This Saturday in Baton Rouge, LSU gymnastics’ meet against Auburn won’t just be a matchup between the SEC’s No. 2 and No. 3, but a complete showdown in the all-around division. The competition will feature some of the top gymnasts of 2021.
LSU is hoping to finally bring back the powerhouse duo of Haleigh Bryant and Kiya Johnson, who’ve both been out of the all-around competition due to persistent strains on injuries. There’s also a chance that Alyona Schennikova will make an appearance in every event given the fact that she’s won the all-around in every meet thus far.
Meanwhile, Auburn will be packing the punch of Sunisa Lee, the all-around champion of the Olympic Tokyo Games. The team is led by Jeff Graba, the twin brother of Lee’s club coach Jess Graba, who guided the 18 year old through her stretch in the Olympics.
“When the opportunity arose at the Olympic games in Simone [Biles’] absence, she really seized on it,” LSU head coach Jay Clark spoke of Lee. “And [she] showed what kind of competitor she really is.”
Since the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules went into effect last summer, it’s now possible for Olympic gymnasts to partake in collegiate gymnastics. Reportedly 9 out of 17 gymnasts at the U.S. Olympic Trials have chosen to compete in the 2022 NCAA season. Along with Lee, this includes Olympic floor champion Jade Carey at Oregon State and silver medalists Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum at UCLA and Utah respectively.
Lee is taking her collegiate run slow, given the intensity she’s faced the past several years while training for the Olympics. She only recently made her all-around debut against Alabama this past Friday. She scored a phenomenal 39.7, which even topped Alabama’s Luisa Blanco, who was the 2021 SEC Champion and Gymnast of the Year. The pair, along with Auburn’s Cassie Stevens, all scored above the 39 mark.
“I just decided that I wanted to do [vault] because I felt like I had to prove to myself this meet that I could still do it, and that I kind of deserve the all-around medal,” Lee said after her first vault in Alabama. “Because I feel like I’ve just been in denial.”
Auburn’s entire roster could bring a healthy challenge to the table for the Tigers and really get the season going for the purple and gold.
“I think Suni has provided a spark and has sort of created a different level of energy around that program right now,” Clark said. “And everybody seems to be stepping up their game. Which is going to help us,” he added.
It’s pretty noticeable that LSU has left its leading floor contender, Johnson, out of the mix so far on this season. The junior has only competed a few times in the other three rotations thus far. Last season, Johnson missed out on a majority of events (due to a persistent Achilles tendon injury) up until the end when the competition tightened. That’s likely the strategy that Clark is aiming for now.
“I could have competed [Kiya] on floor in the first meet,” Clark said, “but we’re trying to be strategic and rest and preserve her as long as we possibly can.”
According to Clark, Bryant will likely also compete in the all-around if her foot injury isn’t an issue when Saturday arrives. This past week, she only competed in bars and her go-to, vault. The sophomore matched her career high on bars; however, the same couldn’t be said for vault, when her score rolled in at 9.85, the lowest of her collegiate career. The numbers on vault are likely due to her injury, given that it’s not usually a problem when competing bars.
“[Haleigh] wants to know what the risk is. She really responds well to that,” Clark mentioned. “And if [the athletic trainers] reassure her there’s really not much risk here, she’ll run through a brick wall.”
The SEC Freshman of the Year was back on the floor this Monday in practice, so there’s a chance that fans will see Bryant in all four events again on Saturday. If Johnson also competes in every event this Saturday, it’ll be the pairs’ season debuts in the all-around division.
Clark emphasized that resting will be just as important as practicing this week for the team. He’s hoping to get into the gym for three days and perhaps an additional day on floor to prepare for the Tigers’ first huge meet this season.
The two Tiger teams will face off in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center at 2:45 p.m. CST on Saturday. With nearly 8,000 season tickets sold, the PMAC is expected to be packed with LSU students and Auburn fans as well.
“This is a big week for us in a lot of ways,” Clark concluded.“[Auburn] is a complete team, top to bottom, and they look good, so we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
