BATON ROUGE – Three LSU gymnasts nearly swept the Southeastern Conference weekly awards as sophomore Myia Hambrick was named SEC Gymnast of the Week, Shae Zamardi earned SEC Specialist of the Week and Sarah Finnegan was crowned SEC Freshman of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday.
It marked Hambrick’s first gymnast of the week award although she did earn SEC Freshman of the Week once last season. The awards are the first of Zamardi’s and Finnegan’s respective careers.
Hambrick shared the gymnast of the week honor with Florida’s Bridget Sloan.
Hambrick, Zamardi and Finnegan all played integral roles in LSU’s come-from-behind victory over then-No. 1 Oklahoma, 196.950-196.725, that catapulted the Tigers to the top of the national rankings this week.
Hambrick captured her first career all-around title with a 39.450, and she tied or set career highs on beam and floor with a 9.90 on each event. She also posted a 9.875 on vault that helped LSU finish with a nation-leading 49.250 in the event.
Finnegan delivered in a big way in her first collegiate meet to help the Tigers defeat the Sooners. She tallied an outstanding 9.925 on beam to claim the event title and lead the Tigers to a 49.250 in the event. Finnegan’s 9.925 is the highest score in an LSU gymnast’s first career beam routine in school history. She also added a team-high tying 9.85 on bars to finish second in the only other event she competed against Oklahoma.
Zamardi provided clutch performances on bars and floor in the opener. She posted a 9.925 in her first career floor routine to help clinch LSU’s victory. In fact, Zamardi had not even performed an exhibition floor routine since her freshman season, and when the Tigers needed her most she produced a fantastic performance in the fourth spot in the lineup.
Zamardi’s 9.925 is the highest score in an LSU gymnast’s first career floor routine since teammate Jessica Savona tallied a 9.925 in her first floor performance on Jan. 4, 2013 vs. North Carolina State. She also posted a team-high tying 9.85 in the anchor spot on bars to place second in the event.
No. 1 LSU (1-0) will travel for the first time this season when the Tigers take on No. 23 North Carolina State in the Lady Luck Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev. The meet will start at 9 p.m. CT Thursday, and FloGymnastics.com will provide live video coverage to subscribers.
For the most up-to-date information on LSU gymnastics, visit www.LSUsports.net/gymnastics. Fans can also connect with the Tigers via the team’s social media outlets: www.Facebook.com/lsugym, @LSUgym on Twitter and Instagram and www.YouTube.com/lsugymnastics.
SEC Gymnastics Weekly Honors – January 12, 2016
Co-Gymnast of the Week: Myia Hambrick, LSU
Co-Gymnast of the Week: Bridget Sloan, Florida
Specialist of the Week: Shae Zamardi, LSU
Freshman of the Week: Sarah Finnegan, LSU