The No. 2 LSU gymnastics team placed second in the Metroplex Challenge against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 8 Arkansas and Iowa State on Saturday night.
The Sooners won the meet with a 197.700, followed by the Tigers (6-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) with a 197.425, Arkansas at 196.250 and Iowa State with a 193.400.
This was the Tigers’ fourth appearance in the Metroplex Challenge in the past five years. LSU coach D-D Breaux said the meet against this elite set of opponents would exhibit a good marking point of where the Tigers stand as a national contender this season.
Senior all-arounder Rheagan Courville said she believes the Tigers gained much more than just a good score from competing in the meet tonight.
“Being in this arena and taking advantage of the opportunity of letting this build our confidence is huge,” Courville said. “This is where we will be for nationals and it is exciting to know that we will have already seen [what it would be like], and know how to handle it.”
The Tigers started the night by posting two scores above or equal to a 9.90 on the uneven bars from Courville (9.95) and sophomore Shae Zamardi (9.90).
Breaux said their performance on bars was what pushed the Tigers to perform the way they did.
“[Bars] made the meet,” Breaux said. “[Junior all-arounder] Jessica Savona was beautiful. Then Shae Zamardi got up there and was like the ice lady. She was like [senior all-arounder] Jessie Jordan. She basically said ‘I got this. Y’all don’t worry, I got this.’”
The Tigers narrowly trailed Oklahoma, which posted a 49.450 on vault, after the first event.
Senior all-arounder Lloimincia Hall opened the second rotation for the Tigers on beam with two consecutive balance checks to score a 9.70 for LSU. The Tigers seemed to follow Hall by putting together their season low on beam, 49.125.
At the halfway point, LSU stood in second-place with a 98.525. They trailed slightly behind the Sooners with a 98.850.
Breaux said LSU was in a comfortable position after the midway point in the meet with floor and vault remaining in the competition. The Tigers have been known to re-group and attain massive amounts of energy off of their amazing floor routines.
“We were excited [knowing we had floor and vault up next],” Breaux said. “ We knew that that rotation could play in our favor. We had some spectacular performances. I think, maybe, that the scores could have gone a half of a point higher, which could have altered the outcome of the meet.
LSU scored a 49.400 on floor with a large contribution from Hall, its electric floor ace who gathered the only 9.90 or above for LSU to close the event with a 9.925 .
The Tigers ended the third rotation still in second place knowing they had their best event up next. LSU stunned the crowd by posting a phenomenal round of scores on vault.
A 9.90 from sophomore Sydney Ewing put the Tigers in good position with two of the nation’s best vaulters, Jordan and Courville, coming up shortly after her vault run. Jordan scored a 9.925, and Courville topped it with a 9.95 put the Tigers in first-place.
“I think it was the best vault that we have had all season long,” Breaux said.
But Oklahoma held on in the final rotation, scoring a 49.500 on floor to secure the victory.