Missouri at LSU

Recap

The Big Storyline: LSU earned it’s first win of 2023 and the first win post Kiya Johnson Achilles injury, but it wasn’t without some bumps in the road. After having a six-tenth lead halfway through the meet, LSU tallied a season low on beam and brought its lead down to just under three tenths. Unfortunately, Missouri also had several wobbles on the event, allowing LSU to secure the victory after a 49.300 on floor.

Implications: LSU will move into the top three in the SEC and potentially back into the top 10 nationally with its second 197-plus in a row. Missouri has yet to tally a 197 so far this season and will remain just outside the top 10 as it continues its search for a meet that truly represents the team’s potential.

Records: Missouri’s streak of consecutive meets with a 49 on beam came to an end at 21 after it tallied a 48.950 in the final rotation.

Controversies: Haleigh Bryant’s floor was originally given a 9.900 after a judge gave her a UTL deduction for not having a backwards tumbling element. The score was ultimately raised to a 9.950, giving her the floor title.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 12 Missouri at No. 13 LSU

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: The Battle of the Tigers comes to the bayou! While these teams may be close on paper, they’re both coming off of very different seasons. Missouri was the Cinderella story of the postseason, advancing all the way to their highest finish in program history and a trip to the national semifinals. LSU was eliminated in round two and finished the season with its lowest ranking since 2011. Missouri started off 2023 with wins against Illinois and Georgia, but a 197.000-plus could put it into the top half of the SEC. LSU will be competing for the third time in seven days and with limited depth due to injuries. It will need to be nearly perfect to beat Missouri, but as the home team, it has the home meet advantage.

Need More Proof? With Kiya Johnson out with an Achilles injury, all eyes will be on Haleigh Bryant to lead LSU across all four events. Elena Arenas has come into her own in the light of Johnson’s injury, adding beam to her repertoire, and if her last two performances are anything to go off of, quite successfully at that. For Missouri, Helen Hu put up critical 9.925s on bars and beam against Georgia to help propel it over the Gymdogs in last week’s SEC dual.