No. 20 @MizzouGym Knocks Off No. 5 Florida for First-Ever Win Over the Gators

Friday, March 2

Columbia, Mo.

6:45 p.m. CT

University of Missouri

196.925

196.700

#5 Florida

No. 20 @MizzouGym Knocks Off No. 5 Florida for First-Ever Win Over the Gators

3/2/2018 10:02:00 PM | Gymnastics

COLUMBIA, Mo. – In a lights-out performance, the No. 20 Mizzou gymnastics team defeated No. 5 Florida for the first time in program history, earning a 196.925-196.700 win on Friday night at the Hearnes Center. The Tigers, who easily scored a season-best score, entered the meet 0-22 all-time against the Gators.

The victory was also Missouri's third top 10 win of the season, as the team also defeated Arkansas twice when the Razorbacks were ranked No. 8 (Feb. 16) and No. 10 (Jan. 19).

KEY TIGERS

With Mizzou clinging to a slim 147.550-147.475 lead after the third rotation, the Tigers responded with a season-high 49.375 on floor to keep the Gators at bay and notch the win. The final three Tiger competitors of the evening, senior Kennedi Harris (Atlanta, Ga.) and sophomores Mary Nicholson (Richland Hills, Texas) and Aspen Tucker (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) all tallied 9.900s to secure the victory. Additionally, junior Michaelee Turner (Parkville, Mo.) earned a 9.850 and junior Allison Bower (Mesa, Ariz.) went 9.825 for the season-best event score.

Florida held a 49.425-49.200 edge after the first rotation. The team total, the second-highest score on the apparatus for the Tigers in 2018, was paced by a pair of 9.875s from Harris and junior Madeleine Huber (St. Louis, Mo.). Also earning scores of 9.825 or better were junior Britney Ward (Ozark, Mo.) with a 9.850 and Tucker, who went 9.825, and

A season-high bars tally of 49.275 in the second rotation kept Mizzou within striking distance, as Florida held a 98.675-98.475 advantage. Senior Shauna Miller (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored a career-best 9.925 to finish second overall in the event. The Tigers, Bower, Huber and redshirt sophomore Morgan Porter (Overland, Mo.) each went 9.850 and Tucker and junior Brooke Kelly (Birmingham, Ala.) both tallied 9.800s.

Mizzou took the lead over the Gators in the third rotation, as the Tigers earned a 49.075 on beam while the Gators went 48.800 on floor. Porter and Kelly led the way with 9.850s, and Tucker and Ward went 9.825s.

QUOTABLES

Mizzou Head Coach Shannon Welker
"That was exciting tonight. I felt a calmness and a confidence amongst our team. We have been talking the whole season about ramping the back half of the season and change a little of what we were doing to past few years so we could finish stronger. The wins are a product of doing a really good job."

Mizzou Senior Shauna Miller
"(Tonight) was indescribable and phenomenal. We knew we were capable of that, though. Before our meet last Sunday we listed how many meets we had left and we decided that we had five meets that could still count to our RQS (Regional Qualifying Score), so we basically had a new start to the season. That's how we approached that Sunday meet and that's how we approached this meet. It's a fresh start to our season. I knew we could do it, no doubt at all, and that's what we did."

MIZZOU NOTES

Mizzou's team score of 196.925 was the team's highest of the season, besting the 196.625 set at Illinois on Feb. 25
The 196.975 stands as the seventh-highest score in program history
The Tigers also tallied season-high scores on floor (49.375) and bars (49.275)
The bars score of 49.275 ranks eighth all-time in the Mizzou record books, while the 49.375 on floor tied the 10th-best total