LSU Gymnastics made history on Saturday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas as they captured their first NCAA title. Despite finishing as runners-up on four different occasions and always considered contenders for the championship, the Tigers finally emerged victorious.
The team had the highest score in the semifinals and was in the lead for the first two rotations before falling slightly behind Utah. However, LSU made a strong comeback on the beam, where Aleah Finnegan’s performance secured their victory. Finnegan received a score of 9.95, helping the team achieve a final score of 198.225 and defeating second-place California. Utah struggled on vault and dropped to third place, while Florida finished fourth.
LSU’s coach Jay Clark expressed his pride and happiness for the team, acknowledging the challenges they had overcome to achieve this historic win. The victory was even more surprising by the elimination of Oklahoma, the two-time defending champion during the semifinals. This makes LSU the eighth team in NCAA history to win the gymnastics title, with senior Haleigh Bryant also winning the individual all-around title earlier in the competition. The passionate LSU fans in the arena cheered them on with chants of “L-S-U” and stood in appreciation throughout
