Gymnastics: Four on the Floor NCAA championship Finals Sat 4/20 3pmCT ABC

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FORT WORTH, Texas– The No. 2 LSU Gymnastics team (28-3, 5-2) advanced to the NCAA Championship finals for the 10th time in school history after finishing first in NCAA Semifinal I with a score of 198.1125, Thursday afternoon in Dickies Arena.

“We’re obviously thrilled to be back in the finals again for the second year in a row.  It never gets old to advance to this point. I’m proud of how this team has done all year long,” said head coach Jay Clark.

“They took the lessons learned and the attributes needed from last year and used them this year to be consistently successful. A lot of that has to do with just doing it for each other and staying focused on the bigger picture. There’s so many great stories and so many individuals on this team that have contributed in ways that aren’t seen.”

The team score marked the second highest for the LSU Gymnastics program at NCAA Championships. LSU and California (197.7125) advanced out of the first semifinal of the day and will compete for the national championship at 3 p.m. CT Saturday on ABC. The Tigers will begin on floor in the final and take on the top two teams from semifinal II, which features Oklahoma, Utah, Florida and Alabama. 

Senior Haleigh Bryant led the way in the meet for the Tigers with an all-around score of 39.7125 for the highest in a semifinal in school history. Bryant’s all around, bars and beam scores as well as Aleah Finnegan’s floor score sit at the top of the first semifinal and will be in contention for an individual NCAA title following semifinal II. 

The Tigers opened the meet with a 49.325 on vault. KJ Johnson and Chase Brock each scored a 9.825 in the first and second spots. Amari Drayton earned a 9.8125 in her NCAA Championships debut. Savannah Schoenherr and Haleigh Bryant each earned a 9.90 in the fourth and sixth spots and Kiya Johnson earned a 9.875 in the fifth spot of the lineup to put LSU in second behind California after one rotation. 

LSU posted their second highest nationals score on bars in the second rotation. Alexis Jeffrey led off with a 9.8125 while Ashley Cowan followed with a strong 9.875 routine. Kiya Johnson, a veteran in the bars lineup, held down the third spot with her 9.900. In her NCAA Championships debut, Konnor McClain scored a 9.9125 followed by Schoenherr’s 9.8625 in the fifth spot. Bryant anchored with a team high 9.925 to close out the Tigers’ 49.475 rotation and push the team to first at the halfway point. 

The LSU beam squad delivered with five scores of 9.90 or higher for a 49.5875 and the  program’s second-highest nationals score on the event. Sierra Ballard opened with a 9.90 followed by a career high 9.925 from Schoenherr. McClain scored a 9.925 and was followed by a 9.90 from Kiya Johnson. Bryant posted a 9.95, the third-highest score for an LSU gymnast at NCAA Championships and the best in a semifinal. Aleah Finnegan wrapped up the event for the Tigers with a 9.8875. 

The floor team set the LSU record for highest event score at NCAA Championships with a 49.725 to leave no doubt. McClain opened the final rotation with a 9.9375 and Drayton scored a 9.8875. KJ Johnson delivered a 9.95 in the third spot and Finnegan followed with a 9.9626 to match the best on the event at an NCAA Championship. Bryant and Kiya Johnson each ended the afternoon with a 9.9375.

The Tigers will look to bring home the program’s first national title on Saturday as they compete against the top two finishers in Thursday’s evening session.

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From: https://lsusports.net/news/2024/04/19/gymnastics-seeking-first-national-title-competing-in-ncaa-championship-final-on-saturday/

FORT WORTH, Texas – The No. 2 LSU Gymnastics team (28-3, 5-2 SEC) will look to take home their first national title as they compete in the NCAA Championship finals on Saturday, April 20 at 3 p.m. CT in Dickies Arena.

The Tigers advanced to the finals for the 10th time in school history after finishing first in NCAA Semifinal Ion Thursday. This year marks back-to-back final four appearances under head coach Jay Clark and the 33rd overall for the program.

No. 2 LSU will take on No. 3 California, No. 4 Florida and No. 5 Utah in the championship, which will be aired nationally on ABC with John Roethelisberger and Aly Raisman on the call and Taylor Davis as the on site reporter. 

LSU will begin the meet on floor while Florida will start on vault, Utah on bars and Cal on beam. All teams will rotate in Olympic order.

ESPN+ will continue to surround the televised action on Saturday with 15 live additional streams, including apparatus streams and a quad-box option. Samantha Peszek and Bridget Sloan will be the stream commentators on vault and beam and Anastasia Webb and Kennedy Baker will cover bars and floor. 

For direct links to every ESPN+ stream, please click here. Live results for the competition will be available via StatBroadcast and can be found here.

Last Time on The Floor

The Tigers secured their spot in the championship on Thursday afternoon after finishing first in semifinal I with a score of 198.1125. The team score marked the second highest for the LSU Gymnastics program at NCAA Championships.

LSU and California (197.7125) advanced out of the first semifinal of the day while Utah and Florida were the top two teams from semifinal II to make up the Final Four. 

