The LSU Tigers Gymnastics hopped on a bus and hit the road towards Tuscaloosa for a Friday night showdown versus the No. 14 Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tigers were coming off their best performance of the season and became just the second team to break into the 198's in their win over Missouri a week ago.
As they always do in road meets, the Tigers started their night on the uneven bars, which has statistically been their worst event this season (to be fair, they still are the second best team in terms of average on the event).
After true freshman Lexi Zeiss got things started with a 9.750, LSU got hot. Ashley Cowan and Konnor McClain had a couple of near-flawless routines, earning a pair of 9.900 to lead the way early. Kailin Chio (9.850), Aleah Finnegan (9.825) and Alexis Jeffrey (9.800) all posted solid scores to give LSU a 49.275 in the opening rotation.
On the other side of the floor, Alabama had a solid vault rotation, which was highlighted by a 9.925 from Corinne Bunagan. They earned a team score of 49.175 in the first rotation.
After the first rotation, LSU held a .100 lead over the Crimson Tide as they moved to vault.
In her second week back, KJ Johson led things off on vault for the Tigers, and after a great vault, she earned just a 9.825, which I felt was a bit underscored. Chase Brock and Aleah Finnegan followed her up with a 9.775 and 9.825 before the Tigers caught fire.
Amari Drayton has "struggled" a bit on vault since scoring a 9.925 in the Tigers opening meet, scoring below a 9.850 in each of the four previous meets. However, she nailed her vault tonight and earned a 9.900.
After her, true freshman Kailin Chio, who has absolutely dominated as a true freshman and had three 9.900+ on vault in her first five meets, had the best performance of her career on the event, earning a 9.975 after sticking her landing. The 9.975 tied the highest score on vault by any gymnast this season. I honestly don't know what more she needed to do to get a perfect 10.
Haleigh Bryant, who finally got back in the vault lineup after her elbow injury, anchored the event. In her first vault of the season, Haleigh Bryant did Haleigh Bryant things, earning a 9.925 after a slight jump on her landing.
LSU finished the second rotation with a 49.450 on vault while Alabama scored a 49.250 on the uneven bars.
At the halfway mark, the Tigers held a 98.725-98.450 lead over the Crimson Tide and were heading to one of the best events: the floor.
After Sierra Ballard kicked things off with a 9.775, true freshman Kaliya Lincoln, who has been a vault specialist coming into tonight, didn't perform on vault, but got her first chance on floor, and absolutely killed it with a 9.875.
Kailin Chio went third, and just like on vault, she has been a rockstar on floor as well early in her career. Taking away her one fall, Chio posted scores of 9.825, 9.900, 9.925 and 9.925 in four of her first five meets. Tonight was no different, as she earned a 9.900 after a beautiful routine.
Amari Drayton followed Chio's routine with a 9.900 of her own, but Aleah Finnegan went fifth and struggled a bit. She nearly fell on her first pass before stepping out on her second pass and earned a 9.675, meaning Ballard's 9.775 would count no matter what.
Haleigh Bryant anchored the event and the Tigers were in need of a big score to help offset the 9.775 they were counting. It wasn't her best routine, but she still earned a 9.875 to help LSU finish with a 49.325. Alabama struggled on beam and had to count a 9.700, earning a 49.125.
Heading into the final rotation, LSU had this all but wrapped up. They held a 148.050-147.575 lead over the Tide as they head to the balance beam, so barring anything unexpected, they were looking their sixth win of the season in the eyes.
But things got a bit more interesting than it probably should have.
Sierra Ballard, who has done a great job in the leadoff role on beam the past two seasons, struggled and earned a 9.550, putting the pressure on the rest of the team to deliver.
Sophomore Kylie Coen and freshman Kailin Chio both delivered under pressure, earning a 9.825 and 9.925 respectively in the two and three spots.
With the first three performances out of the way, LSU had their three superstars - Konnor McClain, Aleah Finnegan and Haleigh Bryant - still to go. Alabama was still down by .300 despite LSU's 9.550, so all they needed to do was make sure they didn't make a crucial mistake.
McClain was the first of the trio to go, and while she had a couple balance checks and a not-so-great landing, she completed her routine with no major problems and earned a 9.775. Haleigh Bryant was next up on beam for the Tigers, and she too had a slip up on the beam, but managed to stay on and still earned a 9.850 in the five spot.
Heading into the final routine of the night for both teams, Alabama closed the gap to just .050. Aleah Finnegan needed a 9.700 or better to clinch the meet for the Tigers, but Finnegan, who clinched the NCAA National Championship on beam last year, didn't flinch and earned a 9.875 to secure the 197.300-197.075 win.
LSU didn't have their best stuff and the meet ended up being a lot closer than it should've been, but they managed to pull it out and move to 6-2 on the season as they prepare to head home and face No. 1 Oklahoma next week.
Stay up to date on all the LSU news with your premium subscription
Talk about this story and more in The Quad
Make sure you're caught up on all the latest LSU news
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage
