Aleah Finnegan knew that LSU was a beam team, it just took some time for others to see it as well.
“I don’t think we have a weak event. I think we’re pretty even through all four events. We’re finally just showing how capable we are on that event,” Finnegan stated after No. 3 LSU defeated No. 12 Auburn, 198.300 to 197.100, and ended the evening with her fifth perfect 10 of her career and third on floor exercise.
Before floor, Finnegan found herself repeating a phrase that is new to her but has been helping her mindset in competition. “I told myself to throw my brain out. I really just tried to think less, and it’s so helpful having a team around you that constantly believes in you and is trusting that you are going to do exactly what you need to do.”
Finnegan’s night started out with the NCAA competitive debut of her Yurchenko one and a half, earning a 9.950 with a 10.0 from one judge. It was a move that head coach Jay Clark says has been intended all season but was delayed due to a minor wrist injury.
“It was easier on her wrist to turn and come into the table forward, so that’s why we went back to the [Omelianchik]. I realize she’s going to land [the Yurchenko vault] better, but it’s about her health.”
While LSU was on vault, Auburn started its evening with a 49.100 on bars. Head coach Jeff Graba could see that his team was a little tight and it reflected in the scores. “We’ve [struggled] this year starting slow,” Graba remarked. “You just can’t do that, especially in this arena against this team.”
Moving into the second rotation, Auburn started to loosen up on vault. Freshman Julianne Huff led the Tigers with a 9.925 on vault, tying her career-high. Graba stated that Huff has had a massive impact on his team as a freshman, but an ankle injury a few weeks back has limited her.
“Part of our problem is we don’t have her on more events. Hopefully we can expand her role as we move forward because if we do, I think that helps our scoring potential.”
As Auburn moved onto the floor in rotation three, LSU headed to beam. Sierra Ballard, Clark’s self-proclaimed “fire-starter,” led off the record-tying rotation with a 9.875. That score was dropped after the next five gymnasts all scored 9.925 or higher. Konnor McClain, limited to beam after nursing a back issue, won the beam title with a 9.975, a score that Clark says could have been worthy of a 10.0. Auburn, meanwhile, rebounded from a Hannah Hagle fall in the second spot to score a 49.300 on floor, led by Olivia Hollingsworth’s 9.900.
In the final rotation, Auburn took its confidence from floor and headed to beam. Gabby McLaughlin and Sophia Groth led the Tigers with 9.925s, a season-high score for Groth on the event. LSU started floor with a 9.775 from Ballard after an out-of-bounds call that Clark intended to file an inquiry on.
It ended up being unimportant, as Amari Drayton, KJ Johnson and Haleigh Bryant all scored 9.925 and Finnegan tallied a perfect 10. Olivia Dunne was subbed in for Kiya Johnson in the anchor slot, a move that Clark said was based on how Dunne had been performing in practice after Johnson noted some sore feet.
“Once we had a handle on what the score was looking like, we made the switch. I knew [Dunne] was going to go out and give us a little bit more to bring up our NQS.”
As NQS rankings begin soon, both coaches are looking to put their teams up against the best of the best and hit when it counts. “We can be in the hunt with anybody we’re up against, but we got to take our stuff on the road,” Graba noted.
For Clark, a potential showdown for the SEC regular-season title awaits at No. 6 Florida next weekend, but he says that’s not part of his team’s conversations.
“Championships are something that we have in mind, but it’s not something we put a whole lot of emphasis on right now. We’re going to measure ourselves week after week on what we do until the end, and then when we’re all on the same floor, [we’ll] see what happens.”
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Article by Savanna Wellman
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