The LSU Tigers Gymnastics squad "hit the road" for the final time this regular season. They traveled about 10 minutes north of campus to face off with No. 14 Auburn, George Washington and Texas Woman's in the Podium Challenge at the Raising Canes River Center.
The Tigers took the lead out the gates with their season-high vault score and never looked back as they dominated the competition. They scored their second-highest team score of the season with a 198.425 en route to the win.
It was a big night at the Raising Canes River Center, and here's a recap of the action:
First Rotation
LSU got their night started on vault. Per usual, KJ Johnson led things off with a nearly flawless vault, earning a 9.925 on a routine that has a maximum score of 9.950.
Aleah Finnegan began her night with a 9.900 before freshman Amari Drayton posted the same score immediately after.
Savannah Schoenherr went fourth on vault for the Tigers. She had last Friday off, but was back in the lineup tonight, and good thing too, because she scored a season-high 9.950. It had been over a month since her last 9.900+ on vault, so I'm sure that one felt good.
Kiya Johnson went next and continued the Tigers run of 9.900's or better, scoring a 9.925 and securing a minimum team score of 49.550.
Haleigh Bryant anchored the event. She's scored above a 9.900 on every vault coming into tonight, and she made it 10 in a row by scoring her first 10.000 on vault this season. This was also the Tigers first 10 on vault this year.
Through the first rotation, the Tigers led with a 49.675, their highest vault score this season by a decent margin.
Second Rotation
The Tigers moved to the bars for their second event of the night. Alexis Jeffrey continues to play the leadoff role on the event and is coming off a 9.875 last week. On Friday, Jeffrey tied her season-high with a 9.900 after drilling her landing.
Ashley Cowan went next on bars for the Tigers. She's done well on bars since being reinserted into the lineup three meets ago, twice scoring in the 9.9's. She didn't quite crack the 9.9 mark, but she still posted a 9.85 in the two spot (this was the first time the Tigers scored below a 9.9 in this meet).
Kiya Johnson continued her all-around effort by posting a 9.875 on bars. Next up was Olivia Dunne, who was performing her first of two events tonight, and she scored a 9.875 in her first bar routine of the season.
Next up was Savannah Schoenherr who's been as steady as it gets on bars the season, posting between a 9.850 and 9.925 in every routine this season. On Friday, she tied her season-high with a 9.925.
Haleigh Bryant once again anchored the event, and she continued to do Haleigh Bryant things by scoring her second perfect 10 in as many routines. Dating back to last meet, Bryant scored three straight perfect 10's as she finished last week's meet with a 10 on floor.
The Tigers finished bars with a 49.575, their third highest bar score of the season.
Third Rotation
After taking a .650 lead over Auburn, the Tigers from LSU moved to the beam for their third event of the night. Sierra Ballard continued to leadoff on beam, and she scored a 9.850 to get things started.
Alexis Jeffrey went next for the Tigers on beam. She's been in and out of the beam lineup this year, but has scored in the 9.9's in her last two beam routines. She kept her streak alive by scoring a 9.900 in the second spot.
Next up on beam was KJ Johnson, performing her first beam routine of the entire season. She's been a star on vault and floor, but in her first beam routine this year, Johnson earned a 9.725.
The other Johnson, Kiya, went fourth on beam for the Tigers. After scoring in the 9.9's three times in a row earlier this season, she's only been able to break into the 9.9's one time in her last four beam routines. She was able to break that dry spell with a 9.900 on Friday.
Haleigh Bryant went fifth on beam for LSU. In her last five beam routines, Bryant has only once scored below a 9.950 (it was a 9.925), and she did it yet again, scoring a 9.950. So close to another 10, but a little stumble on her pass cost her .05.
Aleah Finnegan continues to anchor on beam, and she gave LSU their fourth 9.9+ of the event, earning a 9.900 to round things out. That was a big routine as the Tigers were able to drop KJ's 9.725.
They finished the event with a team score of 49.500, which is their third highest this season.
Fourth Rotation
The Tigers carried a .725 lead into the final rotation, which just so happened to be their best event; the floor.
Livvy Dunne got the nod in the leadoff spot. She's completed five floor routines this season, scoring between a 9.800 and 9.875 in all of them. However, on Friday, she posted a season-high 9.900 to get the final rotation started.
Amari Drayton went second on floor for the Tigers. The star-studded freshman had scored three straight 9.925's coming into tonight, but that streak snapped as she scored a 9.875. LSU head coach Jay Clark didn't look too happy about that score.
KJ Johnson was up next for the Tigers. Outside of Aleah Finnegan, she might be the Tigers best floor gymnast over the past month, scoring a 9.900, 9.925, 9.950 and 9.975 in her last four routines. She continued her dominance with a 9.950 in the three spot.
Up next for the Tigers was Aleah Finnegan. Like I said, she may be the only one who's been better than Johnson on floor lately, scoring two 10's and a 9.950 in her last three floor routines. However, she earned just a 9.825 on floor after stepping out of bounds.
Haleigh Bryant went next on floor in search of her third perfect 10 of the night. She posted a 10 on floor last week, and while she didn't get it this week, she earned a 9.975, finishing her all around with a score of 39.925, which is the highest all-around score in the nation. Nobody in the nation has been better than her.
Even though the meet was wrapped up, Kiya Johnson anchored on floor as she looked to complete her all-around. She earned a 9.975, one judge away from a perfect 10 to finish the night.
The Tigers would score a 49.675 team score on floor to finish the night with their second-highest team score of 198.425.
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