Livvy Dunne and LSU Gymnastics Advance to Regional Final
The LSU Tigers faced off against the Arkansas Razorbacks, Michigan Wolverines and Maryland Terrapins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Razorbacks gave the Tigers a good fight early, but LSU was able to pull away and win the meet by a healthy margin. With the top-two teams moving on to the regional final, the Tigers comfortably advanced.
LSU earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but instead of picking the event they wanted to start on, they were awarded the floor on a random draw. For those of you who don’t watch a ton of college gymnastics, teams start on vault or bars during the regular season, so floor isn’t the most ideal starting spot.
The Tigers weren’t phased, though. Sierra Ballard, Kailin Chio, Amari Drayton, Aleah Finnegan and Haleigh Bryant all posted 9.900+ scores. Only Kylie Coen, who earned a 9.875 in the leadoff role, couldn’t crack into the 9.9s. The Tigers hot start helped them put .125 between them and second place through one rotation.
After the floor, LSU moved to vault for their second event of the night. Coming into the meet, LSU ranked as the No. 1 vault team in the country, averaging a score of 49.540.
KJ Johnson and Lexi Zeiss got the rotation started on the right foot with a pair of 9.900s. Aleah Finnegan scored a 9.850 before Amari Drayton, Kailin Chio and Haleigh Bryant were able to get back into the 9.9s with three 9.900s. Through two events, LSU built a .650 lead over third place, putting them in a really good position to advance to the regional final.
Freshman Lexi Zeiss has been LSU’s leadoff on bars for the entire season, and tonight she gave the Tigers a very strong start with a 9.900. Ashley Cowan earned a 9.925 before Aleah Finnegan, Kailin Chio and Konnor McClain all earned 9.900s to help the Tigers take a massive lead into the final rotation.
Heading into the final rotation, all LSU needed to do was focus on staying on the balance beam. Without any major mistakes, they were a lock to advance to the regional finals.
As they had done all night long, LSU continued to churn out the 9.900s. Kailin Chio, Konnor McClain and Haleigh Bryant all earned a 9.900 on beam before Aleah Finnegan scored a 9.950 to end out a wonderful night for the Tigers.
LSU advances to the regional final after topping Arkansas, Michigan and Maryland by over half a tenth. It was a dominant effort, which sets them up very well for Saturday’s regional final.
