BATON ROUGE — The LSU gymnastics team fell just short Friday in its bid to upset the fifth-ranked Georgia in its last home meet of the season, 196.475-196.350.
LSU trailed by .775 points after two rotations because of a counted fall on the bars. The 14th-ranked Tigers almost made up for the deficit after a 1-2-3 finish on the beam and a counted fall there by Georgia, but couldn’t quite close the gap.
The Tigers (8-6, 2-4 SEC) built momentum last week in a record-breaking win over Arkansas, which helped them come within .125 of a big win Friday, according to coach D-D Breaux.
The Gym Dogs (14-1, 6-0 SEC) claimed the top two spots in the overall competition. UGA’s Chelsea Byrd won the event title with a 39.700, including first place finishes on the vault, uneven bars and floor exercise. Teammate Kinsey Rowe took second with a 39.450. In her first all-around competition since an ankle injury last month, LSU’s April Burkholder finished third with a 39.325
LSU’s Tara Martinjak won the beam with a career best 9.950, followed by teammates Burkholder, with a 9.925 and Lindsay Beddow. Beddow tied with Byrd and Rowe, posting a 9.875.
Beddow had a strong night on the uneven bars as well, earning a 9.900 to tie for second with UGA’s Cory Fitzinger. Fitzringer also tied LSU’s Brittany Brown for second on the floor exercise.
In the same event, the Tigers’ reigning SEC Gymnast of the week, Lauren Companioni scored a 9.875 to tie with Martinjak and UGA’s Michelle Emmons and Rowe for third.
Despite the loss, the Tigers’ score was among their best performances of the season. “I am encouraged,” said Breaux.
The Tigers will take a break from conference competition until the SEC meet. They will be on the road next week to face another tough opponent, sixth-ranked Utah, Friday at 8 p.m.