 Photo By: LSUsports.net Da Boot Sports 1/10/2026 LSU Sports Communications By: Alyssa Leal WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah. – The LSU Gymnastics team opened the 2026 season with a solid 197.500 performance on Saturday afternoon in the first session of the third annual Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad. The Tigers finished the meet tied in first with Oklahoma, who won the session after a tiebreaker was conducted that counted all six scores from each event and resulted in an Oklahoma win. LSU’s 197.500 on the day was their second-highest score for an away opener in program history, only trailing last year’s 197.650 score at the Sprouts Quad in Tulsa. Senior Emily Innes was the Tigers’ first routine of the 2026 season, opening up with a 9.875 on floor in her Tiger debut. In her first collegiate routine, freshman Nina Ballou followed with a 9.825 before junior transfer Madison Ulrich kept the rotation moving with a 9.775. Junior Amari Drayton scored a 9.025 in the third spot following a fall ahead of sophomore Kailin Chio, who executed a strong 9.900 in the fourth spot, the highest score of the rotation for the Tigers. The rotation concluded with a 9.850 from sophomore Kaliya Lincoln to bring LSU’s team score to a 49.225. After one rotation, LSU’s 49.225 placed third in the meet behind UCLA (49.425) and Oklahoma (49.350) and ahead of fourth place Utah’s 47.825. The second rotation took the Tigers to the vault, where sophomore Lexi Zeiss led off in the opening spot with a strong 9.850 routine. In only her second routine as a Tiger, Ulrich then delivered a 9.900 in the second spot followed by a 9.850 from sophomore Victoria Roberts, who made her first collegiate appearance in the vault lineup. Fifth-year senior transfer Courtney Blackson posted a 9.825 in her first routine as a Tiger ahead of Drayton’s 9.250. Chio rounded out the rotation with a well-executed Yurchenko one and a half that scored a 9.900 in the anchor spot. LSU finished with a 49.325 team score for the rotation. At the halfway point, LSU sat in second place on the leaderboard with a 98.600 behind Oklahoma (98.825) and ahead of UCLA (98.550) and Utah (96.925). LSU moved to bars for rotation three, where all six Tigers posted strong performances from top to bottom. Zeiss led off once again and got the lineup started with her score of 9.875. Veteran Ashley Cowan began her senior year with a 9.900 in the second spot before Ulrich matched her score and added a 9.900 of her own. Chio posted a 9.850 in the fourth spot, which set the stage for Blackson to come in and post the highest score of the rotation with a massive routine and stuck landing that matched her career-high 9.950. In her first appearance of her junior season, Konnor McClain anchored with a 9.925 to bring LSU’s total to a 49.550. The Tigers’ 148.150 remained in second place following Oklahoma’s 148.325 heading into the final rotation of the meet. UCLA and Utah trailed the two SEC teams with their 147.725 and 146.525, respectively. The final rotation brought LSU to beam, where junior Kylie Coen showed out in the leadoff spot with a 9.900. Zeiss earned a score of 9.850 in the second slot after an inquiry was made. Lincoln and Ulrich competed in spots three and four and earned back-to-back scores of 9.825. Chio delivered a 9.950 in usual fashion to hold down the fifth spot before McClain closed with a 9.65 in the anchor spot to round out LSU’s total to a 49.350. LSU finished the meet with a 197.500 to share the top spot with Oklahoma, but the Sooners eventually claimed the win by tiebreaker. UCLA finished third with a 197.000 while Utah finished fourth at 195.900. In the first meet of her sophomore season, Chio wasted no time and took home the all-around title with her total of 39.600 on the day. She took home a share of the beam title with her 9.950 and finished third on floor with her 9.900. Blackson also finished the meet tied for first on bars with her score of 9.950, claiming her first individual title as a Tiger. Five gymnasts made their LSU debuts on Saturday afternoon in the Maverik Center. Ballou and Roberts made their collegiate debuts while transfers Blackson, Innes and Ulrich made their first appearances as Tigers. The Tigers will continue their road action on Friday, January 16, as they take on Georgia at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network inside Stegman Coliseum. *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior) *John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
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