Welcome to Tiger Town. Three teams of Tigers, plus Nebraska as the round-one winner, will battle for the final two spots in the regional final. The top two finishers will join the qualifiers from the first semifinal for a chance to advance to Fort Worth.
LSU looks to rebound after miscues on its strongest events dropped it from first to third at SECs. The last time Kailin Chio competed in the PMAC, she delivered a perfect 30 with 10s on vault, beam, and floor. Feeding off the home crowd will be key as the Tigers aim to reestablish their dominance.
Auburn, meanwhile, has battled injuries all season and will again be shorthanded. Katelyn Jong recently underwent another surgery and is unlikely to compete, putting added pressure on contributors like Marissa Neal and Julianne Huff to deliver.
Clemson enters with momentum after capturing the ACC title in a historic season under its new staff. The Tigers begin on bars—the same event that clinched their championship—where they posted multiple 9.900s last time out from Hannah Clark, Quinn Kuhl, Lilly Lippeatt, and Emma Malewski.
Nebraska earned its berth here tonight through an impressive victory over Air Force in the play-in round. The Huskers shined on vault where they stuck four of six vaults, highlighted by Reese Baechle’s 9.875 on her tucked Yurchenko one-and-a-half. They will want to clean up mistakes on bars and floor; they avoided counting a fall yesterday and cannot do so today if they want a chance to be the Cinderella team in this regional.
Individual competitors from West Virginia, Western Michigan, and Air Force will also take the floor, with their performances playing a key role in determining individual qualifiers to nationals. Look for Maggie Slife of Air Force to be in contention here after her 39.550 in the all-around yesterday against Nebraska.
Rotation 1: LSU VT, Clemson UB, Auburn BB, Nebraska FX
LSU VT
Zeiss: Y 1.5, some bent arms on the block, tiny hop forward on the landing.
McClain: Y full, tiny bit of shoulder angle on the block, no movement on the landing.
Roberts: FHS pike half, good distance from the table, hop backwards on the landing.
Lincoln: Y 1.5, lot of height off the table, tiniest foot adjustment on the landing.
Drayton: Y 1.5, bent elbows, some directionality issues, had to take a step to the side.
Chio: Y 1.5, typical stuck vault from Chio. PMAC crowd already calling for a 10. Not sure if they’ll throw that this early, but it was still a really good vault.
Greene (Air Force): Aww her teammates are right behind the vault table cheering her on! Y full, good height and distance, no movement on the landing. The LSU faithful have basically adopted her as their own.
Clemson UB
Lippeatt: Ray to overshoot, lost her toe point in the air ever so slightly, holds her final handstand, blind full to double tuck dismount with a stick.
H. Clark: Hits her release move to the overshoot, nice straight arms throughout, stuck dismount. 2/2 so far for the orange and white!
Malewski: Maloney to Pak combination is clean, tiny bit short on the final handstand. Blind full to double tuck with another stick! Clemson dialed in!
Berry: Maloney to Pak, beautiful body position on the Pak, didn’t quite finish the half pirouette, short on the final handstand, hop backwards on the DLO dismount.
Cesario: Blind to straddle to immediate overshoot, hits her handstands, step backwards on the double layout.
Kuhl: Has a good routine going, had to take an extra circle on the low bar, this will likely be the drop score, takes a step on her DLO dismount.
Bigler (Air Force): Short on the first handstand, blind full to Geinger to immediate overshoot, looked like she had straight arms all the way through. Full twisting DLO dismount with a slight foot adjustment on the landing.
Auburn BB
Ahern: No issues with the wolf turn, BHS LOSO, dances out of it. Cat leap to switch side clean, hop forward on her 1.5 dismount.
Zancan: Gorgeous handstand press mount to open, BHS LOSO clean. Front toss to beat jump is solid, RO 1.5 dismount, steps off the mat but stays on her feet.
Huff: side aerial to LOSO, little lean afterwards but stays on. Nice extension in her leap series. BHS gainer full dismount. Needing to get some higher scores here to avoid counting a 9.500
Hagle: Beautiful full turn to open, front aerial to BHS series, kept her arms moving. Side aerial has a tiny balance check. Split jump to split ring to BHS swingdown, super flowy throughout her skills. Gainer pike off the end with a stick.
Irvine: This is one I’m watching for an individual spot. Front toss to BHS, some looseness. Moonwalk is a hit with the PMAC. Switch leap to one-handed BHS, right into tucked gainer full dismount.
Neal: Missed this with the Chio 10. Scored a 9.825, so Auburn drops Zancan’s 9.500.
Slife (Air Force); BHS LOSO solid. NAILS that front toss, my goodness! Switch leap straddle quarter good. RO 1.5 dismount with a stick.
