Da Boot Sports
4/17/2025
LSU Sports Communications
By: Alyssa Leal


   FORT WORTH – The No. 1 LSU Gymnastics team had their 2025 season come to a close in the evening session of the 2025 NCAA Championship Semifinals after finishing third with a 197.5250 team score on Thursday night in Dickies Arena. 

   No. 1 LSU finished behind Utah (197.7625) and UCLA (197.7375) in Thursday’s meet, who advanced to Saturday’s final round with their top two finishes. The Tigers defeated Michigan State (197.3625) on the night.

   Freshman phenom Kailin Chio wrapped up a sensational freshman campaign by claiming the 2025 NCAA Vault Champion title with her score of 9.9750, the 19th individual national championship won by a Tiger and eighth on vault. 

   The Tigers opened the night on the beam, with leadoff freshman Lexi Zeiss grabbing a 9.9000 to start things off. Junior Ashley Cowan scored a 9.8125 in the second spot, followed by a 9.8250 from freshman Kailin Chio in spot three. Senior Aleah Finnegan scored a 9.8500 in the fourth spot ahead of a 9.8750 from sophomore Konnor McClain. The anchor spot saw senior Haleigh Bryant score a 9.8750 of her own to give the Tigers a 49.3250 team score in the rotation.

   LSU was in third place after the opening rotation with a 49.3250, trailing UCLA (49.5250) and Michigan State (49.3875).

   Rotation two saw LSU compete on the beam. Graduate student Sierra Ballard scored a 9.8750 to open the rotation ahead of a 9.8000 from sophomore Kylie Coen in the second spot. Spot three saw Chio score a 9.8750 before sophomore Konnor McClain grabbed a 9.90 in spot four. Bryant scored a 9.8750 in the fifth spot before Finnegan concluded the rotation with a 9.2250 due to a fall from the beam. The rotation score came out to a 49.3250.

   At the halfway point, LSU’s 98.6500 ranked fourth in the meet behind Michigan State (98.8375), Utah (98.7750) and UCLA (98.7625).

   The third rotation took the Tigers to the floor, with sophomore Konnor McClain leading things off with a 9.8625. Ballard scored a 9.8250 in the second spot before Chio scored a 9.8875 in spot three. In the fourth spot, sophomore Amari Drayton scored a 9.9000 ahead of a 9.9375 from Finnegan in spot five. The anchor spot saw Bryant keep her strong night rolling with a 9.9125 to help boost the Tigers to a 49.5000 score for the rotation.

   Heading into the final rotation of the night, the margins were narrow, with LSU’s 148.1500 ranking them second behind UCLA (148.1875) and ahead of Utah (148.1125) and Michigan State (148.0000).

   LSU concluded the night on the vault, with senior KJ Johnson opening the rotation with a 9.8375. Zeiss scored a 9.8000 in spot two before Finnegan posted a 9.8500 score in the third spot and then a 9.8125 from Drayton after her. The fifth spot saw Chio execute a near perfect yurchenko one and a half that scored a 9.9750 and was followed up by a 9.9000 from Bryant in the anchor position to bring LSU’s final rotation score of the night to a 49.3750, which was not enough to bring the Tigers to a top two finish to advance to the final round on Saturday. 

   Individually, Chio’s 9.9750 stood alone at the top of the vault competition and meant that she took home the 2025 NCAA vault title. The win marked the first vault title won by a Tiger since 2021, when freshman Haleigh Bryant took home the crown. Chio joined elite company as she became the third freshman in program history to win an individual national championship along with Bryant and Kennedi Edney (2017).

   The Tigers score finished fourth across both semifinal sessions on Thursday. Finnegan and Bryant finished amongst the top 10 performers on the day. Bryant finished fifth on vault and tenth on floor while Finnegan finished fifth on floor.

   Chio finished tied with Bryant in sixth in the all-around in her first nationals appearance as a freshman. 

   LSU's third place finish brings an end to what has been a historical season for the Tigers that was highlighted by a regular season championship, its sixth SEC Championship title, their first No. 1 seed ever and the program's 15th regional championship.


2025 NCAA Championship Semifinal Scores (Both Sessions)


Semifinal I
Oklahoma 197.5500
Missouri 197.3000
Florida 197.2000
Alabama 196.8250

Semifinal II
Utah 197.7625
UCLA 197.7375
LSU 197.5250
Michigan State 197.3625

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Da Boot Sports
4/4/2025
LSU Sports Communications
By: Alyssa Leal


   ​STATE COLLEGE, PA – The No. 1 nationally ranked and top-seeded LSU Gymnastics team won the 2025 Penn State Regional after finishing on top of Saturday’s regional final with their score of 198.050 inside Rec Hall. LSU’s score on the day marked the first time in program history that the Tigers scored over a 198 in both regional rounds. 

   The Tigers claimed their 15th regional championship title in program history on Saturday. With the win, the program earned their 34th NCAA Championship appearance overall and their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championships. 

