The No. 3 LSU gymnastics team surpassed a 198 team score for just the second time in program history as it defeated No. 9 Georgia on Friday night in the PMAC.
LSU (7-1, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) outscored Georgia (2-4, 2-2 SEC) in three of four events en route to a 198.075-196.850 victory in front of 7,722. The Tigers own the second-highest score in the nation after No. 1 Oklahoma posted a 198.150 tonight.
“[Oklahoma] will say the judges got caught up in it,” said LSU coach D-D Breaux. “But we did big gymnastics. We stuck our landings, had a great crowd and we got momentum.”
Senior all-arounder Jessie Jordan, the No. 4 all-arounder in the nation, suffered a minor back injury in warmups and was held out of the contest for precautionary reasons.
With Jordan on the sideline, senior all-arounder Rheagan Courville led the charge for the Tigers. Courville won her third-straight all-around title by scoring a 39.825, the highest mark in the nation and second-highest in team history.
“We knew we were going to come out here and not leave anything behind,” Courville said. “I fed off such a great lineup in front of me on everything …It says a lot about this team in general.”
While Courville took home the all-around title, sophomore all-arounder Ashleigh Gnat and freshman all-arounder Myia Hambrick also competed in the all-around. Hambrick took the opportunity to post career-highs on vault and beam.
The Tigers grabbed the lead early with a 49.450- 49.225 advantage after the first rotation and never looked back.
Starting on vault, LSU counted three scores of 9.900 or higher, including sophomore all-arounder Sydney Ewing tying her career-high at 9.900 and Courville with a 9.950 in the anchor spot.
In the second rotation, junior all-arounder Randii Wyrick and Courville tallied the only marks above 9.900. Courville’s 9.950 to anchor the event came after Gnat missed a skill on her routine and scored a 9.350.
“[Courville] anchored some great events tonight for us, and probably the two most challenging events,” Breaux said. “This is probably the most complete meet she has had all season long.”
Going into the third rotation, the Gymdogs trailed by less than two-tenths of a point, but the Tigers all but secured victory in the third rotation by scoring a season high 49.625 on beam, while Georgia posted a 49.075 on floor.
But it didn’t start out so promising.
Senior all-arounder Lloimincia Hall led off with a 9.750, but the Tigers answered with a career-high 9.900 by Hambrick and three straight 9.950 scores by freshman all-arounder Erin Macadaeg, Gnat and Courville.
“I wanted [Macadaeg] to get out there on beam and draw everyone in that arena onto that four inches with her,” Breaux said. “She did that. She makes it look so easy.”
With victory already firmly in its grasp, LSU scored its highest floor score of the season with a 49.625, despite a 9.050 by Hambrick.
The lineup was fortified by two scores of 9.950 by Gnat and Hall, and Courville tied her career high of 9.975.
LSU will look to keep its undefeated record against the SEC when it travels to Auburn Arena to compete against Auburn on Feb. 13.