Nebraska FX
Gard: Had some issues with this routine yesterday, let’s see if she can bounce back. Hits her first pass, minor form issues in her leap series. Front layout front full is solid, third pass is where she fell yesterday. Goes for the double pike and nails it today! Good for her!
Baechle: Double twist to open, bit out of control on the landing. Back 1.5 to front full much better. Love her choreography on this!
Sikon: Sticks her back 1.5 to front full cold. Double back is solid. Nebraska so far doing better than what they did yesterday three routines in!
Kraus: Double tuck was solid. Kraus is having to compete with all this chaos in the background, doesn’t phase her a bit. Back 1.5 to front layout was really nicely done! Finishing with a double pike, steps forward on the landing.
Shaver: Front tuck through to double tuck clean. Bit of a low chest on the double pike but otherwise a solid routine.
Homecillo: Wonder if her music will stay on today? Solid double pike, bit of a low chest position on that landing. Back 1.5 to front layout, good rise on the front layout. Leaps well over 180, double tuck to end it, better chest position but I would’ve liked higher.
E. Smith (WVU): RO tucked full-in, that takes a lot of power and she did it flawlessly. Well over 180 on her straddles. FLO to Rudi, very well done routine from the sophomore!
AFTER ONE: LSU 49.475, Clemson 49.200, Nebraska 49.125, Auburn 49.000
LSU solidly in the lead after one with Chio getting (another) perfect 10 on vault, but that second spot is anybody’s. Nebraska is right there with Clemson for the second spot after improving its floor score by a tenth from yesterday, while Auburn is only two tenths behind and appears to have put that beamplosion from SECs behind it.
Rotation 2: Nebraska VT, LSU UB, Clemson BB, Auburn FX
Nebraska VT
Griffin: Y full, some elbow bend on the table, step back on the landing.
Peterson: Y full, lots of distance and power, takes a big hop backwards out of it
Baechle: Tucked Y 1.5, really wanted to stick it like she did yesterday, but underrotates and takes a step back.
Pech: Y 1.5, another underrotation with a couple steps backwards.
Sikon: Y full, good height and distance and there’s the stick Nebraska was looking for!
Shaver: Missed this one.
Rice (WVU): Tsuk full, lacked some distance from the table, side step on the landing.
LSU UB
Zeiss: Maloney to Pak, straight arms throughout. Finishes the pirouette on the low bar, FTDT dismount with a stick
Cowan: Ray to overshoot, she’s had some issues on that connection this year, but hits it today. DLO dismount with a stick. Lol Jay Clark had to tell her to salute afterwards.
Ulrich: Maloney to Pak salto is clean, gorgeous handstands throughout, DLO dismount with a tiny hop back on the landing.
Chio: Pretty first handstand, Maloney to Pak is good. Blind to Khorkina, catches it with straight arms, FTDT dismount with a stick. Judges are going to back themselves into a corner really quickly.
Blackson: Bail to a nice tight handstand. Blind to Khorkina, lots of height on that. DLO dismount with an arm swing and a stick.
McClain: Hits her Church to Pak connection gorgeously today, FTDT dismount, no issues on that with a stick. If that’s not a 10, this place will riot.
Greene (Air Force): Blind to straddle Jaeger, had nowhere near enough to catch it and goes down with a fall. Continues where she left off, takes a step forward on her dismount with low chest position.
Clemson BB
Lippeatt: Slight balance check on the front aerial, repeats it and connects it to the side aerial. Handstand down to the beam is good. RO 1.5 dismount with a small movement of the feet on the landing.
B. Clark: Front toss to beat jump, good amplitude on the beat jump. BHS LOSO, slight balance lean out of it. Straddle jump to straddle quarter, well over 180. Punch 1.5 off with a solid landing.
Malewski: Side aerial to BHS series, clean. Switch leap split jump over 180, okay flexibility with the leg lift. Gainer pike dismount with a step forward on the landing.
Walsh: BHS LOSO was solid, front toss was really nicely done. Oh, now there’s booing. Okay. RO 1.5 dismount with a stick.
Cesario: Hits her series with no problems. Hitch kick to side aerial to beat jump, good connection. Switch leap to split jump, RO 1.5 with a stick.
Kuhl: BHS BHS LOSO, solid. No notes. Leap series looked really good (even with the boos in the crowd). Overcooks the full turn but locks in on the 1.5 with a stick.
Bigler (Air Force): BHS LOSO solid. Cat leap to side aerial, missed her feet on the edge of the beam and comes off. Remounts and continues. Beat jump to straddle half, RO 1.5 dismount with a stick.
Auburn FX
Irvine: I understand why she took the triple turn out but I miss it. Stumbles out of her combination pass. Not the cleanest, but it’s a hit.
Bartman: Slight looseness on her first pass. Hits her double wolf turn nicely. Double pike second pass, low chest position on that landing.
