LSU Gymnastics Claims Third Place at 2023 SEC Championships

By | Bullscore 20 Mar, 2023

The LSU Gymnastics team came in third place at the 2023 SEC Championships, which was held on Saturday night in Gas South Arena. The team, which ranked sixth, participated in Session II along with top-ranked Florida, third-seeded Kentucky, and fourth-seeded Alabama. They recorded an overall score of 197.800, the program’s third-highest at the conference championships.

Despite leaving a few things on the floor, the team continued to show their grit and fight. Head coach Jay Clark said, “Our score was consistent with what we’ve done all year. Given the circumstances, I am just proud of their continued fight. Now, we move on to regionals.” The team’s NQS improved to 197.840 after their performance at the SEC Championships. Selections for the NCAA postseason will take place on Monday, March 20, at 11 a.m. CT on NCAA.com.

Proud of our fight.

The Tigers finish third at the @SEC Championships#GeauxTigers | #WC23 pic.twitter.com/5dYBkLYYuQ
— LSU Gymnastics (@LSUgym) March 19, 2023

During the first rotation on bars, Alexis Jeffrey led off with a solid 9.850 routine, followed by Olivia Dunne with a season-high 9.850. Tori Tatum matched her career-high with a score of 9.900, while Aleah Finnegan and Haleigh Bryant added another 9.850 and 9.875, respectively. The team scored 49.325 in this rotation.

In the second rotation on the beam, Shchennikova and Jeffrey each scored a 9.875, while Sierra Ballard scored a 9.850 in the third spot. Bryant followed with a 9.825, and Finnegan anchored with a 9.925 performance, earning a score of 49.350, the squad’s sixth-highest score on the event at the conference meet.

LSU performed exceptionally well in the third rotation on the floor. Ballard set the tone with a strong 9.900, followed by Shchennikova with another 9.900. Chase Brock recorded a 9.925, matching her career-high. Finnegan and Bryant were nearly perfect, earning 9.950s in the fifth and sixth spots. The Tigers’ floor score of 49.625 tied for the highest score in the event at the SEC Championships.

In the final rotation, Arenas started things off with her 9.900 on vault, followed by Shchennikova’s 9.875. Finnegan earned a 9.900, while Bryce Wilson scored a career-high 9.925 in her first postseason routine as a Tiger. Bryant anchored the vault squad with a 9.900, and the team closed with a score of 49.500, posting the program’s sixth-highest score in the meet.

The Gators took the win in the evening session with their final score of 198.425, followed by Alabama’s 197.925, LSU’s 197.800, and Kentucky’s 197.675. The Tigers finished third in the SEC Championships in the squad’s competition against all seven teams in the conference.

Finnegan and Bryant were amongst the top floor performers in the conference, tying for second on the floor with their scores of 9.950, respectively. Four Tigers placed among the top-10 performers in the competition on vault, with Wilson tying for fifth, and Arenas, Finnegan, and Bryant tying for seventh. Finnegan also placed sixth on the beam, while Tatum finished eighth on bars, and Brock finished sixth on the floor. Ballard and Shchennikova both placed tenth on the floor with scores of 9.900.