LSU gymnast Ashleigh Gnat has been named Southeastern Conference Co-Freshman of the Week, the league announced Tuesday. She shared the award with Katie Bailey of Alabama.
“Bugs” Gnat delivered a strong beam performance for the Tigers against Kentucky last Friday. Following a fall from fellow freshman Sydney Ewing, Gnat calmed things down and scored a career-high tying 9.950 to claim the beam title. Her efforts led LSU to a season-high of 49.450 on beam.
It was the second consecutive meet Gnat scored a 9.950 on beam, with the first coming against North Carolina State the week before. She is the only freshman in the SEC with multiple scores of 9.950 on beam this season.
So far, Gnat has claimed four titles during her freshman campaign, and three have been for beam. She also earned a share of the vault title against Arkansas earlier in the season.
This marks the second time this season Gnat has claimed an SEC weekly award. The Florida native was named freshman of the week after her performances in a two-meet weekend against Arkansas and Oklahoma in early February, where she won the first two titles of her career.