Currently still No. 2 in the National Qualifying Score rankings, LSU gymnastics has proven time and time again how unified and team-driven it is. These qualities are even more evident following its hard-fought battle against No. 1 Oklahoma.
Despite ending the night with a loss, the team spoke positively about its performance, with gymnasts noting how proud they were of the momentum found on Friday night.
Not only did the Tigers come within 0.2 of the Sooners’ final score, but LSU all-around star Kailin Chio found two perfect 10s on the vault and beam events.
“It was just a boost of confidence for us competing on the road that strongly,” Chio said. “Whether or not we got the win, I think we’re just really proud of going on the road and putting up that score. Road meets are hard, especially in the SEC, so I think that just building our confidence going into the rest of the season, with SECs and nationals, is crucial.”
Sophomore Lexi Zeiss also spoke about the meet in Monday’s press conference, mentioning how valuable the experience was to the team as they near the postseason.
“I think we learned a lot about how we can handle ourselves at opposing places,” Zeiss said. “We were just really a team two days ago, and it was really fun to see our team feel it while not being at home. Taking that with us everywhere we go is going to be super crucial.”
The Tigers’ overall score of 197.925 marked their highest score on the road this season.
As Zeiss mentioned, relying on the team has been one of the biggest factors for the Tigers in holding that top-three ranking in the NQS.
Gymnasts Konnor McClain and Kaliya Lincoln were originally listed to compete on bars and floor. However, late lineup changes were made after McClain sustained a minor forearm injury during bar warmups and Lincoln reported Achilles discomfort on floor.
LSU turning to Alexis Jeffrey and Zeiss was unexpected, but the two put up solid performances to step up for their team.
“I wasn’t expecting to go in and got the call right after floor warmups,” Zeiss said. “I was ready to go and really excited, and my team had my back, so it was super cool.”
It was a similar story for the first event on bars, which set Zeiss and the team up for the strong floor rotation near the end of the night.
“We started off really strong on bars, and I think that’s been our best bar performance on the road,” Chio said. “So I’m just super proud of them for just starting it off so strong and getting the momentum to keep going for all four events.”
Though it’s never a goal to have a loss added to the team’s record, wins haven’t defined success for the Tigers all season. What matters is resetting each week with a focus on putting their best performance on the floor.
The positivity the team left Norman with is something it’s looking to carry forward as they take on No. 3 Alabama Friday night at home and the Podium Challenge quad meet on Sunday afternoon.
“We competed hard and I knew we would go and compete hard,” head coach Jay Clark said. “We had to make some adjustments, but the kids that went in handled it. That’s the important part to the whole story. You go out there, you lose by two tenths, you get on a neutral floor, and we get all guns ablazing. We’ll be in a good spot, so I feel good about what we did.”
