The LSU Tigers Gymnastics team hopped on a bus and drove approximately 10 minutes (according to maps) to the Raising Cane's River Center in downtown Baton Rouge. They hosted the George Washington Revolutionaries on Friday night as they looked to get another big score for their NQS average.
The reason LSU does the podium challenge in the River Center instead of the PMAC is for a couple of reasons. One, this gives them a chance to improve their road score for their NQS. The NCAA allows them to have one "away" meet within 30 miles of their home stadium each year. Two, it gives them another chance to get on the podium before the postseason. The floor is a bit more bouncy than the PMAC or any other regular area floor, so it lets them get a bit more comfortable on it, because every postseason meet after regionals will be a podium event.
True freshman Lexi Zeiss led things off for the Tigers on vault in just her second career collegiate podium event, and after a slight hop on her landing, she earned a 9.800.
After Aleah Finnegan went and earned a 9.825, sophomore Amari Drayton followed her, and like Zeiss, she took a small hop on her landing and earned a 9.850. Seems like the Tigers were having the slightest issue adjusting to the podium, but it was nothing too major.
A couple gymnasts later, Haleigh Bryant put up a monster 9.950 after sticking her landing perfectly. Right after her, sophomore Leah Miller got her first career opportunity to perform as the Tigers gave KJ Johnson the night off on vault, and she earned a 9.775 in the anchor spot.
After vault, the Tigers moved over to the uneven bars and once again, Lexi Zeiss led off. After scoring career-highs on bars in each of her last two meets, the freshman took it to another level today with a 9.925. Ashley Cowan, LSU's bar specialist, followed suit with a 9.925 of her own in the two spot.
After getting a week off on bars last week, Aleah Finnegan got back on the event tonight and earned a 9.850 after a slight step back on her landing. Then, freshman phenom Kailin Chio stepped up in the four spot and put together an absolutely beautiful routine to earn a 9.950. I thought it should've been at least a 9.975, if not a 10, but that's just the scoring this year.
The big scores kept on coming for the Tigers after Chio's 9.950. Sophomore Konnor McClain followed Chio's score with a 9.950 of her own, which set a new season-high. And of course, Haleigh Bryant also followed with a big score, earning a 9.925 in the anchor spot.
The Tigers earned a 49.675 on bars tonight, which set a new season-high, crushing their previous high of 49.425.
The Tigers moved to the balance beam for their third rotation of the night, and after Sierra Ballard and Kylie Coen scored a 9.850 and 9.800 respectively, the Tigers went off.
Kailin Chio got things started in the three spot with a 9.950, which 2024 SEC beam champion Konnor McClain then followed with a 9.925. The two underclassmen continue to show why they're starters on one of the best gymnastics teams in the country.
With Haleigh Bryant and Aleah Finnegan still to go, the Tigers were already feeling pretty good about their beam performance, but their two superstars continued to add to the total with a pair of 9.925s to round out the event.
LSU finished with a 49.575 on beam, which once again set a new season-high. Their previous best was a 49.550 in their win over Missouri.
Finally, the Tigers headed to floor for their final event of the night. They had a healthy lead over George Washington, so this was all about putting together a good floor set and giving themselves the best road score possible.
Sierra Ballard moved back into the leadoff role on floor after a couple weeks in the two spot, and the senior put together the best routine of her career, earning a career-high 9.950.
Kailin Chio went in the second spot tonight and continued her dominant all-around effort with a 9.900. Amari Drayton went third and earned a 9.875, but it was sophomore Kyle Coen, who made her career debut on floor tonight, who stole the show with a 9.900 in the four spot.
Of course, Haleigh Bryant had to one up her with a 9.925, but it was still a great floor debut for Coen.
Leah Miller, who made her first career start on vault earlier in the night, also got to anchor on floor. The sophomore had an even more impressive floor debut than vault, scoring a 9.875 to close out the night.
The Tigers absolutely dominated George Washington, but more importantly, they got the big road score they needed with a 198.125 - their highest score of the season. That will boost their NQS average tremendously and should help them hold onto the No. 2 spot in the rankings.
Final Score: LSU 198.125, George Washington 195.475
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