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BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 2 national seed LSU Gymnastics took home the 2026 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional Championship with a final score of 197.825 on Saturday night inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, claiming the program’s 16th regional title and booking their ticket to the NCAA Championships.
The regional title means that LSU advances to the 2026 NCAA Championship Semifinals on Thursday, April 16, in Dickies Arena alongside Stanford, who finished second in the meet with a 197.225. The Tigers will await which session they will compete in, either at 3:30 p.m. CT or 8 p.m. CT.
The win marked the 16th regional title in program history for LSU and will be the fourth straight year that the Tigers have qualified to the NCAA Championships under head coach Jay Clark.
The Fighting Tigers had two perfect scores on the night – one from sophomore Kailin Chio, who scored a 10.000 on vault, while sophomore Kaliya Lincoln finished the night with a 10.000 on floor, the first of her collegiate career. LSU wrapped up the night with a 49.650 on floor, the third highest floor score at an NCAA Regional in program history.
Sophomore Lexi Zeiss opened the night for the Tigers on vault with a 9.850. Junior Konnor McClain scored a 9.850 of her own in the second spot before sophomore Victoria Roberts matched her career-high with a 9.900 in spot three.The fourth spot saw sophomore Kaliya Lincoln earn a 9.825 ahead of a 9.85 from junior Amari Drayton in spot five. In the anchor spot, Chio went perfect on vault for the second consecutive meet and rounded things out with a 10.000 score, her fifth on vault this season. The perfect performance from Chio brought LSU’s rotation score to 49.450.
The LSU Tigers (49.450) held a narrow lead after the first rotation ahead of Stanford (49.400), Michigan (49.375), and Clemson (49.175).
Rotation two saw LSU hit the uneven bars, where Zeiss led off with a 9.875. Senior Ashley Cowan scored a 9.900 in the second spot ahead of a 9.850 from junior Madison Ulrich in spot three. Chio added a 9.800 in the fourth spot before freshman Hailey Mustari marked her NCAA postseason debut with a 9.875 in spot five. The anchor spot saw McClain fall from the bars and she was unable to complete her routine, which meant LSU finished the rotation with a 49.300 score.
At the halfway point of the night, LSU led with a 98.750, followed by Clemson (98.600), Michigan (98.475), and Stanford (98.350).
The third rotation took LSU to the beam, where junior Kylie Coen got things rolling for the Tigers with a 9.900. Zeiss scored a 9.850 in the second spot, followed by a 9.825 from Drayton in the third spot. Spot four saw Lincoln tally a 9.875 before Ulrich scored a 9.825 on her first beam routine since February. In the anchor spot, Chio posted a near-perfect 9.975 to bring LSU’s beam score to 49.425.
Heading into the final rotation of the night, LSU’s 148.175 put the team in first place in the meet, followed by Stanford (147.900), Clemson (147.900), and Michigan (147.575).
LSU concluded the night on the floor, with senior Emily Innes scoring a 9.850 in the opening spot. Freshman Nina Ballou tacked on a 9.850 in the second spot before Coen scored a 9.875 in spot three. Spot four saw Drayton match her career-high with a 9.95 before Chio scored a 9.975 in the fifth spot. The final performance of the night saw Lincoln finish perfect with a 10.000 floor routine, the first perfect score of her collegiate career. LSU finished the night with a 49.650 score on the floor, its third highest score at an NCAA regional in program history.
LSU finished the night on top Saturday’s meet with a 197.675 to claim the regional championship, their third straight regional title. Stanford in the second and final advancement spot with a 197.225. Clemson (197.150) and Michigan (196.750) finished in third and fourth respectively and were eliminated from the NCAA Championship.
Individually, LSU Tigers took home at least a share of every individual title on the night. Chio took home the vault title with her perfect 10, the beam title with her 9.975, and the all-around with a 39.750. She now has 40 event titles this season and 63 in her career.
Cowan took home a share of the bars title with a 9.900, her second straight bars title and the fifth individual title of her career. Lincoln’s perfect score on the floor saw her take home that title, her seventh event title this season and the eight of her career.
With Chio’s perfect 10 tonight on vault, that means she’s now at 12 perfect scores this season and 13 in her career. She marked her eighth meet this season that she’s posted a perfect score, which means she’s scored at least one 10 in more meets (eight) than meets she hasn’t (six) on the year.
Chio’s 40 event titles and counting this season marks only the fourth time in program history that an LSU Gymnast has won 40 or more event titles in a single season. She joins Sarah Finnegan (49 – 2019), Susan Jackson (45 – 2010), and Sandra Smith (45 – 1980) in that prestigious club.
Stay up to date with all things LSU Gymnastics by following the team’s social media channels @LSUgym on Instagram, X and Facebook.
**LSU Press Release
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