The No. 2 LSU gymnastics team (10-2, 6-1 SEC) set a new program record on Friday night in the PMAC, defeating No. 10 Georgia (5-6, 3-4 SEC) by a score of 198.575-197.175 in its final home meet of the season.
In front of 13,476 fans—the fourth largest crowd in PMAC history—the Tigers sold out their fourth consecutive home meet of the 2025 season. LSU’s record score was built on strong performances across all four events, including a season-high 49.675 on beam.
For the first time this season, LSU achieved scores of 49.6 or higher in three events, a feat previously accomplished only by Oklahoma, Florida and Stanford. The Tigers remain the only team this season to hit the 49.600 mark on every event.
LSU claimed at least a share of all five event titles Friday night. Senior Aleah Finnegan, sophomore Amari Drayton and freshman Kailin Chio split the vault title with scores of 9.950. Sophomore Konnor McClain earned the bars title with a 9.975 while Finnegan secured the beam title with a perfect 10.000—the first perfect beam score for an LSU gymnast this season and only the third in the nation. On floor, senior Haleigh Bryant and Chio tied with Georgia’s Lily Smith at 9.975. Chio also won the all-around title with a score of 39.800, marking the highest all-around score ever by a freshman in LSU history.
“Obviously, tremendous performance from our team across the board. I thought we started out on fire on vault and continued that on bars,” head coach Jay Clark said. “We landed well most of the night. When scores are low, we can’t get striked by that, and I thought our kids did a good job tonight. They really showed up and did a great job. I’m just super proud of them.”
Senior KJ Johnson opened the vault rotation with a 9.850, followed by Finnegan who matched her season-high with a 9.950. Freshman Kaliya Lincoln contributed a 9.80 in the third spot, while Drayton posted a season-high 9.95 in the fourth slot. Chio added a 9.950 in the fifth spot before Bryant anchored the rotation with a 9.900, propelling LSU to a 49.600 score on vault, matching their February season-high against Oklahoma.
After the first rotation, LSU led 49.600-49.275.
In the second rotation on bars, freshman Lexi Zeiss set the tone with a 9.900. Junior Ashley Cowan earned a 9.850, and Finnegan then matched her season-high with another 9.900. Chio followed with a 9.925 and McClain delivered a nearly flawless routine for a season-high 9.975. Bryant finished with a 9.925, resulting in a 49.625 score on bars.
At halftime, LSU led 99.225-98.475.
On beam in the third rotation, graduate student Sierra Ballard posted a 9.85 to begin. Sophomore Kylie Coen added a 9.875 before Chio matched her career-high with a 9.950. McClain received a 9.900 and Bryant contributed a strong 9.950. In the anchor position, Finnegan executed a flawless routine to earn a perfect 10.000—only the third perfect beam score nationally in 2025 and the eighth of her career. The beam score came in at a season-high 49.675, the second highest in the nation this year and the third highest in LSU history. With three rotations completed, LSU led 148.900-147.975.
The floor rotation saw Coen lead with a 9.875, followed by Ballard’s 9.900. Chio nearly achieved perfection with a career-high 9.975, while Drayton matched her career-high with a 9.950. Finnegan added a 9.875 before Bryant anchored the floor with a 9.975, bringing the event score to 49.675 and the final team total to 198.575-197.175.
LSU’s 198.575 is the highest team score in program history, besting the previous mark of 198.475 set in 2024 against Arkansas. The mark ties the highest regular-season score in SEC history and ranks as the ninth highest in NCAA history.
Individually, Chio’s titles on vault, floor and all-around bring her total to 19 this season. Finnegan’s two titles on the night lift her career total to 36, including 13 in 2025. Drayton earned her second title of the year (her first on vault) while McClain claimed her fifth title (all on bars), now totaling 14 career titles. Bryant’s share of the floor title was her sixth event title of the season and the 100th of her career—third most in LSU history behind April Burkholder (108) and Ashleigh Clare Kearney-Thigpen (114).
LSU’s victory also marks an undefeated regular season at home with a 5-0 record for the second straight season—a feat last accomplished in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018.
The No. 2 Tigers will conclude the regular season against Auburn next Friday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
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