The only thing left to do is kill it
They’ve gotten there, now it’s time to bring it home.
The LSU Tigers gymnastics team is in the national championship finals for the second consecutive year and 10th time overall. It’s felt like a season of destiny, and Oklahoma’s meltdown in the semifinals has only added to that feeling. That doesn’t mean this is a given, as #3 Cal, #4 Florida and #5 Utah all have eyes on the prize, too. No matter what happens, there will be a new national champion head coach(es). The meet begins at 3:00 p.m. on ABC with John Roethlisberger and Aly Raisman on the call and Taylor Davis acting as on-floor reporter.
#4 Florida (begins on vault)
Florida came in second in their semifinal Thursday with a 197.8750. Of all the teams since 2016, this is not the one that’s supposed to win the title. Think about all the talent they’ve had in that time, especially last year. If this team somehow wins it, it will be a testament to their freshmen’s maturity throughout the season. They’re more than capable of doing it with the comfort of Olympic order, but it will require their best meet of the season.
#5 Utah (begins on bars)
Utah won their semifinal with a 197.9375. After a tumultuous offseason, there were a ton of doubts about whether this team would even make nationals. Now, they’re in the finals with a solid chance to take home the first natty since 1995. It’s going to take better than their best meet of the season to win. They need to lock it down and kill it to bring the title home.
#3 Cal (begins on beam)
Cal finished second in their semifinal with a 197.7125. They are not expected to win after a bumpy end to their season, but they get the luxury of setting the standard on beam, their best event. No matter what happens, this will be their best finish ever. In 2010, Cal announced they were going to cut multiple sports including women’s gymnastics. The Howells came in, saved the program and grew it to new heights. A championship contender with an individual national champ in 2021 has a shot at something nobody could’ve dreamed of several years ago. They’re ranked highly for a reason: when they’ve been on, they’ve been lethal. Watch out for them.
#2 LSU (begins on floor)
Previews are meaningless now. This is LSU’s best chance at a national title ever. They should win it. Everyone knows that. They may not, it’s entirely possible, it’s not like they have control over if other teams get overscored. If they do what they can do, improve vault and bars landings, start strong on floor and finish strong on beam like they are extremely capable of doing, this is extremely winnable. If you’re looking at this and thinking LSU needs to win this, think better. LSU gets the chance to win this, they are in the position to do it. It’s stressful, I know, I’m sitting in the arena as everyone comes in as my stress balloons. Seeing the white leotard made me more stressed because of the curse, but I know Bugs doesn’t believe in curses because she told me herself last year. LSU has been cursed to be the eternal bridesmaids, but today is a chance to get there. There is the top of the mountain. There is the celebration after the meet. There is the vindication of 40+ years of struggle to build the program, save it from getting cut many times, become the envy of the rest of the country in terms of fans, marketing, recruiting, social media and more. There is chance to go out on the highest possible note. There is no time like now to be normal and hit like they can. There is no time like now to be loud and proud to be a Tiger fan. There is one thing separating LSU from a wooden trophy topped with a gold logo: the 24 routines they’re going to do. The only thing left to do is celebrate the end of a fantastic season win or lose. Hopefully, it ends with the biggest win ever.