Sarah Finnegan, D-D Breaux Named SEC Gymnast, Coach of the Year

LSU’s gymnastics season had its ups and downs early, but the Tigers persevered through a rash of injuries to close the final month of the season on a crazy hot streak that propelled them to a dramatic SEC Championship victory in New Orleans last weekend.

Senior all-around star Sarah Finnegan was a big part of that resurgence, and clinched the conference title on Saturday night with perfect 10 on the Floor. That, and a run of seven gymnast of the week honors has clinched the SEC Gymnast of the Year award for Finnegan.

This marks her second consecutive year as the conference’s top honor, joining LSU legend April Burkholder and Alabama’s Andree Pickens as the only athletes to earn the award in consecutive seasons.

And for her efforts, D-D Breaux has also earned the SEC Coach of the Year award for the ninth time. I’ll let the LSU release tell the rest:

This marks the ninth time Breaux has been recognized by her peers as Coach of the Year. Breaux also earned the honor in 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2015 and 2017. The dean of all coaches in SEC history led the squad to a record of 18-3 overall and the program’s third-straight SEC championship.

Five gymnasts under Breaux’s direction earned WCGA regular season All-America honors. LSU has continued to improve in each week of the season and over the final four weeks leading into NCAA postseason the squad has average a 197.900. The LSU team is the second in NCAA Gymnastics history to average a 197.900 or higher in four meets.

LSU will begin the NCAA’s postseason next weekend with a regional tournament in Baton Rouge at the PMAC.

In the meantime, let’s relive that perfect 10, shall we?