Ahead of the opening match in the Southeastern Conference, LSU Gymnastics had the tickling injury issue. The front-end performer Aleah Finnegan reserved herself for one event against the Kentucky Wildcats because of her injury. On the other hand, the fabled floor gymnast for the Tigers, Kiya Johnson, was making her comeback after an injury-affected last season. So for LSU head coach Jay Clark, the reasons for worry were heavy.
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However, the depth of the Tigers’ camp helped them to sail through the challenges the Wildcats brought on. Moreover, Kiya Johnson shared the lead role in astoundingly bringing the victory.
The LSU gymnastics connection
The LSU Gymnastics won their opening match with a scoreline of 198.125 against the Wildcats’ 197.600. In that near-to-perfect score, Kiya Johnson’s perfect ten on the floor created much furor. The espnW’s IG handle fervently mentioned the story in its directed post. With the headline “Kiya Johnson’s comeback story wrote another chapter on Friday”, the post opened up a series of episodes coming from last season. Eventually, Olivia Dunne’s teammate’s previous season injury had come while she was in her floor routine against the same rival, Kentucky Wildcats. The concerned ACL injury had forced her to take the supporter’s role when her team was up in the national championship. However, this time, the 21-year-old artistic gymnast came with all guns blazing.
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At the start of the LSU Gymnastics’ punch against the Wildcats, Johnson registered her 9.850 in the vault. After that, she perfected her step and claimed a consecutive 9.90 in the event. That was enough to raise the possibility that a perfect ten was coming in the way. At last, the Tigers’ All-Around brought her perfect ten on the vault as her first in the season. The platform couldn’t be better than that.
The stellar fight
With Kiya Johnson, Amari Drayton perfectly contributed to the LSU Gymnastics’ record scoreline (highest since their match against Utah in 2022) last weekend. However, for Johnson, the stakes were high. For the last few seasons, injuries had made her irregular on the mats. So when she returned last December, coach Jay Clark felt elated. Moreover, he was eager to see his protégé back in the color in which she was much known throughout the NCAA years. That oscillated in the statements Johnson gave after the match.
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“I really don’t think I can put it into words fully, right now. It’s still surreal”, she conceded. Those lines justified the comeback everyone wanted to see from Kiya Johnson.
Watch this story: LSU Gymnast Olivia Dunne Pulls Off a Stunning Vault Routine to Pay Tribute to the Sport of Gymnastics
