The hope for a back to back National Championship season comes to a close for the LSU Gymnastics team. On Thursday Night, the Nation's top ranked Tigers shockingly missed out for a trip to the National Championship as Utah and UCLA were able to beat out LSU. The Tigers clearly didn't have their best night paired with some tough scoring from the judges which hampered almost everyone.
The Lady Tigers started the meet on the uneven bars, where LSU put up a 49.325 team score dropping from their score from last meet. The Tigers' only recorded one score above a 9.9 which came from Lexi Zeiss which is why LSU's score dropped as they had three scores of 9.9 or more.
After the first rotation, LSU trailed UCLA and Michigan State while leading Utah with the LSU Tigers took to the balance beam where they scored a 49.3250. Konnor McClain was the only LSU Tiger to score above a 9.9 while three Tigers scored 9.875's while Kylie Coen was the final scoring Tiger with a 9.800.
The Tigers headed to the floor in last place giving them a ton of ground to make up in this meet. The good news for LSU is that the Tigers posted a 49.500, vaulting themselves into 2nd place for the meet. Aleah Finnegan scored a 9.9375, Haleigh Bryant scored a 9.9125, and Amari Drayton scored a 9.900 giving the Tigers a chance to move on.
The Lady Tigers scored a 49.3750 beating everyone but, Michigan State but on the vault but, it wasn't enough for the Tigers. LSU's season came to a close as Emma Malabuyo scored an incredible 9.9750 on the balance beam allowing UCLA to just jump ahead of the Tigers.
Missing out on a trip back to the National Championship is disappointing for LSU especially as the Seniors won't have the chance to go out on top. While it's okay to be disappointed with the result, it's also incredible the heights this team and Jay Clark have taken the program to after winning a National Championship last season as LSU is proving they're here to stay in gymnastics.