Michael Bacigalupi
BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 4 LSU Gymnastics team (3-1-1) put up a school record performance in their 2026 home opener, taking down the Kentucky Wildcats (0-5) by a final score of 198.050-195.725 on Friday night inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The Tigers welcomed 13,516 fans for their 2026 home opener, marking the highest attendance for a home opener in program history and the third largest crowd for a gymnastics meet in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in program history.
LSU’s 198.050 on the night also marked their highest score in a home opener in school history, beating the previous record of 197.850 set against Georgia in 2017. The Tigers swept all five event titles on the night; Sophomore Kailin Chio took home three with her perfect 10.00 on beam, 9.950 on vault and a 39.775 in the all-around to take home those titles while graduate student Courtney Blackson claimed the bars title with her 9.950 and sophomore Kaliya Lincoln took home the floor title with her 9.950.
The Tigers opened the meet on vault with a spectacular 9.900 from sophomore Lexi Zeiss in the leadoff to get the team going. Junior Konnor McClain kept the momentum going with a 9.825 in her first vault of her LSU career before freshman Nina Ballou made her vault debut with a 9.750 in the third spot. Junior Amari Drayton scored a 9.700 in the fourth spot ahead of a 9.825 from sophomore Kaliya Lincoln in the fifth spot. Sophomore Kailin Chio anchored with a stuck landing scoring a 9.950 to close out the vault.
After the first rotation, LSU took the early lead with a score of 49.350-48.975.
Zeiss once again gave LSU a strong leadoff off on bars, scoring a 9.925. Senior Ashley Cowan and junior Madison Ulrich followed in the second and third spots earning a 9.875 and 9.850, respectively. Chio competed in the fourth spot and executed a 9.900 ahead of a huge 9.950 from graduate senior Courtney Blackson in the fifth spot, matching her career high. Konnor McClain anchored the bars lineup and earned a 9.900 to bring the bars score to a 49.550, matching the team’s season-high on bars.
At the halfway point, the Tigers held a 98.800-98.150 lead over the Wildcats.
LSU moved to beam for rotation three where junior Kylie Coen scored a 9.850 before Zeiss delivered a 9.825 in her third routine of the night. Drayton and Lincoln executed back-to-back 9.925’s in spot three and four before McClain delivered an impressive 9.950 in the fifth spot. Chio closed out the beam rotation with a perfect 10.00, her first on the event and second of her career, bringing the beam score to a final 49.650. Chio’s perfect score meant that she was the first gymnast in the country to score a perfect 10.00 on beam so far this season.
LSU maintained a 148.450-147.225 lead over Kentucky heading into the final rotation.
The Tigers closed the meet on floor, where senior Emily Innes made her PMAC debut and led things off with a 9.925 to set the tone. Ballou followed with a 9.900 in the second spot in another PMAC debut, while Coen added a 9.825 in the third spot in her first floor appearance this season. Drayton delivered a strong 9.900 in the fourth position before Chio posted a standout 9.925 in the fifth spot. Lincoln anchored the rotation with a career high 9.950 to cap off the night bringing the floor score to a 49.600, a season high.
LSU finished the night with a 198.050 to secure the win over Kentucky’s 195.775.
Chio finished the night with a season high 39.775 in the all-around against the Wildcats after putting up four scores of 9.9+ on the night. The sophomore now owns seven titles in 2026 and 30 in her career through three meets of her sophomore season.
Blackson took home her second bars title of 2026 since her return while Lincoln earned the second of her career and first on floor.
The Tigers will travel to Columbia for another SEC road matchup against Missouri next week on Friday, January 30 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
**LSU PRESS RELEASE**
