Tiger

NATIONAL CHAMPS!!!!

It’s been quite a run for LSU Athletics since the football team went undefeated and was possibly the greatest college football team of all time. Since then, LSU has won numerous national titles for individuals, as well as in women’s basketball, baseball, and now gymnastics. LSU had made the post-season thirty-three times but had never won the title (only seven teams had accounted for all of them since the NCAA recognized the sport in 1982; LSU is now the eighth), always be referred to as “the only top program to never have a national title.”

That is no longer true.

I don’t remember when Paul and I started following LSU Gymnastics, but it’s been a really long time. It seems like we’ve always watched, but I know that isn’t true; it wasn’t always aired, although collegiate women’s gymnastics seems to be getting more and more popular. It certainly has caught on in Louisiana, where Tiger fans pack the PMAC (Pete Marovich Assembly Center) for every home meet; LSU fans turn out for almost all LSU sports; which is why Omaha loves it when LSU is in the College World Series. The bar that has the shots contest every College World Series tweeted at LSU fans the other day, asking hopefully if LSU would be coming back this year. The College World Series was a lot of fun last year, and an epic story of LSU coming out of nowhere and winning it all.

Last year, LSU’s gymnastics team had a lot of adversity. Several major competitors went out for the season with injuries, but they fought back and through and surprised everyone by making it into the Final Four. They came in fourth, but just making it that far was a huge accomplishment. With some great new freshmen this year and the injured stars back, there was a very good possibility that LSU, ranked number two for most of the season, could win it all–but they would have to hit every routine to have a chance against two-time defending champion Oklahoma, an unbeaten juggernaut that just kept showing up and scoring big. Towards the end of the season, LSU continued scoring consistently over 198–an important benchmark. But then Oklahoma had to count three falls in the semi-finals, while Florida and Utah sailed right past them into the finals. LSU also scored over 198 again in the semis–with a really bad vault rotation for them–vault has been their weakness all season. Yesterday they started on floor, got a huge score, and then went to vault, where they feel behind Utah. A subpar bars rotation–they usually do better–pulled them back ahead again, and then came the balance beam. Sierra Ballard kicked off beam with a 9.95, but then the next competitor fell off the beam!

OH NO!

So, we were on the edge of our seats for the rest of the beam…but everyone else scored over a 9.9. When final competitor Aleah Finnegan mounted the beam, she only needed a 9.75 to clinch it for LSU, and she nailed it with another score over 9.9, and that was it….our Tigers were national champions!

GEAUX TIGERS!

And wonderful Hayleigh Bryant won the all around the night before, which was awesome.

And there was much joy in the Lost Apartment.