BATON ROUGE – Senior Sarah Finnegan, a 15-time All-American, All-SEC performer and reigning SEC Gymnast of the Year, has been selected as LSU’s nominee for the 2019 AAI Award
The most consistent all-around performer in school history, Finnegan is one of 30 nominees for the AAI Award, which is given to the most outstanding senior gymnast in the country.
Finnegan has been paramount in LSU’s success over the last four years that includes back-to-back SEC championships and the highest finishes in school history at NCAA Championships.
Her success has come in all phases of being a student-athlete as a leader in the classroom, community and in competition. As sophomore, Finnegan became the first gymnast in school history to win an uneven bars NCAA championship. In 2018, she ended the season ranked as the No. 1 bars performer in the country and anchored the Tigers’ lineup that finished first in the nation and set multiple school records.
A year ago, Finnegan dominated the league with a sweep of the league all-around title and SEC Gymnast of the Year award. She pushed her career All-America honors to 15 and could break the school record for most in a career set by Rheagan Courville with 23.
The Lee’s Summit, Missouri, native owns 71 career titles halfway through 2019 for sixth in school history. With 21 titles, Finnegan is on pace to break the LSU career beam title record set by April Burkholder (25).
Finnegan owns career highs of 9.95 on vault; 10.0 on bars, beam and floor; and 39.775 in the all-around. She is only the ninth gymnast in school history to a score a 9.95 or higher on all four events and one of two gymnasts in the country to achieve the feat in 2019.
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She is an SEC Academic Honor Roll member and an active member of LSU’s efforts in the community with more than 25 hours of service logged in 2019. Finnegan is scheduled to graduate in May with her degree in kinesiology and pursue a career in occupational therapy.
Six finalists for the 2019 AAI Award will be determined by the college coaches. The finalist will be determined in mid-March and the winner will be announced prior to NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. LSU’s Ashleigh Gnat won the award in 2017.
Fans can follow the Tigers on the team’s social media channels: @LSUgym on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, www.Facebook.com/lsugym and at YouTube.com/lsugymnastics.