Despite a solid 198 in the finals of the National Championships, LSU left the arena facing a close defeat. Before the tears could set in, the coach delivered a message that helped the team resist sinking into despair.

Addressing the team, coach Jay Clark offered the team a way to reframe their heartbreak, saying, “Disappointed is okay, not defeated,” trying to remind them they may have lost that day, but they are far from beaten.

LSU was defeated by a narrow margin of 0.0875 against Oklahoma in the National Championships held on April 18 inside Dickies Arena. Well, Clark praised the team by stressing that “There's nothing to be ashamed of at all."

Clark began by talking about the nature of sports, “We just went to 198 on Championship Day. That's all you can ever ask for. Okay, sometimes the stars gotta line up.” This was a reminder to the team that they cannot control the score or the opposition, but scoring a benchmark was a victory in itself.

His “Do not wear this, okay?” was a clear directive for the team to walk out of the arena with their head held high, knowing they achieved an absolute benchmark score of 198.0750.

He acknowledges “I know you're going to cry,” validating that tears are natural to follow, but reminding them to be “sure that you're crying with the understanding that it's not over despair”, helping the team draw a firm line on why they were crying as they did the best they could.

LSU Tigers Delivered, But Lost in Finals

LSU gave a solid performance in trying to win. The highest-ever program score on uneven bars, 49.6125, helped LSU lead entering the last round of the competition, which resulted in their total score being 198.0750, the second-highest in the program's history in an NCAA final.

LSU lost only by 0.0875 because Oklahoma's women's gymnastics finished by scoring 49.6375 on floor exercises, which helped them score 198.1625 and win the tournament.

Of course, there were some great achievements in this game from LSU as well. For example, Kailin Chio scored a perfect 10 on vault, the first for LSU in an NCAA Championship final, and ranked second in all-around by scoring 39.700. Despite being injured, Konnor McClain scored 9.9500 on both bars and beam, with both scores tied for first in those events.

As for coach Jay Clark, he focused his speech on the whole team, stating that they had done what was required and entered the finals. And in the end, the numbers were close, and the result came down to the last event.

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Written by

Sebi Mehta

Edited by

Rudra Dubey