The No. 13 LSU gymnastics team has undergone a rough start to their season, to say the least. After Monday’s fall in the home opener, the Tigers were 0-3.
Their loss against No. 1 Oklahoma didn’t come as a surprise to many after their puzzling defeat by Kentucky two days prior. Rather than their atypical performance that night, the injury that All-American Kiya Johnson suffered mid-performance didn’t seem like something the team could just shake off.
“We don’t have an official diagnosis,” head coach Jay Clark said, “but the likelihood is she’s done for the season.”
The senior has been plagued by an Achilles injury since the start of her collegiate career. As Johnson was carried off the floor by her coaches, many fans wondered what lied in store for the Tigers’ season without their floor anchor.
“We’re all heartbroken over it,” Clark said. “I’m proud of the leadership and fight we had to the finish, but now we’ve got to have some people step up.”
That’s exactly what Elena Arenas did when the Tigers moved on to the final rotation on beam. Due to Johnson’s injury, Arenas anchored the event at the last minute to record a 9.925, a career high for her. Bryant matched her career high 9.95 to take home the title on beam along with the titles on all-around and bars as well.
With the departure of five seniors from last season, underclassmen outside of the usual lineups have already proven that they are more than ready to fill their shoes.
During their first meet of the season against Utah, sophomore Aleah Finnegan recorded a career-high 9.95 on floor to take the title on the event. She and Haleigh Bryant ended the night as the leaders of the all-around competition.
With that said, LSU’s home opener against the Sooners shouldn’t be taken as a total loss. The Tigers recorded a season-high 197.450, narrowly underscoring the No.1 ranked team. In gymnastics, rankings are determined solely by points rather than wins and losses. Now having the seventh highest score across the NCAA, LSU should rise within the top ten rankings in no time.
“The kids showed tremendous fight and heart,” Clark said. “We went against the best team in the country, the defending national champions, and showed a lot of guts.”
Despite scoring lower in their matchup against Missouri on Friday, the Tigers finally earned their first win of the season. Staying cool under pressure, Bryant continued to put up some of the highest scores of the night. The junior earned a perfect ten on vault, marking the sixth in her career on the event. She also took the titles on floor and all around.
Bryant isn’t the only gymnast whose performance is worth noting, though. Finnegan matched her career high 9.95 on beam to lead the event for the third straight time this year. Newcomer Alexis Jeffrey took the title on bars with a career high of 9.925. In her debut, sophomore Tori Tatum followed with a 9.90.
KJ Johnson shook off her last few performances of this season when she appeared on vault and floor. The sophomore put up a 9.90 on vault and a 9.925 on floor.
“I love this bunch,” Clark said. “They’re gritty, and you’ve seen that over and over. I’m proud of who they are and I’m proud of their fight, but they also know we have to get better if we want to be the team we want to be.”
The purple and gold will be on the road again next Friday to face Arkansas at 8 p.m. The meet will be streaming live on the SEC Network.
