2017 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 32
BY SENATORS ALARIO, ALLAIN, APPEL, BARROW, BISHOP, BOUDREAUX,
CARTER, CHABERT, CLAITOR, COLOMB, CORTEZ, DONAHUE,
ERDEY, FANNIN, GATTI, HEWITT, JOHNS, LAFLEUR, LAMBERT,
LONG, LUNEAU, MARTINY, MILKOVICH, MILLS, MIZELL,
MORRELL, MORRISH, PEACOCK, PERRY, PETERSON, RISER,
GARY SMITH, JOHN SMITH, TARVER, THOMPSON,
WALSWORTH, WARD AND WHITE AND REPRESENTATIVES
STEVE CARTER, FOIL AND SMITH
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To commend and congratulate the coaches, gymnasts, and staff of the LSU Women's
Gymnastics Team for a record-setting season.
WHEREAS, the LSU Women's Gymnastics Team posted an outstanding regular
season winning the inaugural SEC regular season championship, but the best was yet to
come; and
WHEREAS, at the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championship, the Tigers posted
a team score of 198.075, the fourth-highest score in school history and the third-highest in
SEC Championship meet history, to claim the title; and
WHEREAS, LSU claimed five SEC event championships to tie the school record as
senior Ashleigh Gnat earned titles on vault, beam, and floor, sophomore Lexie Priessman
won the individual title on bars, and fellow sophomore McKenna Kelley also earned a share
of the floor title for the Tigers; and
WHEREAS, seven members of the team totaled 11 (NACGC/W) Regular Season
All-America honors to set a new school record - Gnat on vault, floor, and beam; junior Myia
Hambrick in the all-around and on vault and floor; freshmen Kennedi Edney and Sydney
Ewing on vault; sophomore Sarah Finnegan on beam; McKenna Kelly as SEC floor exercise
champion; and Lexie Priessman, an SEC champion on the uneven bars; and
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WHEREAS, head coach D-D Breaux was named SEC Coach of the Year for guiding
the Tigers to 20-1 record overall and perfect 7-0 mark in league meets and leading the squad
to a historic sweep of the league's regular season and tournament championships; and
WHEREAS, Ashleigh Gnat was named the Southeastern Conference specialist of the
year, the second consecutive season Gnat has been so honored; and
WHEREAS, for their performance at the SEC Tournament, Gnat and Kelley on floor,
Hambrick on vault and bars, Priessman on bars, and freshman Ruby Harrold on vault earned
All-SEC honors for a new school record and Harrold and Edney were also named to the
All-SEC freshman team after their performances on vault and beam respectively; and
WHEREAS, at the NCAA Regional, the team totaled a 197.450 to finish first to
secure a spot in the 2017 NCAA Championship, posting the highest team score at a Regional
held away from Baton Rouge in school history, winning 16th title for the program and the
fifth straight; and
WHEREAS, LSU gymnasts captured four of five titles as Sarah Finnegan totaled a
39.475 in the all-around and won bars with a 9.95, Kennedi Edney posted a 9.925 on vault
for the outright title, and Ashleigh Gnat also scored a 9.95 on floor for the victory; and
WHEREAS, in the semifinal NCAA Championship competition, LSU posted a
198.275 for the highest score ever by any team at an NCAA Championship to secure a spot
in the program's sixth Super Six in school history; and
WHEREAS, three gymnasts won individual national championships for the most at
a single meet in school history - Gnat captured the floor title with a 9.9675, Finnegan took
home the first bars national championship in school history after posting a 9.95 in the fifth
spot of the lineup; and Edney captured the vault title outright for a 9.9875 and a new career
high, and became the first freshman in school history to win a national championship with
the outright title win setting the highest score by an LSU gymnast ever at an NCAA
Championship; and
WHEREAS, at the NCAA Championship finals the Tigers closed out a historic
season with a furious comeback to finish second at the NCAA Championships with a team
score of 197.7375 for the second-highest score at an NCAA meet in school history; and
WHEREAS, down by .150 heading into the final rotation, the Tigers' beam squad
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posted an incredible score of 49.725 to roar back into second place; the beam score tied for
the best in school history and the best for any team ever at an NCAA Championship; and
WHEREAS, in her final performance as a Tiger, Ashleigh Gnat hit beam for a 9.975
to capture second place as Sarah Finnegan also scored 9.975 with the pair's scores marking
the best at an NCAA Championship on the event in school history; and
WHEREAS, Finnegan ended with a 39.625 in the all-around to tie Susan Jackson for
the best performance at an NCAA Championship in school history; and
WHEREAS, fourteen Tigers claimed All-America honors for the most in a single
year in school history - Finnegan (bars, beam, floor, and all-around); Gnat (beam, floor, and
vault); Hambrick (beam, floor, and all-around); Edney (vault); Ewing (vault); Priessman
(bars); and Kelley (floor); and
WHEREAS, Ashleigh Gnat was named 2017 AAI Award winner as the best senior
gymnast in the country, the second LSU gymnast in school history to win the award; and
WHEREAS, the LSU Women's Gymnastics Team posted a 34-2 record overall for
the most wins in a single season in school history, completed the season with a perfect (21-0)
record against SEC teams for the first time in school history, and completed the historic
sweep of the Southeastern Conference championships while bringing home three individual
NCAA Championships; and
WHEREAS, LSU finished as the NCAA National Runner-Up for a second-straight
season to match the best finish in school history; the Tigers posted nine scores which rank
in the top-25 in school history, including the 198.275 in Semifinal II for the second-best
score at an NCAA Championship ever; and
WHEREAS, overall, LSU was one of the most consistent teams in the country with
a score of 197 or better in every single meet for a new school record and the Tigers are
currently on a streak of 23-straight meets with a 197 or better, which bested the previous
record of 15; and
WHEREAS, Head Coach D-D Breaux was named the NCGA and NACGC Coach
of the Year for the second time in her career and Assistant Coaches Bob Moore and Jay
Clark were also named NCGA and NACGC Co-Assistant Coaches of the Year for their
efforts.
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of Louisiana that the coaches,
gymnasts, and staff of the LSU Women's Gymnastics Team are hereby commended and
congratulated upon a record-setting season, winning the Southeastern Conference Regular
Season and Tournament Championships, and finishing second in the national championship
Super Six for the second consecutive year.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Coach D-D Breaux.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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