NCAA Gymnastics: No.13 Missouri Narrowly Misses Victory, Falls To Defeat in Hearnes Center

The University of Missouri Gymnastics remains the strongest team in the 2024 NCAA gymnastics season. Despite breaking the 197 threshold in a loss to Auburn in program history at Neville Arena, posted the nearest winning score in the recent battle with No. 12 Arkansas. On March 3, at the Hearnes Center arena in Columbia, Missouri, Mizzou Gymnastics achieved another milestone through its Fab Floor Lineup. Despite facing defeat by the Razorbacks, Mizzou Gymnasts gained the attention of the crowd in the battle line rivalry.

Graduate student Sienna Schreiber delivered a beam title performance. While the No. 12 Arkansas won the match with a record-setting record 197.650, it was not an easy win for them as the Mizzou Tigers gave them a tough challenge.

Mizzou Tigers come just short of winning to the Razorbacks

In the recent matchup, Mizzou Tigers astonished their fans by posting the season’s highest score. The Missouri Gymnastics team took to its official Instagram handle to cherish the biggest moment as the team splendidly scored 197.525 in this excellent meet. Posting an image, they mentioned the final score which is “Arkansas 197.650, Missouri 197.525.” They captioned the post as “Closed out our night with a season-best score!#MIZ🐯”

In the Sunday showdown, both teams had an excellent beginning. However, Arkansas moved slightly ahead after the first rotation as they managed their landings a bit better than Missouri. Following a powerful bar rotation, Missouri was in the lead at the start. The other five routines were outstanding, despite the fall. Arkansas did not locate the landings despite having a strong vault rotation. With just a .125 lead for Missouri going into the third rotation, it was extremely close heading. The grit of Missouri did not even skip the eyes of the Razorbacks.

After noticing their strong rivalry in every meeting this season, the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team, Jordyn Wieber also applauded the Missouri gymnastics team for their great enthusiasm, prior to the match. “Mizzou is a great team again this weekend and we’re excited to go compete against them,” Wieber added. Amid this resilience, there is one routine where the tigers have been fabulous in recent times.

Mizzou Tigers’ strong hold on the floors

Since the 2024 NCAA gymnastics season began, the Tigers’ floor lineup continued its stellar run, scoring at least 49.350 points each week. Additionally, five of Mizzou’s newcomers have had three or more 9.9s this season. Even in the latest Arkansas match, the floor rotation earned a team score of 49.600.

The Tigers have shown as one of the greatest top-to-bottom floor gymnastics groups in the nation, led by freshmen Kennedy Griffin, Hannah Horton, and Rayna Light and established stars Sienna Schreiber, Jocelyn Moore, and Amari Celestine. It flourished under the capable guidance of head coach Shannon Welker and first-year assistant coach Jackie Terpak.

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“That was never a strength of mine coaching floor, so we had to rely on some outside choreography where the girls would go and work with somebody on their own…It’s been so great to have Jackie and myself working together over there. She actually does a decent amount of the tumbling and so that frees me up to go work on other events,” Welker said highlighting the role of Terpack. The Tigers will face No. 11 Denver, New Hampshire, and SEMO at Hearnes Center next Sunday, March 10, for their final regular season home quad.

Continue to read: NCAA Gymnastics Week 5: LSU Secures Top 3 Spot in All Team Rankings for 2024