The college gymnastics season is here now to take over. And the LSU Tigers’ camp is already feeling the heat. The defending national champion has a lot of tasks in the upcoming season to set the pace. Last April, they thwarted every challenge to claim the coveted NCAA Gymnastics Championships title. Now, they will have to defend it. On January 3, the Tigers will step in on their home turf, Baton Rouge, to kick off their season opener. Iowa State will be the guest at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge. But before entering the season opener, the Tigers will not get their key gymnast’s service in the duel—Haleigh Bryant. 

Yes, the 23-year-old ‘super senior’ will have to sit on the sidelines in the opening game. But for how long? There was an update, however. On December 30, LSU Tigers gymnastics coach Jay Clark and another ‘super senior,’ Sierra Ballard, sat in the press conference to update the outlets about several pieces of news. In the press conference, the coach claimed, “We did get the news of you know of Haleigh [Bryant] being out at least temporarily, and that’ll be kind of week to week, and we’ll see you know where that takes us.” The coach seemed optimistic about seeing Haleigh after the Iowa State duel. So the issue might not have moved him. Furthermore, he had to clear the air regarding the team’s determination. 

Sharing a note on that topic, Clark said, “As Sierra said, the sky’s not falling, and‌ certainly we hate it for Haleigh and for anybody when they’re injured and when and when they’re not able to do everything that they’d like to do, but lots of teams deal with injuries.” The words might keep the team’s atmosphere easygoing in the coming days. Yet keeping someone like Bryant out of the roster will not give Jay Clarke a positive feeling. After all, everyone knows what she did last season. Isn’t it?

Last year, Haleigh Bryant helped the Tigers achieve their finest college gymnastics season. How? The Cornelius native featured in 62 events for the Baton Rouge-based team. In those 62 events, Haleigh had 31 scores that went above 9.950. That makes up 50% of her events. Then what about the rest of her events? Well, in 25 events, she went beyond scoring 9.900. In the season-end, she had more than 9.900 as average in every gymnastic routine. Not only that, Haleigh had a few more achievements in her bag last season. 

What about some individual victories? Last season, Haleigh had a lot of it. She concluded the season with 33 individual victories, claiming the fifth rank of having such individual victories in a single season in the program’s history. Also, she had more than 39.8 as the National Qualifying Score (NQS) in the all-around category. Haleigh Bryant’s spectacular gymnastics performance secured her the 2024 NCAA All-around Champion crown. However, this time, she joined the camp using her fifth-year eligibility. So, it will be her last season in college gymnastics. Wouldn’t she want to end in that way only? Sure. But the fans will not see her in the opening game of Bryant’s last collegiate gymnastics season. Wouldn’t that pose a blow for her squad? What is their mindset? 

LSU Tigers stay motivated despite Haleigh Bryant’s absence 

Per Jay Clark’s comment, Haleigh Bryant came in the grip of injury while performing a vault in the LSU Tigers’ Gymnastics 101 exhibition meet this month. However, the gymnast didn’t let anyone know about this and executed her schedule flawlessly. But later, she experienced excruciating pain in her elbow because of the bursitis. The coach doesn’t want to take any risk in the initial days of the gymnastics season. In the press conference, he said, “You know there’s rarely been a year‌ in sport where a team doesn’t deal with some level of adversity that comes their way, and so I’d rather be dealing with it now than in April, so hopefully we can make the right calls, make the right decisions, and get some people some opportunities.” But are the teammates ready to take up the opportunities? 

According to Sierra Ballard, yes. The 5th-year gymnast thinks that her teammates will rise in Haleigh Bryant’s absence. “It’s very unfortunate to see your teammates and your best friends get injured and to see the mountain that they’re going to have to deal with,” she said about the all-around champion. The next moment, she showcased the Tigers’ determination. “This team is filled with depth and filled with talent, and it’s the same mindset. It’s the same approach no matter what happens, and Jay always says the best way to honor somebody is with your actions, and so that’s what we’re going to do this weekend for her,” Ballard confirmed. For the rest of the story, you must wait for January 3.