   “There’s no complaints after scoring a 198. It was tough to get out of this thing, and we did what we needed to do to win and advance,” said head coach Jay Clark. “We told them to focus on base hits, and that’s what they did. We understand that we need to be better to win a championship, but that’s not what tonight required.”
No. 1 LSU (198.050) defeated No. 8 Michigan State (198.00), No. 9 Kentucky (197.625) and No. 16 Arkansas (197.325) in Saturday’s final to finish in the top two and advance to the NCAA Semifinals.

   MSU's second-place finish on the night was its best regional final finish in the current regional format introduced in 2019. The Spartans will make just their second appearance in program history at the NCAA Championships and first since 1988.

   Two Tigers earned individual titles on the night - Senior Aleah Finnegan won the floor title with her 9.975 and claimed a share of the beam title with her 9.950. The reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Kailin Chio also claimed a share of the beam title with a 9.950 of her own.

   Both of their scores on the night landed third in the LSU record books for highest individual event scores at a regional.

   LSU opened the meet on bars, where freshman Lexi Zeiss matched her career-high on the event with a 9.925 in the opening spot. Junior Ashley Cowan scored a 9.875 in the followup spot ahead of a 9.900 from freshman Kailin Chio in the third spot. Spot four saw senior Aleah Finnegan score a 9.850, followed by another 9.850 score from sophomore Konnor McClain in the fifth spot. Senior Haleigh Bryant anchored the rotation with a 9.900, taking the team’s score in the opening event to a 49.450.

   LSU narrowly led the meet after the first rotation, holding a narrow lead over Michigan State (49.425) and Arkansas (49.400).

   The second rotation saw the Tigers on beam. Graduate student Sierra Ballard set the tone for a strong rotation with a 9.90 in the leadoff spot. Sophomore Kylie Coen hit a career-high 9.925 in the second spot, followed by Chio matching her career-high with a 9.950 in spot three. The fourth spot saw McClain hit a 9.925 ahead of another 9.925 from Bryant in the fifth spot. The anchor spot saw Finnegan score a 9.950, taking the team score on beam to a stellar 49.675.


   The 49.675 is a program-high on beam for LSU in an NCAA Regional, beating the previous high of a 49.600 scored at the 2014 Baton Rouge Regional. The lowest score dropped in the rotation was a 9.900 as all six Tigers in the lineup posted scores of 9.9+.

   At the halfway point, LSU held onto the lead with a 99.125 score, with Michigan State (99.075) holding the second spot over Arkansas (98.900) and Kentucky (98.700).

   Rotation three took the Tigers to floor, where Coen scored a 9.850 in the opening spot. Ballard earned a 9.900 in the second spot ahead of a return to the floor lineup for McClain, who scored a 9.900 in her first floor routine of the 2025 season. Sophomore Amari Drayton added a 9.925 in the fourth spot before Finnegan performed a nearly flawless routine on her way to a 9.975. Bryant anchored the event with a 9.875, taking the total for the event to a 49.575.

   The 49.575 was the second highest floor score of the 2025 season for the Tigers, and the fourth highest score on the floor at an NCAA Regional in program history. Heading into the final rotation of the night, LSU’s 148.700 topped, followed by Michigan State (148.650), Kentucky (148.225) and Arkansas (148.125).

   The final rotation saw LSU on vault, where senior KJ Johnson scored a 9.900 in the leadoff spot. Zeiss scored a 9.825 in the second spot before Finnegan added a 9.825 of her own in spot three. Drayton scored a 9.900 in the fourth spot, followed by a 9.750 from Chio. The meet was closed out by Bryant, who scored a 9.900 to end the day and bring the team’s rotation score to a 49.350. That score was enough to bring the overall score to a 198.050 and clinch the regional title for the Tigers, narrowly edging out Michigan State’s 198.000.

   LSU’s 198.050 score on Saturday marked the sixth consecutive meet that the Tigers scored a 198.000 or higher, which is the longest streak in program history and the second longest streak in NCAA history.

   Finnegan earned two more event titles on the night, moving her career total to 43, with 17 of those coming on floor, 13 on beam, six on vault, one on bars and six in the all-around. Her 17 career floor titles is the sixth most in LSU history.

   Chio added one more to her resume, now with 23 titles in her young career. 

   LSU and Michigan State were the first two teams to advance to the NCAA Championships along with UCLA and Utah from the Salt Lake City Regional. There are two remaining regional finals set to be played out on Sunday, April 6, to determine the last four teams who will make up the Elite Eight. 

   The remaining teams fighting for their spot at nationals are Oklahoma, Missouri, Auburn and Arizona in the Seattle Regional Final and Florida, Auburn, Alabama and Cal at the Tuscaloosa Regional Final.

   The top eight teams will compete in two sessions of the NCAA Championship Semifinals on Thursday, April 27 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The top two teams from each semifinal session will advance to the final four and compete for the national title. 

