On Friday night, the No. 9 LSU gymnastics team stepped into a sold-out arena to face No. 5 Auburn team. Surrounded by orange and blue, the Tigers knew the crowd was eager to witness Suni Lee’s final season in collegiate gymnastics.
Despite putting up their second-highest score of the season, LSU fell to Auburn 197.500-197.750. With two wins and five losses under the team’s belt, fans may wonder whether there’s any hope left for the postseason.
The biggest “win” of the night for the LSU Tigers was probably found in the youngest Finnegan sister. Reeling from her success against Georgia last week, Aleah Finnegan stuck a perfect omelianchik to earn her first perfect 10 on vault. The sophomore earned her first two perfect scores in her collegiate career within a span of two weeks.
“Aleah is doing exactly what I knew was going to happen,” said head coach Jay Clark. “She is growing into her role and maturing as a competitor. This was the most complete meet that she’s put together so far.”
Finnegan took home the all-around title with a career-high 39.800. This is her second all-around title on the season. Lee followed with a 39.775. Haleigh Bryant fell into the third spot with a 39.600, losing the all-around for the first time this season.
“Overall, I thought it was a very good meet,” Clark said. “We stayed aggressive and stayed true to our message. We’ll continue to keep climbing and keep getting better.”
The team has improved upon their weaknesses meet by meet, but consistency seems to be a persisting problem. Pressure seemed to get the best of the LSU gymnasts when they endured a shaky start on bars, recording one of their lowest scores on the event this season.
Alexis Jeffrey led the lineup with an uncharacteristic 9.675 on bars, massively underscoring her average on the event. Freshman Ashley Cowan followed with a 9.775 in her collegiate debut. Sophomores Tori Tatum and Aleah Finnegan added a 9.850 and a 9.875 respectively in the next two spots in the lineup. In her usual fashion, Haleigh Bryant anchored the event with a strong 9.950 to match her career-high on bars.
Besides Finnegan’s perfect vault, LSU’s performance on the second rotation was less than their usual, to say the least. Junior Elena Arenas started the event with a 9.800. Alyona Shchennikova followed with a season-high 9.925 while KJ Johnson recorded her lowest vault score this season at 9.725. In the anchor spot, Bryant finished with a 9.900.
Meanwhile, Auburn was accumulating a hefty score on bars. Lee wasn’t planning on letting Finnegan’s 10 be the only perfect score of the night. The Olympic champion finished in her usual fashion, earning a perfect score in the event for the second straight week. The team wrapped up the rotation with a 49.500 to give them the lead.
The purple and gold put up a worthy fight on floor. Sierra Ballard scored a 9.825 in the leadoff spot. Shchennikova matched her career high 9.925 while KJ Johnson recorded a 9.875. Scoring a 9.975, Finnegan took the co-title on the event alongside Lee and Auburn’s floor anchor Derrian Gobourne.
The floor score was enough to keep the two teams neck-and-neck until the last rotation. Moving onto beam, Arenas led with a 9.750 before Shchennikova posted a 9.850, matching her season high. Kai Rivers turned the tide with an electric 9.900 to record a season high on the event. Bryant followed with a 9.900. Determined to finish the night on a high note, Finnegan anchored the event to match her career-high 9.950 and take the co-title with Lee.
Despite recording their highest score on beam this season, it still wasn’t enough to take down Auburn.
LSU’s latest performance may have ended with a loss but the Tigers proved that they’re on a track towards improvement. Auburn could only overcome the purple and gold by scoring their highest score this season.
Nearly every LSU gymnast has found massive success at one point this season. Moving forward, the Tigers just need to learn how to harness their talent and skills altogether.
Pressure will rise when the purple and gold return to the PMAC for their next meet on Friday as they host No. 2 Florida. The meet will be streamed on ESPN2 at 8 p.m.
