How to Watch: Livvy Dunne, No. 2 LSU Gymnastics Set to Face No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats

Dunne and the No. 2 ranked Tigers head to Lexington for a clash against the Wildcats, looking to remain hot.

Courtesy of LSU Gymnastics.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 2 LSU Gymnastics team (7-2, 4-1 SEC) is set to take on No. 9 Kentucky (5-3, 2-2 SEC)  for a top 10 matchup in the Historic Memorial Coliseum (HMC) at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, February 21. 

“Our goal stays the same every week. We still have to perform at a high level outside of our arena and that’s what we’re looking to do tomorrow,” said head coach Jay Clark. “Certainly getting the win is important in our hunt for the regular season title, but really we just want to show improvement from the last time we were on the road. I want us to take the next step tomorrow as a team, and the only way to do that is to stay focused on the task at hand.”

Jason Ross Jr. and Sam Peszek will serve as the commentators for Friday’s competition in Lexington. LSU is 88-10-0 all-time against Kentucky and 16-6-0 on the road against the Wildcats.

The Tigers will be looking to secure their first road win in Lexington in three years, having last won there in 2017.

Live stats and broadcast information for the meet can be found here.

Last Time On The Floor

In a battle between the top teams in the nation, the No. 2 LSU Gymnastics team handed the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners their first loss of the 2025 season with a final score of 198.050-197.675 last Friday night inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The Tigers were powered to the win by season-high scores in vault (49.600) and on floor (49.700) in front of a record crowd of 13,386 Tiger fans, the fourth largest in program history.

Individually, freshman Kailin Chio claimed her third consecutive all-around title with a career high 39.725 performance. LSU claimed two other event titles – graduate student Sierra Ballard took home the first beam title of her collegiate career with a 9.95 routine while three Tigers claimed a share of the floor title with a 9.95 – Senior Haleigh Bryant, sophomore Amari Drayton and Chio.

It was a back and forth battle in the PMAC between the Tigers and the Sooners. LSU took the early lead over OU after a season high vault rotation by a margin of 49.600-49.425, but the Sooners quickly evened the match at 98.850-98.850 at the halfway point.

Oklahoma had the lead heading into the final rotation on the night by a margin of 148.425-148.350, but the Tigers finished strong on floor, which was kicked off by a career high 9.925 performance from freshman Kaliya Lincoln in her first time in the leadoff spot

The Tigers floor lineup clinched a 198.050-197.675 win over the Sooners, its first win over a No. 1-ranked foe since No. 1 Florida at the 2021 SEC Championships and first in the regular season over No. 1 since 2016, which also came against Oklahoma.

Chio’s floor and all-around title marks her 11th event titles of the season, with it being her third in the all-around and her first on floor. Bryant’s share of the floor title marked her third title of the season while Drayton and Ballard’s share of floor marks their first event titles of the year.

Scouting The Wildcats

In the first NQS rankings of the season, Kentucky slotted at No. 9 with an NQS of 196.950. Kentucky has scored over 197 in four of its last five meets, including three straight. The Wildcats currently have a season high of 197.300.

The Cats are undefeated at HMC and have scored over 197 in all three home meets this season. They rank 5th on VT (49.235), 11th on UB (49.170), 10th on BB (49.195), and 11th on FX (49.285).

Kentucky has won its last three home duals against LSU and has not lost to the Tigers in Lexington since 2017.

Individually, Skylar Killough-Wilhelm leads the Cats with seven event wins this season (3 AA, 3 UB, 1 VT). Isabella Magnelli is No. 1 in the SEC and No. 2 in the NCAA on beam with an initial NQS of 9.920. She also ranks No. 10 on vault with an initial NQS of 9.880. Magnelli is one of 12 NCAA gymnasts–and six in the SEC–to rank in the top ten on two or more events.

Makenzie Wilson and Hailey Davis also rank in the top ten on their specialties. Wilson is No. 10 on vault (9.880) and Davis is No. 8 on floor (9.915).

Chio Claimed Fifth SEC Freshman of the Week Honor

Kailin Chio continues to be the top freshman in the nation as she claimed her fifth SEC Freshman of the Week honor, announced by the league on Tuesday.

Chio won the week seven award after another stellar performance in the all-around that helped lead the Tigers to victory over No. 1 Oklahoma last Friday. The freshman posted a career high 39.725 in the all-around to finish as the top gymnast in the meet and claim her third straight all-around title. This week marks her fifth career SEC award and third consecutive, the most by any freshman this year. 

The Henderson, Nevada native put up scores of 9.9+ on every event for the Tigers on Friday, including a career high 9.950 on floor. Her other scores on the night were a 9.950 on vault, 9.900 on bars and 9.925 on beam. 

Chio enters the eighth week of regular season competition with an NQS of 39.435 to place her at No. 9 in the national all-round rankings. She is also ranked No. 1 in the nation on vault with her NQS of 9.930 and No. 8 on beam with an NQS of 9.895.

Week Seven Road To Nationals Rankings

The Tigers sit at No. 3 in the national rankings as they enter the eighth week of regular season competition. Oklahoma continues to be the No. 1 team in the country with their NQS of 197.730, followed by UCLA in the second spot with an NQS of 197.455. Utah and Florida round out the top five this week.

This week’s rankings mark the first week that the National Qualifying Score (NQS) kicks in, which is an average of a team’s top six scores, three of which must be away scores with the highest score being dropped. Rankings will now be determined by NQS the remainder of the season. 

The Tigers enter the eighth week of competition with an NQS of 197.420 following their performance through seven regular season meets so far. LSU’s five counting scores toward their NQS are 198.000, 197.550, 197.650, 197.300 and 196.600, dropping their season high score of 198.050 against Oklahoma.

No. 3 LSU remains the top vault team in the country for the third consecutive week with their NQS of 49.430 on the event. The Tigers posted the country’s highest vault score in the country against No. 1 Oklahoma last Friday, joining No. 7 Michigan State as the only two teams to reach that mark this year. 

The Tigers held on to their spot in the top 10 on every event as NQS went into effect, placing fourth on bars, fifth on beam and seventh on floor. 

Freshman Kailin Chio continues to impress in her first season at LSU, making her way back into the top 10 in the all-around this week. She owns a NQS of 39.435 to place her as the No. 9 gymnast in the nation. 

Aleah Finnegan, Konnor McClain, Amari Drayton and Chase Brock also all own a spot amongst the top 25 performers in the nation across multiple events.

More LSU News:

The Breakdown: LSU Football Holds No. 1 Recruiting Class in the SEC

LSU Football "Firmly in the Mix" for Coveted Oregon Ducks Quarterback Commitment

Three Observations From LSU Baseball's Opening Weekend Sweep

Join the Community:

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.