FILIPINO-AMERICAN standout Aleah Finnegan celebrated a perfect 10 score with her teammates as the Louisiana State University Tigers brought down the University of Georgia Bulldogs, 198.575-197.175, over the weekend in their final home meet of the year.
Finnegan’s 10 came when she took home the beam honors, while anchoring the team in the third rotation, as she also earned a share of the vault crown as well.
Finnegan’s flawless routine consisted of a back handstand, a pair of layout-stepout moves, considered as among the best that she has done for the year, according to reviews.
A switch leap to split jump followed for the 21-year-old Finnegan and it got a nice review from the judges again, before full turn that was likewise rated good.
Finnegan, who represented the Philippines at the 2024 Paris Olympics, finished with a great front aerial, before dismounting with a full gainer to the side and a stuck landing.
According to reviews, “individually, Finnegan’s perfect score is the eighth in her decorated career, her second on the beam and first in the event since 2023.”
The 5’4” Finnegan is also expected to be back for Team Philippines in the coming 2025 Southeast Asian Games once she is done with her final year with the Tigers.
The Tigers, who are building up to defend their NCAA Division 1 national crown and Finnegan’s national floor exercise plum, went on to set a new program record with their score in front of a crowd of 13,476.
With the fourth largest gymnastics’ crowd recorded in the venue’s history, the Tigers’ final score of 198.575 was powered by strong showings across the five events, – including a new season high on beam (49.675), powered by Finnegan’s performance.
With their 6-2 win-loss conference record, the Tigers, however, remained behind the Oklohama University Sooners.
LSU brought home at least a share of all five event titles on the night, with Finnegan, sophomore Amari Drayton and freshman Kailin Chio splitting the vault gold with a 9.950.
Sophomore Konnor McClain took the bars title with a 9.975, with the floor going to senior Haleigh Bryant and Chio sharing the title with Georgia’s Lily Smith with a 9.975.
The all-around title went to Chio with her 39.800 score, the highest all-around score by a freshman in program history.
“Obviously, tremendous performance from our team across the board. I thought we started out on fire in the vault and continued that in the bars,” said head coach Jay Clark.
The Tigers will now finish the regular season by being unbeaten at home with a perfect 5-0 record, the first time since 2017 and 2018.