1. Home
  2. Sports
  3. NCAA Gymnastics Week 6: Haleigh Bryant leads all-around as OU remains No. 1

NCAA Gymnastics Week 6: Haleigh Bryant leads all-around as OU remains No. 1


February 12, 2024, 03:50 pm ET

It was another historic and action-packed weekend in college gymnastics.

And perhaps no one personified that better than LSU's Haleigh Bryant. The senior led the Tigers to a 197.625-196.300 road victory over Georgia and she etched her name in the record books (again) with the 13th perfect score of her career. While scoring a 10.0 is clearly nothing new for Bryant, this was the first time she achieved the milestone on beam.

And with that, Bryant became the 14th gymnast in NCAA history to record the elusive “Gym Slam,” earning a perfect 10.0 in each event.

play

2:11

LSU's Bryant achieves 13th Perfect 10 of his career at Georgia

Haleigh Bryant's brilliant, flawless balance beam routine helps LSU to a 197.625-197.075 SEC dual meet victory over the Bulldogs in Athens.

In addition to winning the title on beam, Bryant took home all-around honors (39.75) and top scores on vault and floor (9.95 each). She is currently the number one gymnast in the country, a position she has held for most of the season.

There are so many things that could be said here about Bryant and his ever-growing list of accomplishments in the sport, but we think the barista (or team staff member) who made him his iced coffee on Friday might have made a pretty valid point. .

Here's everything you need to know about week six of college gymnastics:

Club 10 Perfect

While Bryant was the only gymnast to be a member of the “Gym Slam” club, she wasn't the only one to record a perfect 10.0 over the weekend. Four others did too:

Selena Harris, UCLA: Competing at Oregon State while her team lost two of its stars, Chae Campbell and Nya Reed, the sophomore led the Bruins to a conference victory. Harris took the all-around title, earning a 9.95 on both bars and beam and earning UCLA's first perfect score of the season with a Yurchenko 1.5 on vault.

Leanne Wong, Florida: The Gators won their meet against Arkansas and earned their highest score of the season on bars, both in large part thanks to Wong. The junior earned her first perfect score of 2024 (and seventh overall) in the second test of the night in the anchor position, sealed with a cold stick from her double dismount.

Mya Hooten, Minnesota: The Gophers lost their home game Saturday against Michigan, but the team still posted its season-best court score (49.650) and the fifth-best total in its history, led by Hooten. The last gymnast to compete in the final event of the day, and with the loss already cemented, the vocal fans in attendance still seemed to know they were watching something special from the moment Hooten began his first tumbling pass. She earned her second perfect 10.0 of the season on the court and the eighth of her career.

Jessica Hutchinson, Denver: On a day in which Denver posted its fifth-highest score in program history during a win over Iowa State and Southeast Missouri State, the senior tied the record for the best overall score in school history (39.825). and crowned their incredible day. with a 10.0 on floor. She marked the second perfect time in the event of her career and third overall.

The iron bowl

It looked to be a special season for Alabama last month, when it snapped Florida's 20-game home winning streak with a dominant performance in Gainesville. But the Crimson Tide has struggled since the win and has now lost its last two games. On the road Friday against in-state rival Auburn, Alabama posted its worst bars score of the year to open the meet and was never able to close the deficit. On beam, Alabama's final event of the night, the team suffered two falls.

“I think overall we gave away too much stuff,” head coach Ashley Johnston said after the game. “We say we want to be so prepared that we can walk into any arena knowing it's our defense as long as we do our job, and tonight, we just gave too much away.”

Auburn won the meet, 197,725-197,050, in front of a sold-out crowd. It was just the Tigers' fourth win over the Crimson Tide and marked their highest score of 2024 so far. The team was led by Cassie Stevens, who won her third consecutive all-around title and earned a personal record of 9.975 on beam for her routine, which included her own eponymous skill. Stevens does a front aerial to her knee that is named after her in the Junior Olympics points code. It's no big deal or anything, right? (See it for yourself around the 0:45 mark in the video below.)

“It was crazy. I really didn't expect it,” Stevens said of the beam score. “I've been working a lot on the small details. Being able to put together a solid performance for my team is really rewarding.”

The children of the return

The Kansas City Chiefs weren't the only team to make an impressive comeback on Sunday. Heading into the final rotation of their home match against Arizona, No. 2-ranked California was trailing, 147.725-147.525, and it looked like an upset was brewing in Berkeley.

But the Golden Bears refused to back down. All six gymnasts scored a 9.875 or better on floor to rally for the 197.125-196.850 victory. eMjae Frazier and Kyen Mayhew each clocked 9.95 seconds in the event.

“I was very proud of how we handled some adversity and then had a spectacular performance from everyone on the court,” co-head coach Justin Howell said after the game. “That was a great test for our team and I'm very proud of how they handled the competition closing today.”

The best of the rest

Katherine Levasseur, Oklahoma: The Sooners senior earned perfect scores on vault the past two seasons and came very close to doing so again with a 9.975 on Friday, coming immediately after teammate Jordan Bowers earned the same mark. Levasseur then matched that score again on her floor routine, helping the team to another victory with a huge score of 198.45, and keeping the Sooners in first place as well.

Amelie Morgan, Utah: Just weeks before taking a break from the NCAA season to compete in the All England Championships in hopes of qualifying for the upcoming Olympics, the Utah junior got her latest boost of confidence by matching her career-high score on beam (9.95) during the Red. Rocks' victory over Washington.

Kinsey Davis, Nebraska: The senior tied her career high, for the second time this season, with a 9.975 on bars and won the event title during the team's victory over Maryland. The reaction of Davis and her teammates after her double dismount shows how great this routine was for the team on Saturday.

Amari Celestine, Missouri: We've been excited about this routine since before the season started: The music! The choreography! The diving roll! — and we've been eagerly awaiting another opportunity to share the Mizzou junior's routine. Fortunately for everyone who enjoys spectacular performances, that time is now. On Friday, Celestine even engaged Kentucky fans at Rupp Arena and earned his best score of the season with a 9.95.

Key meets this weekend

Friday: Auburn at LSU; 7 pm ET on the SEC Network

Friday: Florida, Illinois and Missouri at Lindenwood; 7 pm ET on the SEC Network

Friday: BYU at Kentucky; 7 pm Eastern Time

Friday: Michigan vs. Rutgers; 7 pm Eastern Time

Friday: Ohio State at Iowa; 7:30 pm Eastern Time

Saturday: Stanford at Oregon State; 2 p.m. ET on Pac-12 Insider

Saturday: Arkansas, California, Oklahoma and Washington; 8:15 pm Eastern Time

Sunday: Maryland at Michigan; 2 pm ET on B1G+

Sunday: Denver and Iowa State in West Virginia; 2 pm eastern time

Sunday: Minnesota at Illinois; 3 pm ET on B1G+

Monday: Alabama, Arkansas and Arizona at Texas Woman's; 3 pm Eastern Time

Monday: Utah at UCLA; 5:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2



You may also like...

▼
scroll to top