The Tigers opened the meet with a 49.325 on vault. The event was highlighted by a pair of 9.900’s from Savannah Schoenherr and Haleigh Bryant, who earned All-America honors for their performance on the day. LSU was in second behind California after one rotation. 

LSU posted their second highest nationals score on bars in the second rotation. Bryant led the team with her score of 9.925 to close out the Tigers’ 49.475 rotation and push the team to first at the halfway point. 

The LSU beam squad delivered with five scores of 9.900 or higher for a 49.5875 and the  program’s second-highest nationals score on the event. Schoenherr had a career high 9.925 performance on the event while Bryant posted a 9.95, the third-highest score for an LSU gymnast at NCAA Championships and the best in a semifinal.

The floor team set the LSU record for highest event score at NCAA Championships with a 49.725 to leave no doubt in the final rotation. The rotation was highlighted by Aleah Finnegan’s 9.9626, which earned her national champion status on the event for the first time in her career.

The Tigers performance on the day secured their first place finish over California, Arkansas and Stanford and was the highest score across both sessions of semifinal competition in Fort Worth.

Bryant led the way in the meet for the Tigers with an all-around score of 39.7125 for the highest in a semifinal in school history. Bryant’s all-around performance and Finnegan’s floor performance earned them NCAA individual titles. 

Bryant, Finnegan Named NCAA Champions | Details

Haleigh Bryant and Aleah Finnegan were crowned 2024 NCAA Champions after their performances in the semifinals on Thursday in Dickies Arena.

The duo finished as the top performers in the all-around and on floor across both sessions of semifinals on Thursday. This year’s two individual titles from Bryant and Finnegan marks the second most in a single season. LSU had the most national champions in 2017 with three different gymnasts claiming titles. 

Bryant recorded a 39.7125 in the semifinals to claim the individual all-around title for only the second time in school history. This is her second national title in her career, with her first coming on vault in 2021. Susan Jackson is the only other gymnast to win the all-around title in 2010. 

The senior finished as one of the top 10 performers on every event with her scores of 9.900 on vault, 9.925 on bars, 9.950 on beam and 9.9375 on floor at the meet on Thursday. 

Finnegan claimed her first individual national title of her career last night and fourth program title on floor. The junior recorded a 9.9625 in the semifinals to finish as the top performer on the event and join an elite group of floor national champions in Nicki Arnstad (2002), Ashleigh Clare-Kearney (2009) and Ashleigh Gnat (2017).

With her title last night, Finnegan joined her sister in the record books and became the first sibling duo to own national titles in program history. Her sister, Sarah Finnegan, is a two-time NCAA bars champion.

LSU now owns 18 national titles across 11 gymnasts since 1977. 

Seven Gymnasts Claim Postseason All-America Honors | Details

Seven LSU gymnasts combined for 16 postseason All-America honors following their performances in the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday afternoon in Dickies Arena.

NCAA postseason All-America awards are based on the top eight event scores in both sessions of the semifinals. Gymnasts that place 1-4 on an event in their respective session will earn first team honors while spots 5-8 will earn second team honors. LSU competed in the first session on Thursday, where Haleigh Bryant, Kiya Johnson, Savannah Schoenherr, Sierra Ballard, Aleah Finnegan, KJ Johnson and Konnor McClain all finished amongst the top eight performer

LSU now owns 327 All-America honors in program history and 26 on the year (10 regular season, 16 postseason), which is the third most in a single season. The program record for most All-America honors in a single season is 28 set in 2018. The 2017 season follows with 27. 

The Tigers 16 honors at NCAA’s this year matches the most in LSU postseason history.

Bryant earned five more All-America honors after her standout performance in the NCAA semifinals that won her a national title. The senior tallied five honors on all four events and the all-around during the regular season as she once again swept the All-America honors in the postseason. 

She is now the first LSU gymnast to record All-America honors on every event and the all-around in both the regular season and the postseason, and just the second to claim honors on every event in the postseason.

Bryant has earned 10 All-America honors in 2024 to move her career total to 27 (14 regular season, 13 postseason), the most by any LSU gymnast in school history. Her five postseason honors in 2024 moved her to the top spot to surpass the previous record of 23, which was held by Sarah Finnegan and Rheagan Courville. 

Kiya Johnson earned three postseason honors, including first team honors on floor and the all-around to move her total to 12 in her career, moving her to eighth most alongside Susan Jackson in program history. She posted a score of 9.9375 on floor and a 39.6125 in the all-around, while also earning second team honors on beam with her score of 9.900.

Finnegan, already a six time All-American, added another to her resume after finishing as the top floor performer across both sessions of semifinal competition on Thursday with her score of 9.9625.

Schoenherr had a standout night in her first postseason appearance with the Tigers, claiming All-America honors on vault and beam with her scores of 9.900 and 9.925. She is now a five time All-American in her career. 

Ballard, McClain and KJ Johnson all claimed their first career All-America honor following their performances in Thursday’s semifinals.

Ballard’s award came on beam with her score of 9.900, while Johnson posted the second highest floor score in session I with her 9.950. 

