BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 2 LSU Gymnastics team (6-2-1, 3-2 SEC) returns home to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center this Friday for a top-three showdown against No. 3 Alabama (5-2. 3-2 SEC) on February 27 at 8:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
The meet on Friday marks another premier Friday Night Heights matchup as two of the nation’s top teams face off in Baton Rouge. John Roethlisberger, Bridget Sloan and Taylor Davis will be on-site to call the action between the Tigers and the Tide on Friday. LSU is 33-102-2 all-time against Alabama and 15-17-2 at home. The last time the two faced off in a regular season dual-meet, the Tigers claimed a road victory over the Tide in 2025.
The Tigers will look to continue their dominance at home, riding an 18-meet win streak in the PMAC and aiming to extend it to 19 straight victories. LSU has not dropped a home meet since January 16, 2023.
The meet will also serve as Alumni Night in the PMAC, celebrating the history and tradition of LSU Gymnastics in front of what is expected to be another electric crowd.
Both teams enter the meet ranked among the best in the nation across all four events. LSU is ranked in the top five nationally on every event, including No. 1 on floor for the second straight week, while Alabama also boasts top-10 rankings across the board.
Alabama enters the eighth week of competition ranked No. 3 nationally and No. 2 on bars, No. 3 on floor exercise, No. 6 on beam and No. 7 on vault. They are coming off their first win at Auburn since 2018 last week, matching their season high score of 197.950.
Promotions at the PMAC on Friday:
- Promotion: Alumni Meet | LED Wristbands in every seat
- Alumni will line up on either side of the vault runway for pre-meet recognition and introductions
- Giveaway: Souvenir Cup for the first 1,000 fans
Live stats and streaming information for Friday’s meet between LSU and Alabama can be found here.
Last Time On The Floor
The Tigers are coming off a strong performance on the road against No. 1 Oklahoma, where LSU battled the top-ranked Sooners and earned a season high road score. The squad came up short in Norman as they will look to get back in the win column on Friday.
The night was highlighted by Kailin Chio two perfect scores, scoring her first on vault, which was her first perfect score on the event this season, before she wrapped up her night with a second 10.00 on beam, her second on the event this season. She marked back-to-back meets with 10’s, as she earned her first career perfect score on floor in the Tigers meet against Auburn on February 13.
The Tigers 197.925 at the meet was the team’s third highest score of the season and highest on the road thus far.
Three Tigers claimed a total of six event titles against Oklahoma. Chio claimed four individual titles in her dominant performance in Norman – two coming from vault and the beam with her 10.000 scores, a share of the floor title with her 9.925 alongside teammates Lexi Zeiss and Amari Drayton, and the all-around title with a 39.850. Her event titles total climbed to 22 this season and now 45 in her career; the wins moved her season totals to six on vault, seven on beam, three on floor and six in the all-around.
Drayton’s share of the floor title marked her second floor title this season and sixth event title of her career. Zeiss, who also scored a 9.925 alongside Chio and Drayton on floor, claimed a share of the floor title as well. The win marked her first event title of the season, first of her career on floor, and second of her collegiate career across all events.
Road To Nationals Rankings
LSU remains the No. 2 team in the country for the third straight week in the latest Road To Nationals rankings with a strong National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 197.735. This week also marks the fifth straight week that LSU ranks in the top 10 on all four events and second straight week in the top 5 on everything.
LSU currently sits second on vault, third on bars, fourth on beam and first on floor nationally as they enter the ninth week of competition. The Tigers remain the No. 1 floor team in the nation with their NQS of 49.490.
In the individual event rankings, sophomore Kailin Chio continues to lead the way for the Tigers, ranking as the No. 2 overall gymnast in the nation with her NQS of 39.685 in the all-around. She only sits behind UCLA’s Jordan Chiles.
This is her fifth straight week as the No. 1 beam performer in the nation, while also claiming the No. 1 spot in the nation on vault this week.
Other Tigers to earn a spot in the individual event rankings are Amari Drayton on beam (19), Kaliya Lincoln on floor (7), Konnor McClain on bars (23) and Madison Ulrich on bars (16).
Kailin Chio Earns Fourth SEC Gymnast of the Week Award in 2026
Kailin Chio claimed her fourth SEC Gymnast of the Week award this season after scoring two perfect 10’s in the Tigers last meet against the top-ranked Sooners.
The sophomore from Las Vegas, Nevada, has now claimed four of out seven awards distributed by the league in 2026, recognizing her as the top performer in the conference week after week. She has now been named SEC Gymnast of the Week a total of 13 times in her career.
In a battle of the top two teams in the nation last Friday, Chio helped lead her team to a season-high road score after tallying two perfect scores in the same meet. She has scored four perfect 10’s through seven meets so far this season, moving her total to five in her career.
Her all-around score was the highest in program history on the road while also marking the second straight week that Chio has posted a 39.800 or higher in the all-around. It was the second straight week the sophomores recorded scores of 9.9+ on every event.
Chio’s event titles total climbed to 22 this season and 45 in her career following the Tigers last meet. Her season totals sit at six on vault, seven on beam, three on floor and six in the all-around. Currently, she sits in 13th for the most individual titles in program history (45) and fifth for the most beam titles in a single season (7).
Up Next
LSU has a double weekend ahead, as they will head down the road to downtown Baton Rouge for the Podium Challenge in the Raising Cane’s River Center on Friday, March 1 at 3 p.m. CT. The Tigers will compete in a quad podium meet against Alabama, North Carolina and Arizona.
Stay up to date with all things LSU Gymnastics by following the team’s social media channels @LSUgym on Instagram, X and Facebook.