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Year in review: Top teams

This is the last of a series recapping LSU’s 2015-16 athletic year.

The LSU gymnastics team celebrates at the Super Six
The LSU gymnastics team celebrates at the Super Six

1. GYMNASTICS

The climb by the LSU gymnastics team continued during the 2016 season.

The Tigers made yet another appearance in the national championships and reached the Super Six. LSU finished as the national runner-up behind Oklahoma. The Tigers had never ended a season that high in the national championships.

LSU had a score of 197.450 in the finals – its best score in the NCAA tournament. In the national semifinals, the Tigers had a score of 197.3375 and finished second in its six-team bracket. Two weeks earlier, LSU had a score of 197.5 while finishing third in the Southeastern Conference championships.

During the regular season, the Tigers won seven of their dual meets – including one over Oklahoma at the PMAC. LSU’s lone dual meet defeat came against Georgia in Athens. The Tigers won the Texas Woman’s Invitational in Denton (Tex.).

Ashleigh Gnat was the outstanding gymnast for LSU. D-D Breaux enjoyed her best season in her 39th-year as Tigers coach.

2. SOFTBALL

The Tigers softball team put together a 50-win season (52-18) and advanced to the Women’s College World Series for the third time in Beth Torina’s five years as coach.

For the second straight season, LSU reached the Final Four. This time, the Tigers were eliminated by eventual national champion Oklahoma 7-3 in the semifinals. LSU’s other WCWS loss came at the hands of Michigan, which had eliminated it in the 2015 semifinals.

The Tigers played their best during the postseason – finishing second to Auburn in the SEC tournament, going unbeaten in the Baton Rouge Regional and taking two of three games at James Madison in a super-regional series.

LSU defeated three nationally-ranked teams – Texas A&M, Kentucky and Tennessee – before dropping a 7-1 decision to eventual national runner-up Auburn. The Tigers defeated Arizona State 2-0 in the finals of the regional. LSU bounced back from an opening-game loss to win the super-regional against JMU.

The Tigers had a mediocre SEC season with a 13-11 record. LSU were swept in home series by Florida and Kentucky and dropped two of three games at Texas A&M. The Tigers won their final eight SEC games – two against Mississippi State and three against South Carolina and Arkansas.

3. MEN’S TRACK

Track coach Dennis Shaver produced his normal steady track program during the 2016 season.

This time, Shaver’s men’s team was a little more consistent. After tying for sixth place in the SEC Championships, the men’s team had a fourth-place finish in the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham (Ala.).

During the outdoor season, LSU was the fourth-place team in the SEC Championships. Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake won the 100 and 200-meter runs and anchored the winning 4x100-meter relay team.

The Tigers ended up fifth in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene (Ore.). Mitchell-Blake suffered a hamstring injury after helping LSU win the 4x100-meter relay. Mitchell-Blake was unable to participate in the 100 and 200-meter runs.

Without Mitchell-Blake, the Tigers recorded a total of 41 points – trailing Florida, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Oregon. LSU also won the national championship in the 4x400-meter relay. Fitzroy Dunkley ran the anchor leg on the 4x400-meter relay team.

4. MEN’S GOLF

The men’s golf team was the only LSU athletic team which opened the year as a defending national champion.

Having lost two seniors from their 2015 championship squad, coach Chuck Winstead’s Tigers made a good run in the postseason. After finishing fifth in the SEC Championships, LSU qualified for the NCAA Championships by tying for third in the regional hosted by Vanderbilt.

In stroke play at the NCAA Championships, the Tigers finished third and earned a spot in match play. However, LSU was beaten 3½-1½ by the host team from Oregon in the quarterfinals. The Ducks went on to win the national title.

5. BASEBALL

The 2016 season was expected to be somewhat of a rebuilding season for the LSU baseball team.

Of course, the Tigers were expected to reach the NCAA tournament. But, another trip to the College World Series was considered a long shot. Coach Paul Mainieri’s team surprised everyone by earning a national seed in the NCAA tournament for a fifth consecutive year.

LSU won 14 of its final 16 games to finish with 42 victories heading into the NCAA tournament. The Tigers won a regional tournament for the tenth time in the last nine years by beating Rice 5-2 in the title game. However, LSU lost two straight games to Coastal Carolina in a super-regional series at The Box.

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