BATON ROUGE – For their performances in Friday’s season opener against No. 9 Georgia, LSU’s Myia Hambrick, Sarah Finnegan and Kennedi Edney swept the Southeastern Conference weekly awards, the league office announced Tuesday.
Hambrick earned her fourth SEC Gymnast of the Week honor after capturing the all-around title with a score of 39.575 Friday night. The title was the seventh in the all-around and 20th individual title of her career. Nationally, Hambrick ranks No. 2 in the all-around and the best amongst conference gymnasts. The Temple, Georgia native tied for second on vault against the Bulldogs and her score of 9.925 ranks as the fourth-best score in the country.
Finnegan earned SEC Specialist of the Week honors after competing on three events. The sophomore took the uneven bars and beam titles in the Tigers’ victory. Finnegan’s score of 9.95 on beam ranks as the best in the country, while her 9.90 on bars is good for No. 4. Overall, Finnegan has won four bars and five beam titles in her career.
The SEC Freshman of the Week honors went to Edney after she posted a 9.95 on vault with a Yurchenko 1 ½ to tie for the best score in the country and win the event. As a part of the vault lineup, Edney helped LSU to the best event score in a season opener in school history. She also posted a 9.85 on bars.
As a team, the Tigers ended with a score of 197.825 for the best in a season opener in school history. The score was also the best by any NCAA team this early in the season in at least the last 20 years. The win pushed LSU’s win streak in the Maravich Center, a streak that dates back to the 2014 season.
LSU moved to No. 1 in the team rankings after taking down the Bulldogs Friday night. The Tigers return to action for their first road test of the season against No. 4 Alabama (0-1) at 7:30 p.m. CT Friday on the SEC Network.
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 10, 2017
SEC Gymnast of the Week: Myia Hambrick, LSU
Specialist of the Week: Sarah Finnegan, LSU
Freshman of the Week: Kennedi Edney, LSU