Filipino-American Paris Olympian Aleah Finnegan snared the floor exercise title as the Louisiana State University Tigers toppled Auburn University, 198.200-197.550, in the regular season finale on Friday night inside Neville Arena in Alabama.
The Tigers, who swept all five individual titles, went on to claim the 2025 Southeastern Conference regular season championship for the third time in program history in the ongoing US NCAA Division 1 gymnastics’ competitions.
The LSU Tigers’ list of singular honors came with Kailin Chio taking the vault with her perfect 10 score, senior Haleigh Bryant ruling the bars with a 9.975, beam with a 9.950 and the all-around with a 39.775, while Finnegan brought home the floor crown with a 9.975.
It was Finnegan’s first floor title since the Tigers took on Florida, her 14th this year and 37th in her career.
Finishing with an overall 11-2 win-loss record, the Tigers went on to share the regular season crown with solo leader Oklahoma State University, who wields the same 7-1 conference record with the Tigers.
On the same night, the Sooners turned back Georgia, 198.475-197.975.
The Sooners and the Tigers will meet at the Legacy Arena at The BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama to fight for the SEC championship.
It was the first regular season title for the LSU Tigers in six years, after winning in 2017 and 2018.
“I don’t think there’s any question that was our best road performance. Ever since Arkansas, I’ve challenged them to continue to improve on the road, and they’ve done it. That meet was every bit worthy of that score,” said head coach Jay Clark on social media.
Finnegan, the reigning NCAA national floor champion, made her big moves during rotation 3 in the floor exercises.
Here, Finnegan matched her season high in the floor with a 9.975, after she executed the best double Arabian to immediate stag jump, followed by a switch ring split full, 180-degrees. She had difficulty with a 2.5 twist before punching front, but Finnegan still pulled through.
The anchor spot saw Bryant close out the rotation with a 9.95 and LSU taking the team score in the event to a 49.650.
The final rotation of the night saw LSU in the beam, with Finnegan anchoring with a 9.875 to take LSU’s total to a 49.375 and the team’s final score to 198.200.