LSU gymnasts rise to No. 2 in nation

Almost halfway through its eight-meet regular season schedule, the LSU gymnastics team moved to No. 2 in the latest Road to Nationals rankings with an average team score of 197.008.

The 3-0 Tigers (2-0 in the SEC) are coming off two-straight 197-plus team scores in wins at Arkansas and home vs. Georgia. LSU ranks second in the nation on floor, fourth on beam and sixth on vault and bars.

“It just means we’re the No. 2 team in the country, and we don’t put a whole lot more on it than that,” LSU coach Jay Clark said. “To me, there’s two sides to chasing a championship. One is the emotional side, we all want to win. Then, you’ ve got to back that up and give it a foundation to stand on. That emotion alone is not going to do anything.

“We don’t talk a lot about rankings. We mention it one or twice in a given year.”

The ranking is the highest for the Tigers since 2018 when the team spent the final four weeks of the regular season at the second spot.

“No. 2 is a great place be right now, something to celebrate and be happy about,” LSU senior gymnast Reagan Campbell said. “But there’s always room to move forward and do better.”

Individually, freshman Haleigh Bryant ranks fourth in the nation in the all-around and sixth on floor. She has won two all-arounds in her last two meets.

“I just go in and do the gymnastics I do in a gym and take it one routine at a time,” Bryant said. “It’s just what I can do to help this team win.”

LSU hits the road to face No. 22 Auburn on Friday for the final meet of the first four-week stretch of the season. The meet will be televised live at 4 p.m. CT on ESPN2 with Bart Conner and Kathy Johnson Clarke on the call.

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Ron Higgins

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