LSU Gymnastics Head Coach, Jay Clark, and gymnasts, Kailin Chio, Kaliya Lincoln, and Konner McClain, spoke to the media in Fort Worth, Texas, ahead of the NCAA Championship game on Saturday.

LSU Gymnastics has advanced to the NCAA Championship game after finishing with a final score of 197.4375. This is the fourth consecutive time under head coach Jay Clark.

With LSU coming through in the end to clinch a spot in the championship, they realize it wasn’t their best, and the nerves controlled them in the beginning.

“We were just a little timid out there today. I think that you know Konner finished off that bar rotation, and we need that,” Chio said, “like we really needed that.”

Despite the nerves, Chio didn’t want a repeat of last year, so she made sure to hype up the girls after beam and pedal to the medal.

With McClain coming off an arm/elbow injury from regionals, but after vault, she knew she was ready to compete.

“I had a little struggle in the warm-ups,” McClain said, “Just the buildup to being here today. It was really hard because I would wake up sometimes and my arm would hurt and I wouldn’t be able to practice that day, so I was it was definitely day to day, on and off, so it was a struggle being here, but it was so fun being out there today.”

With LSU falling behind going into the final rotation, Lincoln knew they had to look forward and give everything for floor. “I knew if we did our number one floor, that it would be more than enough.”

Head Coach Jay Clark knows that they weren’t their best and just need the team to be physically rested and have the confidence they deserve.

“They’re a good team,” says Jay Clark, “they’re a super strong team, they’re very committed to one another.”

With LSU falling short in the semi-finals last year, Jay Clark believes tonight was a huge feat.

LSU will compete in the NCAA Championship on Saturday in hopes of getting another national title.