missouri, No. 6 Arkansas and No. 5 Georgia.
It just so happens that the SEC is home to seven of the top 10 teams in the nation, meaning that the second session of the championship competition is expected to be nothing short of cutthroat.
“It’s gonna be must-see TV, top four teams in the country, can’t get any better than that,” LSU head coach Jay Clark said.
Clark compared this upcoming meet to the NCAA Championships, noting that because of the talent and skills of gymnasts in the SEC, it’s likely that this competition will be more challenging than the national championship itself.
With that comparison, the 2024 Region 1 head coach of the year is reminding fans of the passion and rivalry that runs through thick and thin when competing in one’s conference.
“I think in many ways it’s harder to win this thing,” Clark said. “That may not be the case every year, but in some cases, it has been, and I think this year looks like it is. I mean, you never know till you get out there.”
Yet, no matter how much of a fight LSU’s competitors are prepared to bring to Tulsa, the purple and gold program has nothing but respect for its opponents. Clark acknowledged that each session’s teams are stacked with well-coached “tremendous talent” that led their teams to the top of their sport.
For Oklahoma, that takes form in the No. 3 all-around gymnast, sophomore Addison Fatta, who’s reached a national qualifying score high of 39.750. On Florida’s side of the mat, fans will be turning to Selena Harris-Miranda in hopes that she sticks her third consecutive perfect 10 on the balance beam and keeps up with her record performances that have been nothing short of a singular 9.750.
As the Tigers lead the way ahead of the Crimson Tide, they will be fighting against Alabama’s No. 2 position on both the uneven bars and the floor. While this level of competition is guaranteed to give fans an entertaining experience, it also says a lot about LSU’s identity as a team.
“We feel good about us,” Clark said. “We’re confident. And I’m sure every other team is confident, and everybody should be, because they’ve all had amazing years. And you know, I’m excited. These meets excite you. These are the ones that you hope you can arrive at in a good place, physically and mentally and emotionally. So you see the best of everybody.”
With the SEC Championships boiling down to a top-seven matchup, no matter who takes home the title, fans can expect a great performance from each of these teams. Yet if the scales tip in the favor of the Tigers, LSU will be bringing its third consecutive title back to the bayou before hosting an NCAA regional round in Baton Rouge.
