LSU pulled it out in the end
800 miles were worth it in the end.
The back-to-back SEC champion #2 LSU gymnastics team exorcised some demons Friday with a 197.675-197.500 win at #7 Missouri, their first win over Mizzou in Columbia since 2020. LSU put up a very respectable road score, and it was even better considering that head coach Jay Clark told Tiger Rag that several people were sick.
Rotation 1: LSU 49.375-Missouri 49.275
Mizzou had a solid start to their meet, but they used two Yurchenko Fulls that limited their scoring potential.
Lexi Zeiss started things off with a 9.800. Madison Ulrich followed with a solid 9.925. Haley Mustari made her debut and nailed her routine for a 9.900. Kailin Chio had an oddly low 9.725. Courtney Blackson drilled her routine for a 9.925. Konnor McClain finished things off with a 9.825.
Rotation 2: LSU 98.800-Missouri 98.625
Mizzou had a solid bars rotation which went 49.350. Their main issue was that they kept making errors on landings and handstands that dragged the scores of the first four routines down. LSU scored a 49.425, their best vault rotation score of the season.
Lexi led things off with a 9.775 on a Yurchenko 1.5 that she tried a bit too hard to stick. Konnor followed with a 9.825 on a decent Yurchenko Full. Courtney did a great job in her return to the vault lineup with a 9.900 on her Y1.5. Amari Drayton came incredibly close to sticking her Y1.5, but a slight hop earned her a 9.950. Kaliya Lincoln had a big hop on her Y1.5 and earned a 9.800. Kailin drilled her Y1.5 in typical fashion and capped things off with a 9.950.
Rotation 3: LSU 148.350-Missouri 148.025
Mizzou put up a 49.400 on beam thanks to some incredible work by Lauren MacPherson and stalwart Addison Lawrence, the latter of whom posted her fourth 9.950 of the season. Unfortunately, two middle routines had mistakes which kept Mizzou’s score lower than it could’ve been. LSU scored a 49.550 on floor.
Emily Innes led things off with a 9.850. Nina Ballou had perhaps her best routine of her young career and went 9.900. Kylie Coen followed with a 9.900 of her own. Amari went out of bounds on her double layout, oddly, but she hit the rest of her routine for a 9.775. That score came in late because the judges were way apart when initially flashing their scores. Kailin followed up with a fabulous 9.950, and Kaliya capped things off with a superb 9.950 of her own.
Rotation 4: LSU 197.675-Missouri 197.500
This was a controversial finish because of the scores given to LSU’s beam routines. Mizzou scored a 49.475 on floor and had great performances throughout, but they needed to rely on a miracle to make up their massive deficit. LSU scored a 49.325 on beam.
Kylie led things off with a 9.850 [9.80/9.90], a score that felt baffling considering it was poorer than other routines she’s done that have earned similar scores. Lexi followed with a 9.825 on a routine that looked better than Kylie’s on the beam. I wasn’t able to see beam landings in the arena because of where I was seated, and they never replayed LSU routines on the video board. Anyway, Amari followed with a 9.925 that drew ire from the broadcasters. This score was fine by current judging standards, but those standards are poor. Kaliya then scored a 9.750 on a routine which saw her have a big lean after completing her full turn, which is an abnormal occurrence from a full turn. Konnor then scored a 9.550 on a routine that was filled with uncharacteristic mistakes. Thankfully, LSU built enough of a lead in the first three rotations to give Kailin a shot to clinch the meet herself with a 9.9+. She hit a very good beam routine for a 9.975 to do just that.
Final thoughts
LSU made improvements in key areas in this meet. Vault and floor looked fantastic, and bars looked solid. Beam was a bit wobbly, but nobody fell. LSU got gifts with some of the beam judging, but they were the better team across the 48 routines in this meet. Missouri gave things away that made this win possible. They’re still coming into their own as a team.
After three road trips to open the season, LSU gets the luxury of returning home for two straight meets. Up next on February 6, LSU will host Penn State in a non-conference dual meet.
I need to thank Ryan Cullinane of Missouri for helping me out Friday. Mizzou Arena is a gorgeous venue that’s worth a visit if you’re ever in the area. If they keep building the fanbase and get that arena closer to full capacity, it will be one of the toughest road environments in the nation.
Category: General Sports
