LSU gymnastics cruises to Sweet 16 with complete performance

Postseason competition has arrived for LSU gymnastics. And the LSU Tigers showed up ready to prove that their spot was earned.

“Look at what these guys did,” head coach Jay Clark said about his team. “They left no doubt.” 

LSU punched its ticket to the regional final with numerous individual season-highs and a season-high overall score of 198.375. 

It all started with the first gymnast in each rotation. 

“When your first one in the lineup knocks it out of the park and can get you into that 9.9 range right out of the gate, generally, that's going to bode well for the rest of the night,” Clark said. “And Zeiss did that for us, and Kylie Coen did that for us, and Emily Innes did that for us on all four events. … And when you can start that way, and you can capture that momentum, it usually goes pretty well.” 

LSU had taken over this meet, simply put. It held a lead all night, and a substantial lead at that, while also extending it at every point possible. 

LSU’s vault rotation can be summarized in just one word — consistent. With all of LSU’s scores but one staying within a half of a point each other, the event score was enough to tie LSU’s third-highest score this season. 

With three 9.850’s from Lexi Zeiss, Kaliya Lincoln and Amari Drayton, a 9.875 from Victoria Roberts and a 9.900 from Konnor McClain, LSU had one more routine left, Kailin Chio’s vault. 

And Chio did what she’s delivered numerous times before: perfection. 

Her third perfect 10 on vault, and 10th of the season, anchored LSU, giving it momentum going into bars. 

And it rode that high, starting the rotation off with a 9.900 from Zeiss and a 9.950 from Ashley Cowan. Madi Ulrich would post LSU’s dropped score in the third spot, a solid 9.850, before the 9.9s returned to LSU’s scorecard. 

Chio, this season’s SEC Gymnast of the Year, went 9.950, but the LSU-friendly PMAC wanted a 10. 

After Courtney Blackson’s 9.875 in the fifth spot of the rotation, the PMAC erupted again with an opinion on a score. This time it was Konnor McClain’s 9.950 they were not pleased with. 

At this point in the meet, LSU had extended past its opponents a considerable amount, leading Clemson by .700, Auburn by .825 and Nebraska by 1.625. 

With a firm grasp on the meet, LSU didn't let up as it competed on beam, extending its lead by .400 over Clemson. 

LSU had opened up the rotation with two 9.900s from Kylie Coen and a 9.950 from Drayton, looking to set the back half of its lineup for major success. 

A 9.750 from Zeiss would be dropped, but LSU didn't let it faze them.

It came out of the low score with two consecutive 9.950s from Drayton and Lincoln.

“I try not to look at the mistakes that go before or anything after, like we're just trying to keep pushing forward,” Drayton said about going right after a low score. “And I think that just calming myself down and making sure that I do my normal, and to remember that everything is a step in the right direction, to just go out there and be calm and confident and just have fun.” 

Up next was McClain and Chio, LSU’s big hitters in this event’s lineup. 

A 9.900 from McClain set Chio up for a nice score, but a decently sized step on her landing would drop her score to 9.875 to anchor. 

And LSU ended the meet on floor, taking advantage of one last chance to push its lead. 

It all started from the first jump of the rotation, with Emily Innes and Nina Ballou going 9.900 in the first two spots. Kylie Coen posted a 9.875 in the third spot, but again, LSU pushed past that and posted a “mistake eraser” of a score. 

The eraser was Drayton, who posted a 9.950, setting up Chio and Lincoln to close the meet. 

And Chio does her thing again, earning her second 10 of the night. 

Her teammates had a lot to say about her abilities, but McClain explained what separates her performances. 

“We work on consistency every day, but she's the definition of consistency,” McClain said. 

This left Lincoln in the anchor spot, following a 10, and she did her job, posting a 9.950 to anchor the meet. 

The night of season-highs for LSU set itself apart from the whole competition, earning itself a no-sweat trip to the regional final. 

Clemson also advanced to the final, setting the stage for the two Tigers to meet Stanford and Michigan on Saturday.

LSU advanced to the regional final, with that meet taking place at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday in the PMAC. It’s LSU’s last chance to compete in Louisiana this season.