McClain took home All-America honors in her NCAA Championships debut on bars, beam and floor. She recorded a pair of 9.9125’s on bars and beam and a 9.9375 on floor.

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I’m dvr’ing the abc broadcast but I’ll be watchinthe event streams on espn+ (thanks to my daughter)

 

Oh and pre-meet show on ABC starts at 2:30pmCT!

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Four on the Floor for the Natty
Rotation 1

LSU Floor 49.6125
UF Vault 49.2500
Utah Bars 49.4375
Cal Beam 49.4725

Konnor McClain - nailing sticks, gorgeous leaps, toe point omg, drilled combo pass. 9.9250 !
Amari Drayton  - nailed DLO, stuck DT, great extension/toepoint/leaps.9.9125
KJ Johnson  - shit sat a tuck. Nailed final DT. 9.2875 hope to drop it
Aleah Finnegan - gorgeous routine, held that 1pass inbounds, nailed sticks. 9.9125
Haleigh Bryant - DFT nailed, leaps above 180°, beautiful. 9.9375
Kiya Johnson - nailed, beautiful, small slide last stick. 9.9250

After 1

LSU 49.6125
Cal 49.4750 -0.137
Utah 49.4375 -0.175
UF 49.2500 -0.362

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Rotation 2

LSU Vault 49.400
UF Bars 49.4750
Utah Beam 49.4750
Cal Floor 49.3750

KJ Johnson (9.95 SV) good vault shuffled feet landing. 9.800
Aleah Finnegan (10 SV) good vault but with usual 1 step forward. 9.8375
Amari Drayton (10 SV) a little under rotated but saved it. 9.8250
Savannah Schoenherr (10 SV) small controlled hop, clean vault tho. 9.8750
Kiya Johnson (10 SV) great vault but tiny hop. 9.9125
Haleigh Bryant (10 SV) great vault teeny hop on landing. 9.9500

After 2
LSU 99.0125
Cal 98.8500 -0.163
Utah 98.9125 -0.100
UF 98.7250 -0.288

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Rotation 3

LSU Bars 49.4500
UF Beam 49.2375
Utah Floor 49.5875
Cal Vault 49.500

Alexis Jeffrey - nailed landing. Great leadoff! 9.900 wooooot!
Ashley Cowan - amazing routine. Stuck landing but chest low. 9.8875
Kiya Johnson - bent arms, but dynamic routine, drilled landing.9.8875
Konnor McClain - gorgeous & stuck. 9.900
Savannah Schoenherr - perfect releases & hs’s, stuck landing! 9.8625 robbed!
Haleigh Bryant - great routine but step on landing dammit. 9.8750

After 3
LSU 148.4625 -0.037
Cal 148.3500 -0.150
Utah 148.5000
UF 147.9625 -0.537
 

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Rotation 4 

LSU Beam 49.7625
UF Floor 
Utah Vault 49.3000
Cal Bars 49.5000

Sierra Ballard - low shoulder leap, hit kick tuck, stuck landing!  9.9500!!!! Career high!
Savannah Schoenherr - WO good, BHSLOSO good, nearly fell after foot hit floor so fall dammit. 9.3875 hope to drop
Konnor McClain - gorgeous! Stuck landing. 9.9625!!!
Kiya Johnson - gorgeous & stuck. 9.9500
Haleigh Bryant - cheated switch leap but 180° tho, hit punch front, maybe teeny hop landing. 9.9500
Aleah Finnegan - best ive seen from her this year. 9.9500

FINAL
LSU 198.2250
Cal 197.8500 -0.375
Utah 197.8000 -0.425
UF 197.4375 -0.787

All Around: Haleigh Bryant & eMjae Frazier of Cal 39.7125

 

CHAMPIONS!!!!

i’m crying

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FORT WORTH, Texas – With one performance remaining, Aleah Finnegan delivered a 9.95 on beam to lift the LSU gymnastics team to the first NCAA Championship in program history Saturday afternoon at Dickies Arena.

The Tigers claimed the title with a 198.225 to defeat California (197.850), Utah (197.800) and Florida (197.4375).

[houtiger]

Eq4bits, thanks for the coverage.  If LSU plays for the natty in anything, I will be watching.  I watched the whole meet and all the girls were excellent, LSU and others.

It came down to rotation 4 and LSU was in second place to Utah.  LSU finished on the balance beam, considered a tough draw because of the risk of a fall. 

It got exciting.  The Utah ladies were not sticking their landings on the vault.  LSU first lady on the beam did very well.  I the second lady on the beam had a fall.  You get to drop one score, so if another LSU lady had a poor routine, they would have lost.  4 more LSU ladies stepped up and nailed their routines to win!  Gutsy!!!

I watched us lose to Oklahoma enough times, this war really sweet!

Edited April 21 by houtiger

[houtiger]

 

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https://www.instagram.com/p/C6FIFkmPEJ_/?igsh=MXMwN2h3ZzU0eTU1Yw==

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Damn insta doesnt imbed so found on X