The LSU gymnastics team rebounded from a disastrous start at the Southeastern Conference Championship to finish fifth and bolster its regional qualifying score.
After opening the meet with a 47.925 on balance beam, the Tigers responded by scoring 49.050 on floor exercise. Their remarkable turnaround concluded with season high scores on both vault (49.350) and uneven bars (49.150).
“As the meet went on this team really found its confidence and fought hard,” LSU coach D-D Breaux said in a news release. “We were soft on beam and had some shaky performances in that event, but I saw things tonight that I haven’t seen all season long. The kids huddled themselves, encouraged each other and took ownership of this team.”
Freshman Sarie Morrison became the latest in a string of LSU gymnasts to earn All-SEC honors, scoring a 9.90 on vault to finish Second-Team All-SEC.
Lone senior Sam Engle competed on vault for the first time this season after sophomore Ericka Garcia was sidelined for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.
LSU’s 195.475 overall score came on the heels of a season in which it failed to win an SEC meet for the first time since 1993.
It also marked the Tigers’ second-highest road score of the season, boosting their RQS from 195.330 to 195.530.
LSU will learn its postseason regional selection on Monday.
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Contact Ryan Ginn at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @TDR_Ginn