Aleah Finnegan was on the verge of tears the moment her feet hit the mat following her balance beam routine in the anchor spot of LSU’s lineup.
The Tigers entered the final rotation of the NCAA women’s gymnastics championship Saturday trailing Utah by .037, and though the Utes left the door open with a few mistakes on vault, LSU needed Finnegan to put up a clutch performance to replace the 9.3875 Savannah Schoenherr received after an uncharacteristic fall. Fellow Tigers Konnor McClain, Kiya Johnson and Haleigh Bryant recorded three straight scores of 9.950 or better to get the Tigers back on track, but the margin of error remained slim after Utah rallied to a strong finish.
With a shot at clinching LSU’s first national title teetering on the four-inch width of the beam, Finnegan delivered.
The 21-year-old, who will represent the Philippines at the Paris Olympics this summer, was rock solid from the moment she jumped to perch sideways for her mount. She floated through her difficult backhand spring, layout step-out, layout step-out series, tossed a front aerial with ease and capped the title-winning performance by drilling her full-twisting gainer dismount.
LSU started celebrating before the judges flashed Finnegan’s score, and when her 9.950 sealed the deal, there were…
