Missouri gymnastics qualified for its fourth NCAA National Championship Semifinal in program history and the first since 2022. They competed in the regional final in Seattle, Washington after winning the semifinal with a 197.650, which was highlighted by Helen Hu’s perfect 10.0 on beam. Missouri competed against Oklahoma, Auburn and Arizona. The meet — neck-and-neck between Missouri and Auburn, — came down to the final routine.
In the last rotation, Missouri was on beam and Auburn was on floor. Missouri had just a .200 lead over Auburn heading into rotation four. In the leadoff spot, junior Amy Wier fell and only scored an 8.925. This meant that every remaining Missouri routine had to be solid in order to drop her score.
The Tigers fought their way through each routine. Junior Amari Celestine earned a 9.825, freshman Railey Jackson and junior Addison Lawrence both earned 9.850 and freshman Olivia Kelly brought in a 9.825. It was down to Hu in the final routine. She seamlessly moved through her routine, executing a difficult front aerial-plus-front-aerial combination, clinching Missouri’s place in the national championship Semifinal.
“I need a nap,” Missouri head coach Shannon Welker said after the meet, fighting back tears. “I’m so proud of our team. I felt like we were undeniable tonight. We had an uncharacteristic mistake to leadoff beam and at no point did I think we didn’t have the ability to come back from that.”
The Tigers set the tone early, starting the meet strong on floor. Sophomore Rayna Light led with a 9.875, followed by sophomore Hannah Horton with a 9.9. The Tigers continued to build momentum with a 9.9 from Celestine, a 9.925 from Sophomore Kennedy Griffin and a 9.950 from Senior Jocelyn Moore. Missouri felt pressure from the Auburn Tigers who opened with multiple stuck landings on vault to earn a 49.450.
The Tigers moved to vault in the second rotation, where Freshman Kaia Tanskanen stuck her Tsuk full for a career-high 9.850. Horton drilled her Yurchenko 1.5 and earned a team-high 9.950. Celestine closed the rotation scoring a solid 9.875 to help Missouri to a total of 49.300.
Missouri continued its strong performance on bars. Graduate student Kyra Burns was steady in the leadoff position for a 9.825. Kelly and Celestine both earned 9.850s. Graduate student Mara Titarsolej completed the rotation with a near-perfect 9.950 to help Missouri to a 49.300 total.
With the strong performance, the Tigers will now compete in the Elite Eight on April 18.
Edited by Killian Wright | kwright@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.com
Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com