Ahern: FHS to Rudi to layout, this music’s giving techno vibes and I love it. Back 1.5 to front layout, I swear she was going out of bounds and saved it somehow. Switch leap to straddle jump, nice amplitude. Double wolf turn to close it, solid rotation going so far.
O. Greaves: Front through to double tuck nicely done. Lacked a bit of split on her switch ring half jump. Double pike, nice control on the landing.
Huff: Nice height on the opening pass. Hits her straddle well over 180. Switch ring position is really nice and high off the ground. Front layout to front full to punch front was REALLY close to OOB, but keeps it in.
Neal: Slides her feet back ever so slightly on her second pass. Otherwise a solid routine.
Slife (Air Force): Some slight leg separation on her first tumbling pass. Switch side half straddle jump, leaps over 180. Back 1.5 to front full, nice control on that landing. Her night is going really well so far.
AFTER TWO: LSU 99.100, Clemson 98.425, Auburn 98.275, Nebraska 97.475
Little bit more separation for that second spot but it’s still a tight one here in Baton Rouge. LSU goes 49.625 on bars, which is a season high. Clemson had a solid showing on beam and a judges conference brought its score up by a quarter of a tenth while Auburn keeps itself in contention for that second spot with a deficit of just under two tenths.
Rotation 3: Auburn VT, Nebraska UB, LSU BB, Clemson FX
Auburn VT
Bluffstone: Y 1.5, good height, some directionality with some foot movement on the landing.
Leverton: Y 1.5, beautiful block, nice straight arms on the table, tiniest foot adjustment on the landing.
Neal: Y 1.5, good height and distance, tiniest foot movement at the end but definitely one of her better vaults.
Huff: Y 1.5, LOTS of height but underrotates it and sits it down. Auburn had the momentum, can it get it back?
Zancan: llg, good height and distance, step forward on the landing.
Torry: Y 1.5, solid with a hop
Slife (Air Force): Y 1.5, good block off the table, slight foot movement on the landing.
Nebraska UB
Burns: Blind to Jaeger, overcooks the handstand right after it and comes off. Remounts, short on her final handstand, DLO dismount with a stick.
Griffin: Had some short handstands, toe on front tuck half dismount, had to take a step on the landing.
Sikon: Only caught the dismount of this one, blind full to double tuck dismount with a stick.
Shaver: Good routine going, Maloney to Pak was solid. Hop backwards on the dismount.
Kraus: Nice arms on her catches, takes a stutter step on her dismount.
Peterson: Maloney to bail to handstand is good, deep landing on her FTDT and has to hop backwards.
Samuelson (WMU): Blind to straddle Jaeger, some flexed feet int he air. Switch kip was actually really clean, normally I hate those. DLO dismount with a foot adjustment on the landing.
LSU BB
Coen: Front aerial to beat jump, loose knees in the aerial. BHS LOSO, solid. Leaps looked really good, RO double full dismount with a stick.
Zeiss: Deep waist bend on the front aerial, first miscue from LSU tonight. Front aerial to BHS, repeated the aerial so she could get credit for having a series. Double wolf turn is solid.
Drayton: Switch half little short of 180, hits her series. Sticks her double full dismount.
Lincoln: Hits her series, I really appreciate how well she’s done this season competing beam. Switch leap split jump at 180. RO 1.5 dismount with a stick.
McClain: Split jump to switch half to beat jump, had a noticeable lean between skills. Front aerial BHS is clean. Holds that releve position after the full turn. Gainer full dismount with a stick.
Chio: Solid on her opening. Good split positions in the air. BHS 1.5 dismount with a step forward. Won’t be another 10, but should help drop Zeiss’s 9.750
Greene (Air Force): Switch leap switch leap, little below 180. Fall on the standing LOSO, finishes with her dismount, foot movement on the landing.
Clemson FX
Lippeatt: FLO to Rudi, low chest position on the Rudi. Leaps over 180, good position in the air. Back 1.5 to FLO, dances out of it to finish the routine.
Holman: Missed most of this, no major deductions to report.
Arnold: OOB on her first pass. Little short of rotation on her leap passes. Double tuck last pass, slides her foot backwards on the landing.
Walsh: Gets her backwards tumbling element on the RO BHS. Switch leap to switch ring half, little bit of looseness in the ring position. Rudi to close it out.
Cesario: Missed this but I believe she had an issue with her last pass.
Clark: Here we gooooo. Nails her first pass. Front layout front full punch front, leaps well over 180! Gets a huge roar from the crowd at Clemson will drop Cesario’s 9.000
Bigler (Air Force): Double twist opening pass, steps out of it. Leaps were a little out of control, RO 2.5 twist, quick step forward out of it to try to keep it in control. Back 1.5 to front layout, lacked some rise between skills.
