Friday, January 11
Gainesville, FL
6 p.m. CT
University of Missouri
at
Florida
No. 11 @MizzouGym Opens SEC Action at Florida on Friday
1/8/2019 3:19:00 PM | Gymnastics
| MEET 2: FLORIDA | |||||
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DATE | TIME | WATCH | STATS |
| Florida | Gainesville, Fla. | Friday, Jan. 11 | 6 p.m. CT | SEC Network | Live Stats |
| Meet Notes: Mizzou | |||||
Storylines
- The No. 11 Mizzou gymnastics team continues its 2019 campaign as the team travels to Gainesville, Fla., to face Florida on Friday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. CT. The meet will be televised live on SEC Network with Bart Connor and Kathy Johnson-Clarke on the call.
- The Tigers jumped to No. 11 in this week's national poll, up eight spots for the team's preseason ranking of 19. Florida is not ranked this week as they did not compete last weekend but were selected No. 3 in the preseason poll.
- Mizzou also ranks tied for seventh on beam (49.075), tied for eighth on floor (49.050) and 10th on vault (48.950) after one meet.
- Missouri opened the season with a first-place finish in a quad meet against No. 20 Arizona State, No. 23 Minnesota and UIC on Jan. 4 in Tempe, Ariz. The Tigers scored 195.450 points, ahead of the Sun Devils (195.000), Golden Gophers (194.150) and Flames (193.925).
- Senior Britney Ward was named the SEC Specialist of the Week on Jan. 8 after her performance at the Arizona State quad meet. Ward took home the beam title with a 9.95, her sixth career score of 9.95 or higher.
- Ward's 9.95 on beam ranks her tied for second nationally on the event.
- Also earning an event win last weekend was junior Aspen Tucker, who tied for floor crown after a score of 9.9.
Redshirt senior Becca Schugel made her return after missing most of the 2018 season with a season-ending injury. - Three Tigers made their official lineup debut at Arizona State on Jan. 4, as sophomores Chelsey Christensen and Paige Kovnesky and freshman Hannah McCrary represented Mizzou for the first time.
- The 2019 regular season features 15 matchups with 14 teams ranked in the top 25, including 10 meets against top 10 opponents.
- Head Coach Shannon Welker is in his sixth year at the helm of the Tiger program. Last season, Welker and the Tigers earned three top 10 wins, including a victory over No. 5 Florida.
- The Tigers open the home portion of their schedule on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 1 p.m. when the team hosts No. 17 Auburn at Mizzou Arena. The No. 5 Mizzou wrestling team will take on Central Michigan alongside the gymnasts in the Beauty and the Beast event.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Missouri gymnastics team opened the 2019 season with a trio of victories as the Tigers placed first in a quad meet at Arizona State on Jan. 4 in Tempe, Ariz. Missouri earned a 195.450 to finish first, while No. 20 Arizona State went 195.000 for second, No. 23 Minnesota posted a 194.150 for third and UIC placed fourth with 193.925 points.
- Two Tigers, senior Britney Ward and junior Aspen Tucker, each notched event wins in the meet. Ward took top honors on beam with a 9.95 and Tucker tied for first on floor with a 9.9.
- Opening the meet on beam, the Tigers responded to the tough apparatus with a 49.075, the team's highest event total of the night. Ward closed the strong rotation with a 9.95, the sixth time in her career she scored a least a 9.95 or higher. Sophomore Gabrielle Gottula tied her career-best with a 9.825, a score senior Brooke Kelly also recorded. Additionally, junior Mary Nicholson made her Tiger beam debut with a 9.750 and senior Allison Bower added a 9.725.
- Mizzou also went over 49 on floor with the second rotation after a team tally of 49.050. Tucker led the way with a 9.9, which tied her career-high. Redshirt junior Morgan Porter went 9.825 and senior Madeleine Huber also hit the 9.8 mark with a 9.8. A 9.775 from Bower and a 9.75 from freshman Hannah McCrary helped the Tigers go 49.050 on the event.
- A 48.950 on vault put Missouri in a good spot heading into the last rotation. Tucker earned a 9.850 to post a team-best score and Huber went 9.825 in the leadoff spot. Additionally, McCrary was strong in the anchor position with a 9.8, Porter scored a 9.775 and sophomore Paige Kovnesky, in her Tiger debut, went 9.7.
