The 8 moments that defined LSU athletics in 2022

2022 was quite a year on the bayou.

It was a wild year for LSU.

We saw coaches get fired and hired. Hearts were broken by blocked extra-points and put back together with game-winning two-point conversions. There were improbable comebacks and squandered opportunities.

New arrivals, like [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag] and [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag], excelled on the field and on the court. Meanwhile, bona fide stars like baseball’s [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] and gym’s [autotag]Haleigh Bryant[/autotag] did their thing, too.

Stories about NIL and the transfer portal dominated the discussion around college sports, and it was no different at LSU with football and baseball signing transfer after transfer and gym’s [autotag]Olivia Dunne[/autotag] signing NIL deal after NIL deal.

Here’s a look at the stories that defined LSU in 2022.

Five LSU senior gymnasts to return for one more year

LSU returns some of its strongest gymnasts.

Five out of the six seniors on LSU’s women’s gymnastics team decided this season just wasn’t enough. Bridget Dean, Christina Desiderio, Reagan Campbell, Sami Durante, and Sarah Edwards have each decided to return to LSU for another competition season in 2022.

The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to seniors whose season was cut short due to the pandemic. Schools have been given the opportunity to extend extra scholarships for student-athletes who wish to return for another year.

With the five seniors returning, LSU brings a wealth of experience to the 2022 season. Four of the five gymnasts earned All-America honors during their careers.

The Tigers will undeniably one of the best teams in the country by returning extremely talented underclassmen including Kiya Johnson and Haleigh Bryant.

LSU also welcomes one of the most talented freshman classes in the country totaling the roster to 23.

It’s safe to say the Tigers a returning with a vengeance.

Former LSU gymnast Ashleigh Gnat returns to program as assistant coach

Ashleigh Gnat returns to the LSU gymnastics program, three years after leaving her mark as one of the greatest gymnasts in Tigers history.

Ashleigh Gnat, remarkably one of the greatest gymnasts in LSU history, is returning to the program.

But this time, she’ll be doing so as an assistant coach.

She will join new Tigers head coach Jay Clark’s staff after being an assistant coach at Penn State last season.

Gnat finished her collegiate career in 2017, and left as one of the greatest LSU athletes of all-time. During her time in Baton Rouge, she was an All-American 17 times, a four-time SEC champion in floor, vault, and beam, while recording a perfect 10 score nine times.

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Her senior year, she was awarded the 2017 AAI Award, which is given to the top senior gymnast at the NCAA level.

The former Tigers great won 62 individual titles during her tenure with the Tigers, and was the recipient of the 2017 Corbett Award, given to the top male and female athletes in the state of Louisiana.

Her senior year was her best as she won a school-record 12 floor exercise titles.

Returning to LSU as an assistant coach will provide Gnat with the opportunity to teach and mentor the current LSU gymnasts on their quest for more individual titles, and more importantly, a national championship.

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Gnat’s occupation with the staff puts her coaching the balance beam, a portion of the sport that she strongly competed in while a member of the team.

Following the retirement of legendary coach D-D Breaux, a spot had to be filled after Clark accepted the head coach position. While the school interviewed many candidates, Gnat was the perfect fit.

Her legacy at LSU will never be forgotten, and now she gets a chance to make more memories, this time while coaching the team instead of competing.

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LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux announces retirement after 43 years

Breaux is officially departing from the program.

LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux announced her retirement on Tuesday after 43 years, effective immediately.

Tigers co-head coach Jay Clark will replace Breaux beginning next season.

Called the ”Dean of LSU Coaches,” Breaux leaves as the longest tenured coach in any sport in the SEC. She has built the LSU gymnastics program into a national powerhouse over the course of her nearly half-century career.

During her time as coach, Breaux has coached over 200 gymnasts and led the program to 15 individual NCAA Championships. The gymnasts she has coached have won 44 SEC titles, with 266 All-Americans and 91 All-SEC honors.

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Over 43 years, the Tigers’ leader has amounted over 800 total wins and the program has placed in the top-10 nationally 31 times during her tenure.

