University of Missouri
#29 Illinois
Ninth-Ranked Mizzou Gymnastics Head to Champaign to Take on Fighting Illini
2/8/2025 2:38:00 PM | Gymnastics
Mizzou looks to earn its fourth-straight win against Illinois.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — No. 9 University of Missouri gymnastics takes on No. 29 Illinois on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. at Huff Hall for first of two meetings between the programs this season.
The meet will be streamed on Big Ten Network+ with Andrew Buckley on play-by-play and Julia Waight as the color analyst.
THE MATCHUP
-Ninth-ranked Mizzou will be on the road for the second straight week in its penultimate non-conference meet against 29th-ranked Illinois.
-This marks the first of two times the Tigers and Fighting Illini 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.
-Illinois stands 4-3 overall with a 2-2 mark in conference action. The team hold wins over UW-Eau Claire, SEMO, Nebraska and, most recently, No. 18 Ohio State.
-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.
-Illinois has two gymnasts ranked in the top 30 individually in event scoring average - No. 29 Makayla Green on bars and No. 30 Chloe Cho on beam - compared to Missouri's six.
-The Tigers are 24-9 against the Fighting Illini, most recently earning a win in the 2024 Zou to the Lou event.
-Since 2020, Missouri is 3-1 versus Illinois in the team's four meetings.
STARTING OFF SEC ACTION ON THE RIGHT FOOT
-Ninth-ranked Mizzou continued Southeastern Conference action on Friday, Jan. 31 against third-ranked LSU and scored its second-straight score of 197.000 or better, marking the fourth season a team coached by Shannon Welker earned consecutive 197.000+ in conference action.
-The Tigers won their conference home opener for the third-straight year and the fifth time in Welker's 12th year at the helm of the program.
-Mizzou's win over No. 6 Kentucky also marked the third year in a row the program earned a win in a dual meet over a top-10 team.
HU MAKES SEC HISTORY
-Helen Hu was named SEC Specialist of the Week for the third-straight week on Tuesday, becoming just the second gymnast to ever win it three weeks in a row.
-The redshirt senior earned the award after yet another near-perfect 9.975 against No. 3 LSU on SEC Network's Friday Night Heights in front of a crowd of over 13,000.
-Hu took her first honor of the year after posting the first perfect 10 of the Division I collegiate gymnastics season against No. 1 Oklahoma on Jan. 21.
-She claimed the honors last week with a 9.975 against No. 6 Kentucky at home on Jan. 26.
-This marks the first time since Jan. 21 and 28, 2020 and just the second time overall that a Tiger has earned the weekly specialist honors in consecutive weeks - also done by Hu.
HU DID THAT? SHE DID
-Following up her first career 10.000 against No. 1 Oklahoma, Hu nearly achieved perfection in the past two weeks, earning a pair of 9.975 on balance beam in the teams meets against No. 6 Kentucky and No. 3 LSU.
-The redshirt senior is the only gymnast in the nation with three scores of 9.975 on a single apparatus this season.
-She stands fourth in the country in beam scoring average at 9.925.
-Only two Mizzou gymnasts have earned multiple 10.000 scores in a single season - Jocelyn Moore on vault and floor in 2024 and Lauren Schwartzman on beam in 2004. Hu will look to join that list as the third in 2025.
-Hu made history in the team's meet against OU, recording the first perfect 10.000 of the 2025 NCAA Division-I women's gymnastics season and of her career during her routine on balance beam.
-The Chicago native made the national spotlight since then, even being featured at No. 5 on the SportsCenter Top-10 the next day.
-Hu's performance is the fourth time a Mizzou gymnast finished with a 10 on beam, most recently done by Sienna Schreiber on March 3, 2024, against Arkansas.
-Five of the seven 10s in Mizzou gymnastics history have come since 2023.
-After the team's meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Hu became just the second gymnast in the history of the award to win three-consecutive SEC Specialist of the Week awards.
-Hu previously scored at least 9.950 on 15 different occasions before her first perfect 10.
-The only other time a Mizzou gymnast recorded a 10 on beam on the road was by Schwartzman on March 12, 2004, at the Texas Women's University Invitational.
-Hu spent the past year backpacking in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Ecuador, Italy and Finland with her sister Elaine.
-In her most recent season of competition, the 2023 campaign, Hu competed in all 13 meets and posted a 9.900 or better on beam in 10 of them. She earned second-team All-America status in the event and was on the end-of-season All-SEC team.
WANT SOME MO'(ORE)
-Moore, a senior, has had a fantastic start to her 2025 campaign, setting the best vault score in the nation through six meets against No. 1 Oklahoma on Jan. 17, recording a 9.975. -She holds the program's lone perfect 10 on vault and two additional scores of 9.975.
