LSU coach D-D Breaux can hang another banner from the rafters of the PMAC.
With the third-largest crowd in PMAC history, the No. 2 LSU (12-1, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) gymnastics team won the first-ever SEC regular season title, defeating No. 3 Florida, 198.150-196.600.
A total 12,609 fans packed the PMAC, which the third-largest attended meet in school history.
The crowd sent energy throughout the team, so much so, that sophomore McKenna Kelley nearly cried.
“Running out on of that Tiger head and seeing the flashes of the phone — this was the best crowd we had all season,” Kelley said. “I got the chills. I almost started crying when we walked out. We just grow off of the crowd and having them being there, we just share the energy.”
It’s the third time LSU finished with the best SEC regular season record, but this was the first year the SEC recognized the regular season champions.
“It means a lot,” Breaux said. “This is the third time to do this and the first time we’re getting publicly recognized for it, so there’s a tremendous amount of gratification and satisfaction in a job well done. It’s not based on one night, it’s based on your entire body of work and this team’s body of work is superlative.”
In the first rotation, senior all-arounder Ashleigh Gnat scored her eighth-career perfect 10 to capture the individual vault title.
To Kelley, it was nothing out of the ordinary for “Bugs.”
“Just another day in the books for Bugs,” Kelley said.
Sophomore all-arounder Sarah Finnegan’s 9.925 on bars tied her season-high, as she split the title with sophomore all-arounder Lexie Priessman.
On the Tigers next rotation, beam, Finnegan attempted a triple turn, but fell.
Breaux thanked her for that.
“Whenever somebody falls like that I always say ‘Thanks a lot,’ because that always puts more pressure on Bugs at the end of the lineup, ‘So thank you Sarah’,” Breaux joked.
Gnat would anchor the Tigers’ lineup scoring a 9.925 and LSU still pulled out a 49.475 on beam, with junior all-arounder Erin Macadaeg scored a 9.95 for the title.
“We’re so in tune with what we’re doing that we’re drowning everything else out in terms of other teams and who’s on the floor with us,” Gnat said. “Tonight was a good representation of that, of just being so in tune with our routines that we were able to produce that energy within ourselves that we didn’t really need anybody else out there.”