AFTER THREE: LSU 148.675, Clemson 147.575, Auburn 147.525, Nebraska 146.350
Purple and gold tigers are on pace for a 198, but this second spot is going to come down to the final routine. Clemson and Auburn are a half a tenth apart and both are heading to their lower ranking events. Get your popcorn ready, this is going to be a nail biter.
Rotation 4: Clemson VT, Auburn UB, Nebraska BB, LSU FX
Clemson VT
B. Clark: Tsuk full, had the distance, had the landing. Watch closely because every tenth is going to matter.
Minner: Tucked 1.5, adjusts her feet on the landing, but a clean vault.
Holman: FHS pike half, good block off the table, slide backwards on the landing.
Cesario: Y full, piked down just a tiny bit, little hop backwards on the landing.
Walsh: Y 1.5, some elbow bend off the table with a hop back, but she stayed on her feet and that gives Clemson an advantage.
Anastasi: Y full, really solid height and distance, tiny step back on the landing. Good for her, she had some issues in warmups, glad to see her lock in and get it done.
Bigler (Air Force): Y 1.5, side steps out of it.
Auburn UB
Huff: Maloney to bail to handstand, nearly overshoots her handstand on the low bar, sticks her dismount.
Booth: Maloney to Pak combination, Van Leeuwen to high bar, DLO dismount, piked down ever so slightly, but gets the landing.
Bartman: Short on the first handstand, blind to Jaeger to overshoot is good. takes two steps backwards out of her double front dismount. Are those steps going to cost Auburn?? 9.700, you cannot count that.
O. Greaves: Pak salto down to the low, Van Leeuwen back up to the high bar, FTDT, stumbles backwards out of it and ends up sitting it down. Ugh.
Boyd: Nice first handstand, Maloney to Pak, loses her form in the air and touches the mat with her feet. Stalder to double tuck dismount with a step backwards on the landing. That’ll probably be the final nail in the coffin for Auburn.
Irvine: Blind to piked Jaeger as the crowd goes wild for another incredible Chio score and she misses the bar and falls. My heart hurts. Remounts and restarts and misses it again. I don’t think she’s missed this routine all year. Continues where she left off, FTDT with a step back.
Slife (Air Force): Maloney to Pak, beautiful handstands throughout, Toe on to FTDT, I thought she was about to hit the bar, but naturally she sticks it.
Nebraska BB
Gard: BHS LOSO, leans to the side for a balance break. Recovers on the full turn. Beat jump to side aerial, nicely done. Switch leap switch leap, lifts her leg after the second switch and can’t stay on the beam. Gainer pike dismount with a foot adjustment on the landing.
Homecillo: Came back strong after Gard’s fall, hits her 1.5 dismount with an arm swing.
Sikon: Missed most of this, I’m locked into the Auburn-Clemson, sorry 🙁
Kraus: Hits her series, tucked gainer full off the end of the beam. Nebraska isn’t going to advance but what a season it has had.
Burns: BHS LO LOSO, takes it to the end of the beam but stays on. Pretty full turn. RO 1.5 dismount with a stick.
Griffin: Front toss to BHS, arm movement is questionable between skills. Switch leap to split jump, another questionable connection with the arms. RO 1.5 dismount with a step forward.
Lowe (WVU): Missed this routine, but she did have a fall on her series 🙁
LSU FX
Innes: FHS front double full, really clean today. Back 1.5 to front layout, nice rise between skills. Really nice position in the straddle, FHS Rudi to double stag jump, travels a bit far backwards out of it.
Ballou: Low chest on her double layout to open, FLO to Rudi, another solid landing for the freshman. She’s really come into her own this year on this event.
Coen: Good front double full to open, everything else was solid, no major deductions to report.
Drayton: Really nice DLO to open. Switch ring switch half well over 180. Combination pass is spot on. Tigers cruising to Saturday’s final, it appears.
Chio: Gorgeous FTDT to open. Switch ring tour jete full, spot on with that. 2.5 twist to punch front, no movement on that landing. Justin Howell even applauding Chio for that routine. And guess what…another 10.
Lincoln: Sky high double layout to open up the final routine. Tigers already at 198.300 before this routine thanks to Chio’s ten. Gogean looks better today than it has previously. Front layout front full, controlled step out of it.
Greene (Air Force): double twist to open, bit messy stepping out of it. FHS to Rudi combination pass is clean. Lacked some positioning in the splits, back 1.5 to front layout last pass, very well done.
FINAL: LSU 198.375, Clemson 196.800, Auburn 195.500, Nebraska 195.000
VT: Chio (LSU) – 10.000
UB: McClain, Chio, Cowan (LSU) – 9.950
BB: Lincoln, Drayton (LSU) – 9.950
FX: Chio (LSU) – 10.000
AA: Chio (LSU) – 39.825
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Live blog by Savanna Wellman