- Following falls in the first two spots on bars, the rest of the lineup responded to help Mizzou go 48.375 in the final rotation. A team-best 9.875 from Huber closed the event on a high note, as did a 9.825 from redshirt senior Becca Schugel in her first meet back after missing most of the 2018 season with an injury. Porter also went 9.825 and sophomore Chelsey Christensen earned a 9.725 in her first career routine for the Tigers.
UP NEXT
- The Tigers open the home portion of their schedule on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 1 p.m. when the team hosts No. 17 Auburn at Mizzou Arena. The No. 5 Mizzou wrestling team will take on Central Michigan alongside the gymnasts in the Beauty and the Beast event.
MISSOURI 11TH IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
- Mizzou clocked in at No. 11 nationally in the first in-season poll of the year, up eight spots from the team's preseason ranking of 19th.
- The Tigers also rank tied for seventh on beam, tied for eighth on floor and 10th on vault nationally.
TIGERS FACE TOUGH 2019 SLATE
- The 2019 regular season features 15 matchups with 14 teams ranked in the top 25, including 10 meets against top 10 opponents
- Overall, Mizzou faces off against No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 LSU, No. 5 Utah, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Georgia, No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 13 Denver, No. 14 Auburn, No. 20 Arizona State, No. 21 Stanford and No. 23 Minnesota. The Tigers actually take on LSU twice during the regular season.
WARD NAMED SEC SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK
- Senior Britney Ward was named the Southeastern Conference Specialist of the Week, the league office announced on Jan. 8.
- It marked the third SEC weekly honor of her career, as Ward also claimed Specialist and Freshman of the Week honors as a freshman in 2016.
- Ward claimed the beam event title as Mizzou took first in a quad meet against No. 20 Arizona State, No. 23 Minnesota and UIC in Tempe, Ariz., on Jan. 4. She anchored the Tigers' first rotation with a 9.95, a score that held up as the highest of the night on beam. The score was good enough to rank her tied for second nationally on the event after one week of competition.
- The win was the 29th event title of her Tiger career, including her 16th on beam. It also marked the sixth time in Ward's career she scored a 9.95 or better, which ranks as the second most in Mizzou history. Additionally, it was the 19th time in 40 career beam routines she posted at least a 9.9.
THREE TIGERS MAKE DEBUTS
- Three Tigers made their official lineup debut at Arizona State on Jan. 4, as sophomores Chelsey Christensen and Paige Kovnesky and freshman Hannah McCrary represented Mizzou.
- Christensen, who exhibitioned as a freshman in 2018, was in Missouri's bar lineup. She righted the ship after two falls to open the rotation with a 9.725.
- Kovnesky posted a 9.7 on vault, going in the second position
- McCrary was in both the vault and floor lineups in the season opener, anchoring vault with a 9.8 and earning a 9.75 on floor.
- Additionally, junior Mary Nicholson competed in the beam lineup for the first time in her career and notched a 9.75.
TUCKER, WARD CLAIM EVENT WINS IN SEASON OPENER
- Senior Britney Ward and junior Aspen Tucker both took home event wins in the Tigers' quad meet against Arizona State, Minnesota and UIC on Jan. 4.
- Tucker tied for first on floor with a career-high-tying 9.9. It was her 11th career event title but her first-ever win on the floor exercise.
- Ward scored a 9.95 to win beam and claim the 29th event title of her career, including the 16th on beam.
SCHUGEL MAKES HER RETURN
- Mizzou's meet on Jan. 4 marked the return of redshirt senior Becca Schugel, who suffered a season-ending injury in January of last season.
- The fifth-year gymnast tore her Achilles tendon during practice after seeing action in only two meets during her senior season in 2018.
- Schugel competed on bars at Arizona State and posted a 9.825 on the event.
- Schugel is a three-time All-SEC performer over her first three-plus years with the Tigers, as she earned floor honors in 2017, beam honors in 2016 and All-Freshman Team acolades in 2015
- She earned her bachelor's degree in health science in May 2018 and is currently enrolled in Mizzou's accelerated nursing program.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT...FLORIDA
- The Gators were idle last week but were voted third in the preseason WCGA poll
- Florida placed third overall at last year's NCAA Super Six with a score of 197.850.
- CollegeGymFans.com rated the Gators' freshman class as the top in the nation. It includes U.S. Senior National Team member Trinity Thomas.
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