In a meet in which the Auburn Tigers gymnastics team was hoping to break a tough losing streak with an underdog win in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, they unfortunately instead faced an LSU team that delivered a historic performance and secured a dominant victory.
Auburn has now fallen on the losing side in five straight SEC matchups.
Luckily for the Tigers, they will take a break from conference competition next week as they prepare to take on NC State, UNC, and Boise State in the 2026 Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, this Sunday.
Despite Auburn scoring a season high in the balance beam event, the Tigers were unable to overcome a full-point deficit after their first two rotations.
Auburn was devastated to lose star performer Sophia Bell to injury just before the meet Friday night, but they were still able to put up solid numbers in their floor exercise without their top performer.
Auburn’s third rotation proved to be much stronger than the first two, as they posted their closest event score of the night.
The Tigers nearly won the balance beam event, but a late score of 9.975 by LSU’s Kailin Chio helped secure the event win by 0.025 points.
Auburn’s only scores of 9.9 or higher came in their final two rotations: balance beam and floor exercise.
Junior Alex Irvine and sophomore Melissa Neal secured back-to-back scores of 9.9 on the balance beam.
Impressively, the Tigers received scores of 9.850 or better from everyone in their beam lineup. Auburn’s floor exercise performances were still strong, all scores were 9.8 or better, but the loss of Sophia Bell was evident.
Bell has scored a 9.9 or higher on floor twice this season and ranks among the top competitors in the country in the event. Auburn will be hoping for a quick recovery from Bell as the season reaches its midway point.
LSU delivered a performance for the ages Friday night, highlighted by sophomore Kailin Chio. Chio scored two 9.975s on vault and balance beam, a 9.925 on uneven bars, and a perfect 10 on floor.
LSU posted an outstanding 15 scores of 9.9 or better on the night, including all six gymnasts in their floor lineup. LSU’s 49.775 in floor exercise is the highest mark they have recorded in any event this season.
Auburn’s gymnastics team has endured an unfortunate stretch of meets, during which they have not only struggled more than usual but have also consistently faced teams delivering season-best performances.
Thankfully, the Tigers will not have to wait long for another opportunity to rebound from Friday’s loss.
Be sure to catch the Tigers this Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas, at 7:15 PM CT as they look to snap their losing streak at the 2026 Metroplex Challenge.
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Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
