For the third time in program history, the third-ranked LSU gymnastics team earned a 198 score as the Tigers knocked off No. 9 Georgia, 198.075-196.850, Friday night in the Maravich Center.

 

A lively crowd of 7,722, including LSU football coach Les Miles, were in attendance to watch the Tigers tally the second-best team score in LSU history and take down the Gym dogs. The crowd is the third largest in program history.

 

Senior Rheagan Courville tied the second-best all-around total in LSU history with a career-high 39.825. Courville won vault, bars, floor and the all-around titles outright, and she tied Ashleigh Gnat and Erin Macadaeg for the beam title.

 

Courville’s 39.825 all-around tied Ashleigh Clare-Kearney and April Burkholder for second, only trailing Burkholder’s school-record 39.875 in 2003.

 

“I really think this team’s performance is owed to how much energy we had this week at practice and tonight,” Courville said. “I fed off such a great lineup in front of me, and it was really hard not to be excited about it.”

 

As a team LSU scored a 49.625 on beam and floor to finish the meet with a bang. The 49.625 on beam marks the second-best beam total in LSU history, and the 49.625 on floor is tied for the fouth-best total of all time.

 

The Tigers posted a 49.450 on vault and 49.375 on bars to help reach 198 for the third time in history.

 

Georgia (2-4, 2-2 SEC) scored a 49.425 on vault, 49.225 on bars, 49.125 on beam and 49.075 to finish with a 196.850.

 

“The ladies rose to the occasion and did a tremendous job competing with everything they had tonight,” LSU head coach D-D Breaux said. “The fans were also fabulous and really kept our energy at a high level throughout the meet.”

 

LSU (7-1, 4-0) opened the meet with a 49.450 on vault, led by Courville’s 9.95. Sydney Ewing and Myia Hambrick earned career highs with 9.90s, and Gnat scored a 9.875 on her double-twisting yurchenko. Lloimincia Hall and Jessica Savona added 9.825s to round out the scoring.

 

In the second rotation, the Tigers tallied a 49.375, led once again by Courville’s 9.95. Randii Wyrick scored a 9.90 to place second in the event, and Shae Zamardi and Savona each added a 9.85. Hambrick recorded a 9.825 to close out the scoring.

 

At the halfway point of the meet, LSU led Georgia by a narrow margin, 98.825-98.650, but the Tigers pulled away with fantastic performances on beam and floor.

 

Macadaeg, Gnat and Courville all scored a 9.95 in the final three routines to pace the Tigers on beam. Hambrick earned a career-high 9.90 in the No. 3 spot in the lineup, and Ewing registered a 9.875 in the second spot to help LSU record the second-best beam total in school history at 49.625.

 

Needing a 49.550 on floor to reach the 198 mark for the third time in program history, LSU roared to a 49.625 to clinch the victory.

 

Savona led off the floor lineup with a solid 9.875, and Ewing tallied a career-high 9.875 to keep the momentum going. Gnat tied her career high with a 9.95 in the third spot, and Courville equaled her career best with a 9.975 in the fifth spot. Hall brought the crowd to its feet yet again with a 9.95 in the anchor spot, and she even performed her version of the “Les Miles clap” while looking at the coach who was sitting at the scorer’s table.

 

LSU was without the services of senior all-arounder Jessie Jordan who suffered a minor injury during vault warmups and was held out of the competition for precautionary reasons.

 

“Jessie pulled something in her upper back or in her neck during vault warmups, and we caught it when she tried to warm up during bars,” Breaux said. “We will continue to evaluate her this week and see where she stands going into the next competition.”

 

LSU will be back on the road next week when the Tigers travel to face No. 11 Auburn at 7 p.m. CT on Feb. 13in Auburn Arena. The meet will air live on SEC Network, and LSU’s live audio will be available free of charge inside the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net/live.

 

MEET RESULTS

 

Team

1. #3 LSU 198.075  (VT – 49.450, UB – 49.375, BB – 49.625, FX – 49.625)

2. #9 Georgia 196.850  (VT – 49.425, UB – 49.225, BB – 49.125, FX – 49.075)

Press release via LSU Gymnastics