BATON ROUGE – LSU junior Ashleigh Gnat earned Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week and Sarah Finnegan earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors, the league office announced Tuesday.
A Lake Mary, Florida native, Gnat returned to her home state and delivered three outstanding performances on vault, beam and floor to lead the Tigers to a 197.900-197.875 upset at No. 2 Florida last week.
Gnat tallied 9.95s on vault, beam and floor to win all three titles, and she was the only gymnast in the SEC last week to score a 9.95 or higher in at least three events.
By winning all three event titles, Gnat increased her team-leading total to 17 individual titles this season.
With the meet tied at 197.700, it was Gnat’s career-high tying 9.95 in the anchor spot of the beam lineup that clinched LSU’s first win in Gainesville since 1994 and the Gators’ first regular-season home loss since 2008.
Fighting through a stomach illness that set in before the meet, Finnegan rallied to play a big role in LSU’s season-high 197.900 and upset victory at No. 2 Florida.
Finnegan tied her career high with a 9.925 on beam that helped guide LSU to a 49.575 on beam in the final rotation to complete the comeback win. Finnegan’s 9.925 also contributed to what is currently the nation’s highest beam score of 49.575.
She placed second in the meet on bars with a 9.90, her second-straight score of 9.90 in the event and her fourth of the season. She currently ranks 16th nationally on bars to lead the Tigers.
Gnat and Finnegan’s fantastic performances led LSU to a season-high 197.900 that also ranks as the highest road score in program history.
This marks Gnat’s second SEC weekly honor as she earned SEC Specialist of the Week following the meet against Auburn on Feb. 19.
This is Finnegan’s second SEC Freshman of the Week honor. She also earned the recognition after her stellar performance against Oklahoma in the season opener on Jan. 9.
No. 4 LSU (9-2, 5-1 SEC) returns to action Friday in the SEC finale against No. 3 Alabama (8-4, 3-3). Introductions will begin at 7:15 p.m. CT, and first vault is set for 7:30 p.m. in the Maravich Center.
A limited number of tickets to the meet are available for purchase by visiting www.LSUtix.net, calling the LSU Ticket Office at 225-578-2184 or in person on the first floor of the LSU Athletic Administration Building.
Fans planning to attend the meet are encouraged to purchase tickets as soon as possible to guarantee a seat.
SEC Gymnastics Weekly Honors – March 1, 2016
Gymnast of the Week: Ashleigh Gnat, LSU
Specialist of the Week: Lauren Beers, Alabama
Freshman of the Week: Sarah Finnegan, LSU