The LSU Tigers had an incredible regular season which helped them land the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. They followed that up with their second straight SEC Championship to build some momentum entering the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers began their quest to defend their national championship on Thursday night when they faced off with No. 16 Arkansas, No. 17 Michigan and Maryland in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The top-two teams advance, so they just needed to beat out two of these squads.

Despite earning the one-seed, LSU did not get to choose where they started in this meet. Instead, it was a random draw and the Tigers began the meet on floor.

Kylie Coen led things off for the Tigers and earned a 9.875 before Sierra Ballard lit the floor on fire with a 9.900, giving the Tigers an early lead over Michigan and Maryland.

Kailin Chio, who was just named a five-time All-American on all events plus the all-around in her freshman season, posted a massive 9.925 before Amari Drayton matched Sierra Ballard's 9.900 in the four spot.

As always, Aleah Finnegan and Haleigh Bryant anchored the event, and they went off. Did you expect anything less? Finnegan put together one of her best floor routines of the season and earned a 9.925 before Bryant followed suit with a 9.900 of her own.

Through one rotation, LSU topped the scoreboard.

LSU moved to vault - the event which they rank No. 1 in the country - after a very strong floor performance, and as always (at least when she's healthy), KJ Johnson led off. She stuck her landing and gave the Tigers a much-needed 9.900 in the leadoff spot. Freshman Lexi Zeiss kept the momentum up with a 9.900 of her own in the two spot.

Aleah Finnegan went third on vault and posted a 9.850, but Amari Drayton and Kailin Chio were able to get them back into the 9.9s with two more 9.900. Through 1.5 rotations, six gymnasts were tied for the vault title with a 9.900. That number would increase to eight as Kailin Chio and Haleigh Bryant both earned 9.900s to round out the rotation.

Through two rotations, LSU built a .650 lead over third place, putting themselves in a really good spot to advance to the regional final.

LSU moved to the uneven bars for their third event of the night. Freshman Lexi Zeiss has played the lead off role to perfection all year long, and tonight she did it again, earning a 9.900.

The Tigers stayed red hot throughout the whole bars rotation. Ashley Cowan, LSU's bar specialist, earned a 9.925 before Kailin Chio, Aleah Finnegan and Konnor McClain all earned 9.900s in the three through five spots. Haleigh Bryant then anchored with a 9.875, which put Chio in the lead for the all-around title.

Through three rotations, the Tigers held a massive lead over Arkansas in second place, putting them in prime position to win the meet and advance.

Sierra Ballard and Kylie Coen got the rotation started with a 9.850 and 9.875 respectively - not the best, but all they needed to do was focus on staying on the beam with their massive lead.

Kailin Chio completed her all-around effort with a beautiful beam routine, which earned her a 9.900 in the three spot. Konnor McClain and Haleigh Bryant followed her up with the same score, earning the Tigers their 13th and 14th 9.900 of the night. Aleah Finnegan anchored the event and earned a 9.950, tying Maryland's Maddie Komoroski for the beam title.

LSU and Arkansas advanced to the regional final by a comfortable margin. Aleah Finnegan tied for the beam title with a 9.950 while Aleah Finnegan and Kailin Chio were in a five-way tie for the floor title with a 9.925. Finnegan and Chio tied for the all-around as well, earning a 39.625.