When Jay Clark woke up Friday morning, one of the first texts he got was from the athletic trainer regarding Haleigh Bryant.
“[She said] Haleigh was nauseous and had chills last night, and I’m like here we go,” Clark recalled. Then, assistant coach Garrett Griffeth had a response that ended up being foreshadowing of what was to come for the junior. “[He] sent me a GIF of Michael Jordan draining a 3.”
On a night centered around honoring the senior class, Bryant made LSU history in her own way as the No. 6 Tigers beat No. 35 West Virginia 198.025 to 196.450. Bryant tallied three perfect 10s and tied the LSU all-around record with a 39.875. She also became the first gymnast in LSU history to score three perfect 10s in one meet and became the all-time school leader for perfect 10s, passing Jennifer Wood and current assistant coach Ashleigh Gnat.
During the first rotation, LSU was headed toward a season low on vault. Elena Arenas was the only vault that had a stuck landing and had the highest score of 9.875 before Bryant righted the ship with her first 10 of the night. As the second rotation began, LSU found itself in a pressure situation after Arenas fell on her single-bar release, once again in danger of scoring a season low. Despite the subpar performance,…