The Tigers’ gymnastics team finished in second place in 2016, 2017, and 2019, third place in 2014, fourth in 1988 and 2018, and fifth place nationally in 2008 and 2013.

Breaux leaves an LSU program that has won the SEC title three years in a row. She led the Tigers to the inaugural SEC Championship in 1981, and then led them to three straight conference titles in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

She has won the SEC Coach of the Year Award nine times in 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2015, 2017, and 2019. Breaux has also been awarded the NCAA Central Regional Coach of the Year nine times in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017.

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During her final four seasons, the Tigers averaged at least 10,000 fans at every home meet and finished top five nationally over the past seven years in attendance. The gymnastics program owns two sellouts and four meets with 13,000-plus fans in the history of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Her coaching career ends with eight NCAA Championship Finals Appearances, 35 consecutive NCAA Regional Appearances, 19 regional titles, seven SEC gymnasts of the year, six SEC Championships, and many more accolades.

Breaux’s legacy at LSU will last forever. While she won’t be seen coaching the gymnastics program anymore, she plans to remain at LSU as an ambassador with the athletics department.

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LSU Gymnastics sets 2021 schedule

On Wednesday, the LSU gymnastics team finalized their 2021 schedule. The Tigers are coming off a 2020 season in which they finished first in the SEC and second nationally with an average attendance of 11,417 fans. The schedule pits LSU against nine …

On Wednesday, the LSU gymnastics team finalized their 2021 schedule.

The Tigers are coming off a 2020 season in which they finished first in the SEC and second nationally with an average attendance of 11,417 fans.

The schedule pits LSU against nine teams that were ranked in the top 25 last season. LSU finished the 2020 campaign ranked No. 6 in the country.

The 2021 home meet slate includes Oregon State, Georgia, Florida, Auburn, New Hampshire, Missouri and Illinois. The Tigers will travel to Arkansas, TWU, Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas and Kentucky.

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The 2021 SEC Gymnastics Championship will take place at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, roughly an hour and a half from Baton Rouge.

Should LSU qualify for the NCAA Championships, it would be their 31st overall appearance in the NCAA Championships. The championships will take place on April 1-3, 2021, at Utah, Missouri, New Hampshire or West Virginia.

The home gym of the Tigers, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, is considered one of the top environments in all of women’s gymnastics. Head coach D-D Breaux enters her 43rd season as the head gymnastics coach at LSU.

Remarkably one of the best coaches in LSU athletics history, Breaux has a record of 800-410-8. She has a .610 winning percentage during her time at LSU.

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Breaux last won the SEC Coach of the Year award in 2017 and led the Tigers to three straight SEC Meet championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

LSU will look to win more individual championships in 2021, and their quest to finally bring home a team national championship begins in early 2021.

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LSU Athletics lands two nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year

Will Harrold or Zwiebel take home the honors?

LSU Athletics landed two nominees for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award on Tuesday. Ruby Harrold of LSU Gymnastics and Anna Zwiebel of LSU Volleyball were listed as the school’s selections.

The NCAA Woman of the Year nominees come from all three division levels of NCAA athletics. The award was introduced in 1991 and recognizes graduating female student-athletes who represented their school in academics, athletics, service and leadership.

Harrold’s recognition as an international student-athlete from Bristol, England gave LSU the chance to select her as a nominee. Usually, schools are limited to one selection.

Harrold became a star for the Tigers’ gymnastics team, especially in the vault, bars and floor lineup during her collegiate career.

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She was a three-time All-American, and helped lead the Tigers to five SEC Championships and two NCAA National runner-up finishes. She was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection and was named to the SEC Community Service Team.

Zwiebel finished her Tigers volleyball career as a top-10 setter, and her 2,238 assists ranks eighth all-time in program history. She recorded a career-high 65 assists against High Point in 2017.

Zwiebel became the first Tigers volleyball student-athlete to be a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, as she earned a 4.046 GPA in the classroom.

Each conference will select up to two nominees from their list of respective schools before sending the list to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee. The committee will then select the top 30 nominees with 10 selections from each division and the winner will be announced later in the fall.

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