Missouri gymnastics is having a killer start to their 2024 season. Their shining moment came after defeating then No. 3 LSU in front of a crowd of 7,336 fans at the Hearnes Center. Multiple Tigers have been just inches away from a perfect 10, including freshman Kennedy Griffin, senior Mara Titarsolej and junior Jocelyn Moore. Their average team score of 197.088, the highest through four meets in program history, puts them as No. 9 in the week four rankings.

But the season’s just getting started. 

On Feb. 9, Missouri faces No. 5 Kentucky in Lexington, whose No. 1 vault squad and powerhouse senior Raena Worley are bound to shake some bones. With that said, let’s take a look at the Tigers strengths and weaknesses and what they can focus on to deliver the scores needed to beat them. Likewise, let’s see why UK has been so successful and where it might  falter under the pressure. 

“Focusing on what we can control”

Moore explained after the win over LSU that they don’t focus on the opponent or even the venue, but on the skills and mistakes of their team. Based on the results of the Georgia and LSU meets, it seems to be working. 

The team initially struggled while moving to a road meet format against Alabama on Jan. 12. Opening on the bars instead of their strong vault rotation left them unconfident the rest of the meet. They fixed this mistake at Georgia, moving from a 48.950 bars score to a 49.250. They only improved against LSU, scoring a 49.400 and tying the No. 4 team on bars. With the Tigers competing in Kentucky’s thunderous Rupp Arena, it is imperative they open with a strong bars rotation. 

Ending on beam in a road meet is not ideal for the Tigers, whose ranking of No. 16 is the lowest of their four events. Against LSU, a fall from normally steady-footed Sienna Schreiber and three scores in the 9.7’s led to the team’s lowest score. With the exception of Schreiber and junior Grace Anne Davis, the other four members of 2023’s beam rotation have moved on from the team and building back the beam has been a challenge. However, head coach Shannon Welker explained why he isn’t worried about the scores after the LSU meet.

“They’re executing well, it was just like each routine had one error,” Welker said. “It wasn’t like the whole routine was not good. To me, that’s more encouraging.” 

On the contrary, floor and vault have only continued to flourish for the Tigers and that is thanks to some key gymnasts: Griffin, Moore, junior Amari Celestine and freshman Hannah Horton. Griffin’s “Destiny’s Child” themed routine scored her a 9.975 already and Moore’s floor has earned her a 9.9 or above in all three meets. Celestine hits consistently the 9.9’s in all three events and Horton’s 9.950 vault score against LSU proved her worth in the lineup, even as a freshman. All these gymnasts hitting their routines is imperative to floor and vault scores staying in the high 49 range. 

If the Tigers want to produce a team score in the high 197s, they have to hit on both beam and bars. Vault and floor have proven to come naturally to Missouri and their confidence has only grown. Cleaning up small errors like balance checks and unstuck landings on the weaker events is the only way to defeat the top dogs of the SEC. 

Year 50 Wildcats are here with a vengeance

The Kentucky Wildcats are celebrating their 50th year as a NCAA team and they are starting out with a bang. For the first time in program history, they were named the No. 3 team in the nation in week four. The ranking came after a meet filled with records, including a program high 197.950 team score, perfect 10s from Worley and junior Makenzie Wilson, and its highest recorded vault and floor scores. 

This meet wasn’t just a blip in their schedule either posting a 197.600 against LSU and a 197.475 against Auburn. However, the scariest part about Kentucky is that they keep getting better. In the four meets they’ve had, their score hasn’t dipped from the previous meet, only improved. 

Kentucky’s strengths come from a couple key gymnasts: Worley, Wilson as well as freshmen Delaynee Rodriguez and Creslyn Brose. Worley has been the shining star of this season. The graduate earned her first perfect 10 with her floor routine against Georgia. She was also the No. 1 gymnast on bars for three consecutive weeks and earned an SEC Gymnast of the Week accolade on Jan. 16. Worley’s consistency in the all-around is a driving force behind the team’s success and she’s sure to put on a show against Missouri. Both Wilson and Brose have been key specialists for the team, earning consistent 9.9s or above in their respective events. Rodriguez performs first in the lineup on each event for the Wildcats simply for her consistency and confidence in her skills.

Despite these nerve racking statistics, Missouri and Kentucky are more closely matched than you’d think. 

For Kentucky, bars and beam seem to be their weaker events. Bars and beam seem to fall lower in the threshold because their vault and floor are so strong. However, unlike Missouri, the Wildcats have never dropped below 49 in either event. Although the Wildcats are No. 1 on vault, Missouri at No. 6 is right on the cusp. 

Looking at the numbers of the last meets, Kentucky edged out Missouri on floor by just 0.05. Flip-flopping, Missouri edged them out on bars by just 0.075. The strong Wildcat vault rotation is only 0.125 above the Tigers and Missouri’s 49.400 beam score from the meet against Georgia is only 0.025 away from Kentucky. 

In short terms, Missouri has the ability to beat Kentucky and vice versa. It will come down to which team is making less small errors and who will get the perfect 10 first on floor or vault. It will be a game of tenths. 

Edited by Michael Stamps 

Copy edited by Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com 

Edited by Scout Hudson | shudson@themaneater.com