Friday, February 23
Lexington, Ky.
6 p.m. CT
University of Missouri
at
#9 Kentucky
No. 20 @MizzouGym Set for Two-Meet Road Swing This Weekend
2/22/2018 9:35:00 AM | Gymnastics
| MEET WEEK | ||||
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME (CT) | WATCH |
| at No. 9 Kentucky | Lexington, Ky. | Feb. 23 | 6 p.m. | SEC Network + |
| at Illinois, UIC | Champaign, Ill. | Feb. 25 | 4 p.m. | BTN2Go |
| MEET NOTES: Mizzou | ||||
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 20 Missouri gymnastics team hits the road this weekend for a pair of away meets. First, Mizzou travels to Lexington, Ky., to face No. 9 Kentucky on Friday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT). Then the squad heads to Champaign, Ill., to take on host Illinois and Illinois-Chicago on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 4 p.m. CT. Friday's meet will be broadcast live on SEC Network + and Sunday's will be available on BTN2Go.
TIGER TIDBITS
- Mizzou held steady at No. 20 in this week's national rankings
- Last time out, the Tigers scored a 196.025 to place second at the Mardi Gras Invitational
- No. 4 LSU won the meet with a 198.025, while No. 21 George Washington took third with a 195.650 and No. 8 Arkansas scored a 195.575 to finish fourth
- Missouri's win over No. 8 Arkansas marked the second time this season the team recorded a top 10 win, as the Tigers also defeated then-No. 10 Arkansas, 196.325-196.150, on Jan. 19
- At the Mardi Gras Invitational, the Tigers scored season-bests on both beam (49.375) and vault (49.250). The beam score also stands as the second-best total on the event in program history
- Junior Britney Ward scored season-best scores on both events at the Invitational, with a 9.950 on beam and a 9.900 on vault
- The Tigers posted a season-high score in a 197.150-196.375 loss to then-No. 3 LSU on Feb. 9
- The 2018 Tigers return 94.2 percent of routines from a season ago
- Mizzou's 2018 slate is ranked the fifth-toughest in the country entering the season, behind only SEC foes Georgia, Arkansas and Alabama
- Head Coach Shannon Welker enters his fifth season at the helm of the Tiger program. In his first four years in Columbia, Welker has Mizzou back in the national spotlight. In 2017, the Tigers finished 17th in the national ranking. The 2017 season also saw Mizzou go 3-4 in Southeastern Conference dual meet action, with wins over No. 12 Arkansas, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 18 Auburn. The Tigers entered the season with just one SEC dual win in program history
LAST TIME OUT
- Mizzou scored a 196.025 to finish second in a stout field at the Mardi Gras Invitational on Feb. 16 at the St. Charles Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
- No. 4 LSU won the meet with a 198.025, while No. 21 George Washington took third with a 195.650 and No. 8 Arkansas scored a 195.575 to finish fourth
- Missouri notched season-high event scores on both beam and vault, with totals of 49.375 and 49.250. The beam score also stands as the second-highest in program history, only trailing the 49.500 set against Kentucky last season
- Mizzou opened the meet with its near-record-breaking beam tally of 49.375. Five Tigers scored at least a 9.8 on the event, including a pair of scores in the 9.9s from juniors Britney Ward and Brooke Kelly. Ward earned a season-high 9.950 in the anchor position, while Kelly tied her career-best with a 9.925. Also tying a career-high was senior Tia Allbritten with a 9.875, while sophomore Aspen Tucker and junior Allison Bower added a 9.825 and 9.800, respectively
- On floor in the second rotation, the squad recorded a 49.100, paced by senior Kennedi Harris' team-best 9.875. Junior Michaelee Turner matched her season-best with a 9.825, while Bower also garnered the same score. Sophomore Mary Nicholson added a 9.800 as well.
- The positive momentum continued to vault, where five 9.8s or better gave the Tigers their season-best total of 49.250. Tucker and Ward both notched 9.900s to lead the lineup, with Tucker tying her career-best and Ward setting a season-high. Junior Madeleine Huber earned a 9.850 and Harris and senior Shauna Miller earned 9.800s.
- A pair of 9.850s from Miller and Huber led the way on bars, while Allbritten and Tucker added 9.750s.
UP NEXT
- The Tigers return home to the Hearnes Center to host No. 5 Florida at 6:45 p.m. on Friday, March 2
MISSOURI RANKED 20TH IN LATEST NATIONAL POLL
- Mizzou stayed steady at No. 20 in this week's national rankings
- This marks the final week rankings are based on average score. Starting Feb. 26, rankings will be determined by Regional Qualifying Score (take highest three road scores and three highest remaining scores, drop the highest score and average the remaining five)
- Missouri was 17th in the preseason coaches poll, announced on Dec. 11
- That was the highest preseason ranking for the Tigers since prior to the 2011 season, when they were chosen 13th
MIZZOU NOTCHES SECOND-HIGHEST BEAM SCORE IN PROGRAM HISTORY
- The Tigers scored a season-best 49.375 on beam at the Mardi Gras Invitational
- The score stands as the second-highest total on the event in program history, trailing just the 49.500 tallied against Kentucky on March 10, 2017
- Junior Britney Ward paced the squad with a team-best 9.950
- Also with career or season-bests were junior Brooke Kelly (9.925), senior Tia Allbritten (9.875), sophomore Aspen Tucker (9.825) and junior Allison Bower (9.800)
TIGERS POST SECOND TOP 10 WIN OF THE SEASON
- Mizzou has two top 10 wins on the season, both over the Arkansas Razorbacks
- Most recently, the Tigers defeated No. 8 Arkansas, 196.025-195.525 at the Mardi Gras Invitational on Feb. 16
- Earlier in the season, Missouri posted a 196.325-196.150 home win over the No. 10 Razorbacks on Jan. 19 at the Hearnes Center
- The wins were the program's first top 10 victories since the 2012 season
- In 2012, Mizzou defeated No. 9 Arkansas, 196.100-195.450 in Columbia, on March 16 and No. 4 Nebraska, 195.725-194.550, on Jan. 28 in Lincoln, Neb.
MIZZOU NOTCHES SEASON-TEAM SCORE AGAINST LSU
- The Tigers scored a season-best team score of 196.375 against LSU on Feb. 9
- The team also tallied then-season-highs on floor (49.350), vault (49.150) and beam (49.100)
- Mizzou's previous best team total of 2018 was a 196.325 against Arkansas on Jan. 19
Players Mentioned
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ GymnasticsInside Mizzou Athletics - High Marks with Mizzou Gym's Shannon Welker
Friday, April 04
Gymnastics Cinematic vs. Kentucky
Thursday, February 09
Amari Celestine Signing Day Highlights
Wednesday, November 11
Grace Anne Davis Signing Day Highlights
Wednesday, November 11
