Noonan’s Career Night Paces Kentucky at No. 4 LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. – Led by a pair of career highs from Ryan Noonan, Kentucky (0-5, 0-1 SEC) opened Southeastern Conference action with its best score of 2026, falling at No. 4 LSU, 198.050-195.775.
In addition to Noonan’s pair of collegiate best scores, Chesney Bennett, Delaynee Rodriguez, and Gabby Van Frayen each set or matched their career highs on an event. Bennett bested her career best mark on the floor exercise with a 9.825, while Rodriguez and Van Frayen each matched their personal bests on beam, scoring 9.925 and 9.850, respectively. Rodriguez also set a new season high in the all-around, scoring a 39.425 across all four events.
The Cats began the night on the uneven bars, scoring a 48.975 to miss their season best mark by a quarter-tenth. Cecily Rizo led off the meet with a 9.725, followed by Noonan’s lifetime best score of 9.875. Van Frayen followed with a 9.725 and Bennett added a 9.775. Isabella Rivelli fell on her Jaeger, only scoring a 9.275. Rodriguez capped the rotation with a 9.875.
The Cats continued their success on vault, scoring a 49.175 leading Kentucky for the third straight week. Addisyn Hofseth led off the rotation with a 9.650, followed by Rizo and Callie Gardner with identical marks of 9.825—the mark being a season high for the latter. Noonan tied for the team-best on the rotation with her career best 9.875. Rodriguez added a 9.775 and Anna Flynn Cashion capped off the rotation with another 9.875.
On the floor exercise, Kentucky scored a 49.075 for the second consecutive week. Van Frayen started the rotation with a 9.775, followed by Bennett’s career high 9.825. Gardner and Rizo each added 9.725s, setting up Rodriguez with a 9.875. The highlight of the rotation was the return of Creslyn Brose, as the junior All-American competed her first routine of the season and scored a 9.900. Brose has now scored at least a 9.900 in 23 of her 26 career floor routines.
The Cats ended the night on the balance beam, having to count a fall for the second straight week to only score a 48.550. Sharon Lee led off the rotation with a 9.075 after her foot slipped off the apparatus during her flight series. Rizo also came off the beam during her flight, scoring a 9.125. Bennett set the Cats back on track with a 9.825—a season high—and Brose followed with the same score in her first beam routine of the year. Van Frayen and Rodriguez closed the meet by matching their career bests-tallying 9.850 and 9.925, respectively.
Kentucky will return to Historic Memorial Coliseum next Friday, January 30, taking on No. 2 Oklahoma at 6 p.m. ET. The meet between the Cats and the defending national champions will be televised nationally on SEC Network. The meet will serve as Rhinestone Cowgirl Night and fans will have the chance to win a limited edition cowboy hat.
Season tickets and single meet tickets for the 2026 Kentucky gymnastics season are officially on sale. Fans can purchase them through Ticketmaster or visit UKathletics.com/gymtix. For additional information, please contact the UK Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 928-2287 Monday- Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The Vault – Kentucky Gymnastics Booster Club
The Vault is the Official Booster Club of Kentucky Gymnastics. Joining The Vault means investing directly in our program. Your contributions help us provide top-notch training facilities, essential equipment, and opportunities for our athletes to excel in this challenging environment. Every dollar counts, and every Vault member makes a difference. Our various membership club levels offer fantastic benefits with each contribution strengthening our program and empowering our athletes as they compete at the highest levels.
You can join The Vault by clicking this link or you can donate directly by visiting this link. For questions or any other information, please contact Amy Coyle (amy.coyle@uky.edu)
For the latest on the Kentucky gymnastics team, follow @UKGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
