ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 2 LSU Gymnastics team (2-0-1) continues its road stretch to begin the 2026 season, traveling to Athens for a top-10 SEC showdown against No. 8 Georgia (1-0) on Friday, January 16 at 6 p.m. CT inside Stegeman Coliseum.
The meet will air live on SEC Network with Bart Conner (PxP) and Trinity Thomas (Analyst) calling the action.
The Tigers enter this week ranked No. 2 in the nation following a program-record score at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad last Saturday in Utah, where LSU posted its highest road opener score in program history (197.500). LSU finished the night tied atop the standings with Oklahoma, who won on a tiebreaker, setting the tone early for another strong campaign.
No. 8 Georgia is coming off a 197.000 win over No. 21 Ohio State in their season opener on Saturday, Jan. 10. It was only the second time in program history and first since 2007 that the team posted a 197.000 or better in a season opener.
Friday’s meet serves as LSU’s first SEC meet of the year. LSU is 46-71-2 all-time against Georgia and 8-22-0 when facing them on the road. The last time LSU fell to Georgia in a regular season dual meet came in the 2016 season. The Tigers have won their last four contests in Athens.
Live stats and streaming information for Friday’s matchup between the Tigers and the Bulldogs can be found here.
Last Time On The Floor
The LSU Gymnastics team opened the 2026 season with a solid 197.500 performance in the first session of the third-annual Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad on January 10. The Tigers finished the meet tied in first with Oklahoma, who won the session after a tiebreaker was conducted that counted all six scores from each event and resulted in an Oklahoma win. UCLA finished third with a 197.000 while Utah finished fourth at 195.900.
LSU’s 197.500 on the day was their highest score earned in a road opener in program history, while they also marked their second-highest score for a season opener, only trailing the Tigers 197.825 to open the 2017 season.
Chio wasted no time and took home the all-around title and a share of the beam title with her 9.950 while Blackson also finished the meet tied for first on bars with her score of 9.950, claiming her first individual title as a Tiger.
Five gymnasts made their LSU debuts last Saturday in the Maverik Center. Ballou and Roberts made their collegiate debuts while transfers Blackson, Innes and Ulrich made their first appearances as Tigers.
Kailin Chio Named SEC Gymnast of the Week
Kailin Chio was named the Week 2 SEC Gymnast of the Week following her standout performance in the Tigers’ season-opening meet in Utah last weekend.
In the first meet of her sophomore season, Chio captured the all-around title in Session I of the Sprouts Quad against some of the top teams in the nation, finishing as the top all-arounder with her score of 39.600. The performance set the tone for her sophomore campaign and helped LSU open the 2026 season in strong fashion.
At the meet, Chio recorded three scores of 9.900 or higher across four events. She tallied scores of a 9.900 on vault, 9.850 on bars, 9.900 on floor and matched her career-high score on beam with a 9.950 to secure her first all-around win of the year.
The Las Vegas native picked up right where she left off after an exceptional freshman season in 2025 that saw her become the NCAA Vault Champion and SEC Freshman of the Year.
After just one meet, the now sophomore has already claimed her first SEC Award of 2026. Chio previously won SEC Freshman of the Week honors nine times in 2025 — the most by any freshman in SEC history — breaking the previous conference record of eight.
Program History
LSU enters the 2026 season with high expectations, coming off back-to-back SEC Championships and opening at No. 2 in the WCGA preseason poll — the second straight year the Tigers begin among the nation’s top two.
Head Coach Jay Clark enters his sixth season at the helm alongside Associate Head Coaches Courtney McCool Griffeth and Garrett Griffeth in their fifth season. The national champion, two-time individual NCAA Champion, Honda and AAI Award Winner and 33-time All-American Haleigh Bryant joined the staff in her first year as Assistant Coach in 2026.
The Tigers have reached the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth for the last three consecutive seasons under Clark’s leadership. Last season marked LSU’s 40th straight appearance in the NCAA postseason and 34th program appearance in the NCAA Championships.
2026 Schedule
The Sprouts Collegiate Quad season opener on ABC kicked off a nationally visible season for the Tigers. The team’s 2026 television schedule includes eight appearances across ABC, ESPN2 and the SEC Network — ensuring Tiger fans across the country can follow the squad’s journey.
Conference action for the Tigers begins this Friday in only the second meet of the year as the squad prepares to take on No. 8 Georgia before coming home to Baton Rouge for their home opener on Friday, January 23 against Kentucky. The month closes out with a road meet at Missouri on January 30.
The team’s February slate features three exciting home meets against Penn State (Feb. 6), Auburn (Feb. 13), and Alabama (Feb. 27), as well as a road trip to reigning national champions Oklahoma on February 20.
LSU will also head down the road to the Raising Cane’s River Center for the fourth-annual Podium Challenge on March 1 before traveling to face Florida in Gainesville on March 8. The Tigers will close the regular season at home against Arkansas on March 13.
Postseason action begins with the 2026 SEC Championship on Saturday, March 21 before LSU and the Baton Rouge community serves as a host site for NCAA Regionals from April 3-5.
This year’s NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, are set for April 16 and 18 at Dickies Arena.
Stay up to date with all things LSU Gymnastics by following the team’s social media channels @LSUgym on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.