University of Missouri
#3 LSU
Ninth-Ranked Mizzou Scores 197.125 at Third-Ranked LSU
1/31/2025 10:43:00 PM | Gymnastics
BATON ROUGE, La. – University of Missouri gymnastics notched its second-consecutive score of at least 197.000 in its road meet at LSU on Friday night, falling to the defending national champions by a 198.000-197.125 result at Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
No. 9 Mizzou (6-3, 1-2 SEC) saw six scores of at least 9.900, while No. 3 LSU (5-2, 2-1 SEC) earned the second-highest team score of the season with its 198.000 total.
The meet, which was featured on SEC Network's Friday Day Heights, had 13,082 spectators, the eighth-highest attendance in LSU gymnastics history.
SHOW STOPPERS
Senior Amari Celestine (Wildomar, Calif.) opened the meet with a pair of 9.900 on the team's first two rotations on bars and vault. In her third time competing the all-around, Celestine earned a personal-best 39.475. Between all four events, she has scored 9.900 or better in 51 routines.
Graduate student Mara Titarsolej (Zutphen, Netherlands) notched a 9.925 on bars, marking her third time reaching at least a 9.900 on the apparatus in the last four meets and the 32nd time in her career. She claimed a share of the event title with the result.
On MU's second rotation, sophomore Hannah Horton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) set a season-best on vault with a 9.925. She claimed a share of the event title with the result – her first on vault this year and second of the season.
On floor, Jocelyn Moore (Hillsborough, N.J.) recorded a 9.900 to anchor the rotation. Moore has reached the 9.900 threshold 31 times in her career and for the third time this season.
Redshirt senior Helen Hu (Chicago, Ill.) scored another near-perfect 9.975 on the balance beam to cap off the meet for the team. This matches her performance in the team's previous meet against No. 6 Kentucky, and it is her fifth time earning this score in her career. Hu claimed the third-straight beam title with the result.
RECAP
Uneven Bars
-Mizzou smashed its previous season-best on bars with a score of 49.350. The team's previous high was set last week in the team's win over Kentucky with a 49.225.
-Titarsolej entered the evening ranked 23rd nationally on uneven bars and improved her season scoring average on the event to 9.880 following the meet. She has anchored the rotation in each meet thus far.
-Titarsolej tied the team's best individual score on the event this season. Horton also scored a 9.925 during the Beauty and the Beast quad meet.
-Celestine has saved her best season for last on bars. With the result on Friday, the senior has scored at least a 9.900 on the apparatus five times in her career – three of which have come in 2025.
-Kyra Burns scored a 9.850 in her return to the bars lineup. She has reached the mark in three of four routines this season.
Vault
-Horton's 9.925 ranks second by a Mizzou gymnast on vault this year. The sophomore has scored at least 9.900 in the event six times.
-Celestine's performance ties for third, which she shares with Moore's score from the previous meet.
-Moore, who scored a 9.800, entered the meet ranked 16th in the country on vault and held the event's highest score this season.
-MU scored 49.175 in its second rotation, the third time it has reached the 49.000 barrier this season.
Floor
-Moore's 9.900 ranks tied for third on the team this season. Her 31 scores of 9.900 or higher on floor are the most on the team.
-Sophomore Kennedy Griffin notched a 9.875 on her routine, her best since posting a 9.925 during the team's second meet of the year at the Denver Quad.
-Elise Tisler's routine scored a 9.875 – the second meet in a row and the third time this season she's achieved the score.
-Sophomore Rayna Light recorded a 9.850 from the leadoff spot in her return to the lineup.
-Mizzou totaled a 49.325, its third time this season recording a score of at least 49.300 on floor.
Beam
-Hu holds the top three scores in the event among Mizzou gymnasts this year.
-After her first career appearance in the Black & Gold where she earned a 9.900 on beam, freshman Olivia Kelly (Bronx, N.Y.) followed up the performance with a 9.875. She entered the evening ranking ninth nationally.
-Kelly holds the fourth- and sixth-highest scores on the apparatus this season.
-Celestine's 9.850 set a season-best on the event.
-Hu has now scored at least 9.950 on 18 occasions in her collegiate career.
-Mizzou matched its floor total, recording a 49.325 on beam.
UP NEXT
Mizzou visits the No. 32 Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday, February 9. The meet will begin at 1 p.m. at Huff Hall and will be streamed on the Big 10 Network+. The last time the programs competed in a dual meet was the opening competition in the 2023 season, where Mizzou won in Champaign, Illinois by a score of 196.425-196.275.
This marks the first of two times the Tigers and Fighting Illini will compete this season, with Illinois in the field for the Zou to the Lou on Feb. 14. Mizzou and Illinois met in a pair of quad meets in 2024, with the Black & Gold standing victorious in both meets.
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Players Mentioned