   Both semifinals on April 17th will air on ESPN2, and the National Championship on Saturday, April 19 will be broadcast live at 3 p.m. CT on ABC. 

Da Boot Sports
4/3/2025
LSU Sports Communications
By: Alyssa Leal


   STATE COLLEGE, Penn. – The top-seeded LSU Gymnastics team claimed their spot in NCAA Penn State Regional Final after scoring a 198.100 in the second round on Thursday night in Rec Hall.

   LSU’s 198.100 topped the evening session, with No. 16 Arkansas coming in second with a 197.550 to join the Tigers in advancing to the next round of regionals. Michigan and Maryland were eliminated from the competition with scores of 197.050 and 196.825 respectively.

   The Tigers claimed at least a share of three individual titles on the night. Senior Aleah Finnegan claimed a share of the beam title (9.950), floor (9.925) and the all-around (39.625). The 2025 SEC Freshman of the Year Kailin Chio joined her teammate, also claiming a share of the floor (9.925) and all-around (39.625) titles.

   “We did what we needed to do. The team stayed in the right headspace with our base hit mentality like we did at SEC’s,” said head coach Jay Clark. “I talked to them about joy and intensity this week. Those seem like two different things, but it’s not an either or thing for us, it’s an ‘and’ because we need to have both. That’s our model for success.”

   “They did a great job of staying in that mindset tonight. We didn’t execute everything flawlessly, but it was certainly enough and we stayed pretty even with our NQS.”

   LSU opened the night on the floor, where sophomore Kylie Coen marked her NCAA postseason debut with a 9.875. Senior Sierra Ballard scored a 9.0 in the second spot, followed by a strong 9.925 from Chio in spot three. The fourth spot saw sophomore Drayton post a 9.900 ahead of a 9.925 from Finnegan to keep the high scores coming. The anchor spot saw senior Haleigh Bryant score a 9.900 to give the Tigers five counting scores at a 9.90 or above on their first rotation.

   The Tigers held the top spot of the four teams after the first rotation with a 49.550. The strong score on the floor marked the fourth highest floor score at an NCAA Regional in program history.

   Rotation two took the Tigers to vault, where senior KJ Johnson opened things up with a 9.900. Freshman Lexi Zeiss did not flinch in the second spot as she scored a 9.90 in her first NCAA postseason routine on vault. The third spot had Finnegan score a 9.85, followed by a 9.90 from Drayton in spot four. Chio posted a 9.90 of her own in the fifth spot before Bryant anchored the rotation for the Tigers with a 9.90. With the Tigers counting five scores of 9.90, the rotation total came out to a 49.500.

   At the halfway point, LSU’s 99.050 remained on top of the four teams in the session.

   The third rotation saw LSU move to the uneven bars. Zeiss set the tone for the rotation with a 9.900 in the leadoff spot, followed by a strong 9.925 from junior Ashley Cowan in spot two. Three straight 9.900s followed, with Chio, Finnegan and sophomore Konnor McClain all posting the same score in that order. Bryant anchored the rotation with a 9.875, which meant for the third straight event the Tigers counted only scores of 9.900 or higher. The team’s 49.525 score tied for the second highest in program history at an NCAA regional.

   Heading into the final rotation of the night, LSU’s 148.575 was the top score of the group, with Arkansas’ 148.075 trailing in second.

   The Tigers ended the night on the beam and were led off by a 9.850 from Ballard in the opening spot. The second spot saw Coen score a 9.875 before Chio added a 9.900 in spot three. McClain carried momentum from a solid floor performance to the beam, where she scored a 9.900 before Bryant posted a 9.900 of her after her in the fifth spot. The final performance of the night fell to Finnegan, who scored a 9.950 to bring the rotation score to a solid 49.525, which tied for the second highest beam score in program history at an NCAA Regional.

   LSU wrapped up the night with a 198.100, the third highest score at an NCAA Regional in program history, comfortably booking their spot into the regional final round on Saturday. It marks the third consecutive season that the Tigers advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

   Finnegan will take a part of the Penn State Regional Beam title with her 9.950 performance on the night. She shares the title with Kentucky’s Isabella Magnelli and Maryland’s Maddie Komoroski. The individual regional title marks her second straight after taking home the floor title in the Fayetteville Regional last year.

   With her three event titles in the second session, Finnegan now owns 41 titles in her career while Chio moved her total to 22. 

   The Tigers and Razorbacks will be joined by No. 8 Michigan State and No. 9 Kentucky in Saturday’s final after they finished in the top two in the afternoon session earlier in the day. Michigan State took home the top spot of the afternoon session with a 197.625 while Kentucky finished in second with a 197.525, eliminating Ohio State (196.400) and regional host Penn State (196.225) in the process.

   LSU, Arkansas, Michigan State and Kentucky will compete in the regional final at 4 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 5. The top two teams in the regional final will advance to the NCAA semifinal round in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 17. Action from Saturday’s regional final will be streamed on ESPN+.

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