The No. 6 LSU gymnastics team fell apart in the final rotation to lose a heartbreaking 197.175-196.975 decision at No. 14 Auburn on Friday night.
LSU (8-3, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) had a 0.350 lead over Auburn (3-7, 3-4 SEC) heading into the final rotation, but the visiting Tigers’ struggles on the balance beam allowed Auburn to close the gap. Auburn stayed within striking distance throughout the competition, and it wrapped up the meet with a 49.450 on floor to secure the victory while setting a new program-high team score of 197.175.
“It’s mental,” said LSU coach D-D Breaux. “Every bit of it is mental. …The best teams in the country are hitting beam with 49.250’s or 49.400’s. We’ve got to be in that category, or however good we are on vaulting and floor is not going to make a difference. We have got to get better on beam, and we’ve got to do it in a week.”
The Tigers’ 49.550 on vault was good for third-best vault score in school history, and five LSU gymnasts earned career-highs on the event. Auburn’s sophomore all-around Brianna Guy tied with three Tigers for the vault title with a score of 9.925.
Junior all-around Sarie Morrison set a career-high 9.950 on uneven bars following her perfect 10 on vault against Arkansas last week. Morrison did not compete in vault on Friday, and she will continue to vault only at home meets and in the postseason as she nurses an ankle injury.
Morrison tied with Auburn’s senior all-around Petrina Yokay for the bars title, and she has won that individual title in seven times this season.
Sophomore all-around Rheagan Courville and junior all-around Maliah Mathis led the Tigers on floor with a 9.900 apiece, and LSU finished with a 49.350 in the third rotation. Courville also tied for second place in the all-around competition with a 39.475.
Though Breaux praised her team’s performance throughout the meet, especially on vault, she acknowledged that it showed some weaknesses on beam.
“We had a great meet,” Breaux said. “A couple of people didn’t do what they were supposed to do on beam, and we lost it on beam. We’ll go in the gym and change how we’re training, and it will get better.”
The Tigers will return to action when they host Georgia in the PMAC next Friday.
