The No. 2 LSU gymnastics team found a way to escape with a win against No. 5 Alabama with a 197.350-197.225 victory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Friday night.
The Tigers (10-1, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) rallied to gain a crucial win in their last meet against SEC competition of the season. Friday’s victory marked the first time in LSU history that the Tigers went undefeated in conference play.
“The most important thing tonight was that we came out with the win,” said associate head coach Jay Clark. “Our score was not near what we are capable of, but the team showed a lot of fight. They fought and fought to finish this season undefeated in SEC competition, and they did.”
The Tigers traveled into top-five territory knowing they would not have a full effort from one of their premier gymnasts. Senior all-arounder Rheagan Courville was sidelined on floor and beam after battling the flu earlier this week. Courville did compete in bars and vault, scoring a 9.875 and 9.825, respectively.
LSU began its evening on the uneven bars, tallying solid scores from its gymnasts though none were above the 9.900 mark. Courville, senior all-arounder Jessie Jordan and sophomore all-arounder Ashleigh Gnat led the charge for the Tigers by scoring 9.875s. LSU left the first rotation trailing Alabama, 49.300-49.375.
The Tigers had to look to other gymnasts to be prepared for action knowing Courville may have to call it quits during the meet.
“Our team showed a lot of growth and maturity tonight,” Jordan said. “We had to fight until the end and came out with the win.”
Freshman Myia Hambrick accepted the challenge and posted a team-high vault score of 9.925, good for the first vault title of her career.
Courville had captured the vault title in six of eight meets this season for LSU, but she scored only a 9.825 on the event. After vault, Courville approached Breaux and informed her she would have to end her night after the second rotation.
LSU retook the lead after two rotations at 98.675-98.600 and never gave Alabama (6-2, 4-2 SEC) control again, ending its six-year (49-0) home win streak.
The Tigers have consistently posted high scores on floor this season, and that trend continued against the Crimson Tide. Jordan scored a 9.925 just in front of Gnat, junior Jessica Savona and senior Lloimincia Hall, who all scored a 9.90.
LSU then moved to beam, where it has counted on excellent routines in back-to-back road meets to seal the victory. The Tigers showed why they are the top-ranked beam team in the nation during the competition’s final rotation.
LSU’s beam lineup included many of its usual performers, but senior Scarlett Williams competed in place of Courville. She stuck the landing to her highly-skilled routine, receiving a 9.825 from the judges.
“[Wiliams] was amazing,” Jordan said. “I am so incredibly proud of her. She had to get up there because Rheagan was sick, and it was just amazing.”
Jordan provided another dazzling beam routine as anchor for LSU, posting a score of 9.900 to seal the victory for her team. She said staying calm and posting a high score to put her team in a position to win is all she was worried about.
“Jessie just was Jessie,” Clark said. “She got up there and had ice in her veins, as [LSU coach] D-D [Breaux] always says. She has been clutch for us all season, always pulling our butts out of the fire. I went up to her after she got off of beam and told her, ‘I sure am glad you’re on our team.’”