No. 20 Missouri secured a win over No. 5 Florida on Friday for the team’s third top-10 win of the season.
The final score was a razor close 196.925-196.700.
It was an intense meet that had the crowd on edge, watching each team earn high scores in all events. Hearnes Center lit up with excitement, responding loudly to every performance. But the stadium roared when Mizzou took the lead in the third rotation.
Senior Kennedi Harris and sophomores Mary Nicholson and Aspen Tucker took over the floor rotation, all performing 9.900 routines that put Mizzou in the lead. Juniors Michaelee Turner and Allison Bower both scored above 9.800.
In the final rotation, Florida earned a 48.800 on floor. However, the Tigers responded with an outstanding 49.075 on beam that sent the Missouri fans and team wild with excitement to close the meet.
The Tigers embraced each other after securing an unlikely win over the Gators. Senior Shauna Miller said after the meet that she always knew her team was capable of putting together such a performance, and her head coach agreed with her.
“That was exciting tonight,” head coach Shannon Welker said in a press release. “I felt a calmness and a confidence amongst our team. We have been talking the whole season about ramping the back half of the season and change a little of what we were doing to past few years so we could finish stronger. The wins are a product of doing a really good job.”
The Tigers will travel to Ames, Iowa, to take on Iowa and Iowa State on March 9 at 6:30 p.m.
_Edited by Joe Noser | jnoser@themaneater.com_