-The senior has earned a 9.900 or better in an event in three of the team's five meets this season.
-She holds the most event titles on the team this season with five - three on floor and two on vault.
-The vault score against the Sooners marked the fourth time in her career to score or exceed a 9.975. She has reached the 9.900 threshold on vault 20 times.
-Moore also notched a score of 9.925 on floor for the Tigers against Kentucky, marking her second score of 9.900 or better on the apparatus for the 2025 season and the 30th time in her collegiate career, which leads the team.
THE CELESTANDARD
-In her final season of competition, Amari Celestine (Wildomar, California) has continued to impress in each meet of the year, most recently setting a new personal-best all-around score of 39.475 against No. 3 LSU.
-The senior posted a 9.900 on bars and a 9.925 on floor, earning the event title in both events to help lead the team to its first conference win of the year against No. 6 Kentucky.
-During the team's season opener, Celestine competed all-around for the first time, taking the event title with a score of 39.350.
-She holds four event titles in 2025, including one on floor at Beauty & the Beast.
KELLY IMPRESSES IN DEBUT
-In her first time in the lineup for Mizzou, freshman Olivia Kelly looked like a seasoned vet while competing on bars and beam on national television against No. 6 Kentucky.
-She competed third on beam for the Tigers, notching a 9.900 in her first routine on the event, which was the first time a Mizzou freshman reached the threshold this season.
-Kelly followed up her performance with a 9.875 against No. 3 LSU on Jan. 31.
-She ranks 15th nationally in average on beam following the performance.
-Kelly's first routine of her collegiate career came on the uneven bars, where she went fourth in the lineup and earned a solid 9.825 on Jan. 26.
IT JUST MEANS MORE
-The Tigers stayed put at ninth in the country on the week four RoadToNationals rankings with a 196.790 scoring average following the second-straight week posting a team score of 197.000 or better.
-Mizzou put up 197.200 for its season high against No. 6 Kentucky and 196.790 as their average after competing at LSU this past week five.
-The Tigers are preceded by No. 8 Kentucky with an average of 196.913 and No. 7 California with an average of 196.920.
-Missouri claims a top 15 spot in every event, placing sixth in the nation on floor, 11th on vault, eighth on bars and 14th on beam.
-The Tigers sit with the sixth highest score on floor (49.450). They average 49.125 on vault, 49.245 on bars and 49.120 on beam.
-All nine of the SEC gymnastics programs are in the top 15 of the rankings, with every program holding an average of 196.390 or better.
-Missouri won its SEC home opener for the third-straight year when it beat No. 6 Kentucky on Jan. 26.
STAR-STUDDED TIGERS JOIN THE AMBUSH
-After a historic 2024 season, Welker signed the sixth-ranked freshman class and top-ranked transfer class, according to CollegeGymNews.com.
-The freshman class was comprised of three-star Ayla Acevedo, four-star Kaia Tanskanen and Lisa Szeibert and five-star Railey Jackson and Kelly. Jackson and Tanskanen were the lone two first-year student-athletes to compete in the first week, with Jackson earning scores of 9.800 on beam and 9.825 on floor while Tanskanen notched a 9.750 on vault.
-The nation's leading transfer class featured Lauren Macpherson, Abby Mueller, Elise Tisler and Amy Wier.
-Welker has announced the program's 2025 recruiting class of four signees consisting of CollegeGymNews.com five-star Kimarra Echols, Bryce Kupbens, three-star Maiya Terry and four-star Hayli Westerlind.
-The Tigers' class ranks 11th nationally and fifth in the SEC, according to CollegeGymNews.com. This marks the third time since 2021 that MU has welcomed a top-11 class nationally.
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED
-Director of Athletics Laird Veatch announced on Thursday, Jan. 2 that gymnastics head coach Shannon Welker signed a contract extension to remain at the helm of the program through 2029.
-Since taking over Mizzou's program in May of 2013, Welker transformed the Tigers into a consistent contender on the national stage.
-He led the program to historic milestones, including multiple NCAA Championship appearances, record-breaking team scores, home attendance records and the development of numerous All-Americans and conference honorees.
UP NEXT
-Missouri gymnastics heads to Family Arena in St. Louis, Missouri for the Zou to the Lou Quad on Valentine's Day, competing against No. 14 Alabama, No. 29 Illinois and No. 27 Iowa.
-During the 2024 rendition, the Tigers defeated Illinois and Lindenwood but fell to No. 3 Florida.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest on Mizzou gymnastics, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.
Players Mentioned
