As No. 2 LSU gymnastics traveled from Baton Rouge to Tulsa, Oklahoma, it found itself in the most decorated meet of the year amongst the nation’s top four teams, looking to defend its conference championship title.

Yet for the two-time defending champions, the competition didn’t land where the Tiger fans expected. LSU found itself in third place with a final score of 197.950, falling behind Oklahoma’s 198.150 and Florida’s first-place score of 198.175.

“I thought the kids fought hard, which is what they’ve done all year long when things like that have occurred,” head coach Jay Clark said. “So, [I’m] proud of the fight because that has to be there if you’re going to be a championship-caliber team. But we know we left some things out there, and we’re disappointed, but not defeated.”

While the Tigers were ultimately dethroned as the reigning conference champions, their fans showed them nothing but support as Chio secured the all-around title with a 39.775.

The meet started strong for the Tigers as sophomore Lexi Zeiss swung into action, taking the reins in the leadoff spot for her eleventh time this season with a solid 9.900.

As senior Ashley Cowan and junior Madison Ulrich followed suit with their solid mid-lineup scores, Kailin Chio capitalized on her bar set, matching her season-high of 9.950 and putting the Tigers on the prowl.

Closing off the first rotation for LSU was sophomore Konnor McClain, and while the gymnast is tied in the national standings as the fifth-best bar worker in the country, her score of 9.750 would be dropped as the Tigers held onto second place at the end of Rotation 1 with a 49.475.

LSU held a 0.050 lead over the Sooners and a deficit of the same value behind Florida. Heading into beam, Zeiss moved down to second in the lineup as junior Kylie Coen preceded her with a score of 9.850 to give the rotation a solid foundation.

Scores began to stack up as junior Amari Drayton put up a 9.850, which proved to be a disappointing score.

“It was just the dismount — you gotta land the dismount and not straighten up,” Clark said. “You’ve got to be able to hold that finish longer than she was able to hold it,” Clark said. “She was falling out and never really showed control there at the end, and I believe that’s what they took.”

After Drayton’s 9.850, sophomore Kaliya Lincoln followed suit with a stuck 9.900.

Looking to catch the lead, LSU’s dynamic beam duo of McClain and Chio prepared to anchor the second rotation. A connected beam series and a stuck gainer-full earned McClain a 9.950 before Chio stepped onto the podium.

With all eyes on the nation’s No. 1 gymnast, she stuck a matching 9.950, helping the Tigers stake a claim to the lead at the halfway point by 0.025.

From there, it was the Tigers’ time to shine on their No. 1 event, the floor.

Senior Emily Innes led off with a statement 9.900 — a score she put up twice in the regular season — followed by a 9.875 from freshman Nina Ballou. While Coen matched Innes’ score, Drayton landed a 9.825, which was later dropped at the end of the rotation.

Before Chio took over the floor, Zeiss was at her side. In fact, the sophomores hardly left each other’s presence throughout the night, cheering one another on before and during every one of their performances.

After Zeiss watched Chio secure her score of 9.900 on the floor, the Bok Center Arena went wild as Oklahoma senior Faith Torrez secured the first perfect score of the day on the balance beam.

While Sooners fans leaped from their seats, LSU drowned out the noise and helped cheer Lincoln to her 9.950, which rounded the Tigers out to the No. 2 spot with an overall score of 148.500 behind Oklahoma’s 148.550.

Finally, it was time for the Tigers to paint the vault purple and gold as Zeiss led off with a 9.875, followed by a 9.850 from McClain.

LSU looked to sophomore Victoria Roberts, who topped her teammates’ scores with a 9.900 following a front pike half on the table.

The last two performances were then punched into LSU’s scorecard before Chio anchored the event. With a 9.850 from Lincoln and a 9.800 from Drayton, the crowd looked towards Chio for one final time on Saturday night.

Just as she saluted at the start of the runway in front of 6,278 fans to spring off the vault table, Florida senior Selena Harris-Miranda earned the meet’s second perfect 10 on the uneven bars. Still, that wasn’t enough to rattle the sophomore as Chio stuck a 9.975.

This rounded LSU’s score to 197.950, securing third place in the championship competition.

“We’ve still got a month of this thing, and I believe in this team,” Clark said. “I believe this is a championship-quality team, and we’ll bounce back.”

In a meet where the Tigers were looking for the magic number of three straight SEC titles, a still-strong performance ended with the team just 0.225 points short of keeping the crown.

With the start of the postseason under its belt, LSU will return to the PMAC to host the regional round of the NCAA championship, where it’ll be on the hunt for redemption.

“The idea is to get in a good rhythm and get ourselves back to Fort Worth,” Clark said. “But take care of business at hand first.”