LSU entered Thursday’s NCAA semifinals in Fort Worth as the defending champs, riding a 10-meet win streak and seeding the top spot. After a season of domination that saw them capture the Southeastern Conference regular season and championship titles and cruise through the NCAA regional, expectations were sky-high. However, in a nail-biter of a meet, the Tigers, famed for their purple reign, stumbled to a third-place finish with a score of 197.525, falling just short of a berth in Saturday’s final showdown featuring No. 4 Utah and No. 5 UCLA versus No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 7 Missouri. While the team’s journey ended in heartbreak, freshman Kailin Chio shone bright, nailing the vault individual title with a stellar 9.975— a personal victory in an evening full of twists.
The action kicked off with Oklahoma setting the pace in the first semifinal—even with a few unexpected slips, they put up 197.550. In a historic display, Missouri edged out No. 3 Florida by a whisker, 197.300 to 197.200, to clinch their inaugural trip to the NCAA final. When the second semifinal got underway, LSU ignited the meet on bars, with Lexi Zeiss posting a 9.90 that helped spark the team. Yet, despite that highlight, a string of minor errors capped their best bars performance at 49.325, leaving them in third. UCLA led off on floor with 49.525, trailed by Michigan State’s solid 49.3875 on vault, while Utah kept pace with 49.2125 on beam.
The second rotation was all about beam for LSU as they needed a big score to climb into contention. Konnor McClain delivered a commendable 9.90, while Haleigh Bryant, Sierra Ballard, and Chio each chipped in 9.875 runs. The pressure mounted when Kylie Coen’s 9.80 had to be replaced by Aleah Finnegan’s routine, only for Finnegan to falter with a 9.225 that was ultimately discarded. By the halfway point, LSU found themselves in fourth place at 98.650, trailing Utah by just .125.
The Tigers finally found their groove in the third rotation on floor. Amari Drayton ignited the crowd with a 9.90, Finnegan bounced back with an impressive 9.9375, and Bryant locked in a 9.9125, collectively boosting LSU’s floor total to 49.500 and propelling them from fourth to second in the standings. Heading into the final rotation, the leaderboard read 148.1875 for UCLA, 148.150 for LSU, 148.1125 for Utah, and 148.000 for Michigan State.
In the decider on vault, LSU—renowned as the nation’s top team on the apparatus—found themselves needing a heroic finish. Drayton got an encouraging 9.875, and Bryant ended with a strong routine earning a 9.90. Despite Chio’s magnificent 9.975—a moment that promised revival—the cumulative vault score of 49.375 wasn’t quite enough to erase the deficit. In a classic case of the purple reign being dethroned, the Tigers watched their quest for a second straight NCAA title slip away in a heart-stopping, nail-biting close match.
Final from Fort Worth pic.twitter.com/kxK3bVVPls
— LSU Gymnastics (@LSUgym) April 18, 2025
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