Gymnastics Finishes Fifth at SEC Championships

Photo By: Terrill Weil

Da Boot Sports
3/19/2022
LSU Sports Communications
By: Brandon Berrio


​   ​BIRMINGHAM -  The LSU Gymnastics team scored a 196.725 at the 2022 Southeastern Conference Gymnastics Championships to finish fifth overall Saturday night at Legacy Arena.
 
LSU will now await its seeding and placement for NCAA postseason. The selections how will be at 11 a.m. CT Tuesday on NCAA.com.
 
“There was nothing glaring today or in warmups that indicated this performance was coming,” head coach Jay Clark said. “We were pressing too much and could not settle it down. It snowballed on us, and we could not regain our composure. There is no doubt that it was disappointing.
 
“We know this is not the end though. We have four more weeks, and we must get back in the gym and process what happened and fix it. A lot of our goals are still in front of us. I still believe in this team, but we must reassess everything and use these weeks off to reboot and get it right.”
 
The Tigers were unable to claw their way into the meet after opening the night with a 48.575 on bars. Haleigh Bryant led the way with a 9.925 on the event followed by Alyona Shchennikova with a 9.90. Olivia Dunne scored a 9.875 and Elena Arenas earned a 9.625. LSU also counted a score of 9.25 from Sami Durante.
 
The squad rebounded in a big way on beam with a 49.550 for the highest score at an SEC meet in school history. Christina Desiderio led off with a 9.90 and Bridget Dean scored a 9.875 in the third spot. Bryant matched her career high of 9.95 and Aleah Finnegan also matched her career high in her first SEC meet with a 9.925. Kiya Johnson anchored the event with a 9.90.
 
LSU moved to floor and scored a 49.325. Desiderio and Kiya Johnson each scored a 9.90. Bryant and Shchennikova earned a 9.85 and LSU also counted a 9.825 from Finnegan.
 
In the final rotation, LSU was unable to find its landings and wrapped up with a 49.275. KJ Johnson led the way with a 9.90. Kiya Johnson and Sarah Edwards both earned a 9.875. Elena Arenas scored a 9.80 and Shchennikova put up a 9.825.
 

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