LSU Gymnastics Eyes Redemption At NCAA Semifinals In Fort Worth

By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter

Redemption is on the mind of the No. 2-seeded LSU gymnastics team as it takes the floor Thursday in Session I of the NCAA Semifinals at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Tigers’ fifth-place finish and failure to reach the Final Four last season left a sour taste. From the start of this year, Jay Clark’s squad made it a point to grow from where it fell short.

So, they went to work. LSU entered the 2025-26 season determined to improve its results, taking a different approach to its culture and strengthening relationships within the team.

“We kind of audited last year’s season and were like, “Okay, the relationships need to be better this year. We need to be stronger. We need to act as a unit every time that we’re out there whether it’s in practice or in completion,’” senior Ashley Cowan said on Monday. “And so I think going into this year and into this season, we really formed strong bonds with each other so that even if gymnastics was out of the equation, we knew that we could lean on each other and we knew enough about each other to just know how to be as strong as we possibly can be.”

And that approach has paid off. The Tigers are back in Fort Worth for the fourth consecutive year, with a chance to compete for their second national title in three seasons.

LSU’s philosophy for reaching the top is simple: control what you can and stay true to what’s worked all season.

“Do us,” sophomore Lexi Zeiss said on Monday. “We’re not worried about anybody else on the floor. It’s all about us and we don’t really care about the other teams. We’re there to do what we want to do and we’re going to compete our best, so really staying in our bubble and doing our normal and then normal’s enough.”

Focused on our normal. See y’all in the semifinals⏳ pic.twitter.com/imF6XrH2f3

— LSU Gymnastics (@LSUgym) April 13, 2026

Competing for a national title brings pressure, but Clark wants his team to embrace the moment. In a sport where defense isn’t a factor, success comes down to reaching the team’s full potential.

“I think we’re in a really good spot where it’s easier for us to be a little free minded and just go attack this thing and just go let it fly,” Clark said on Monday. “I mean, that’s my message to the team: just get after it. There’s really nothing about this that we should feel some undue level of pressure. We understand where we are. We understand what time of year it is. We understand the other teams on the floor have done great things too, but we feel good about where we are. We’re confident and we’re just going to go compete hard and just let it go.”

The Tigers have every reason to feel confident heading into Thursday. Not only do they have a veteran group with experience competing at the highest level in Fort Worth, but they are also expected to have junior Konnor McClain back in the lineup after recovering from an injury suffered in the Baton Rouge Regional Final.

To advance to Saturday’s Championship Session, LSU will need a top-two finish in its semifinal as it competes against No. 3 seed Florida, No. 6 seed Georgia and No. 7 seed Stanford.