This season, senior gymnast Mara Titarsolej transferred from Long Island University to Missouri as a bars and balance beam specialist. The former Elite Gymnast and Dutch national team member was a part of the 2015 world championship team that qualified the Netherlands for the Olympics. This was the first trip for the Dutch team in 40 years. 

After her time on the Dutch team, Titarsolej said the opportunity to compete in NCAA gymnastics was not one she expected. 

“I had a gap year in school, and then COVID happened,” Titarsolej said. “I was actually training for the Olympics in 2020…My training situation was not ideal, my gym basically closed down so I was looking for other options… I was looking to combine gymnastics and studying. That’s how I came across LIU.” 

At LIU, she recorded the first 10.0 in program history on uneven bars. She was also the 2022 EAGL uneven bar champion and a two-time EAGL Specialist of the Year. Despite her success at LIU, Titarsolej was ready for a change and wanted to expand her gymnastics. 

“At some point, I felt I had reached my limit of what I could achieve there, both academically and gymnastically,” Titarsolej said. “The school is obviously small. There are not a lot of resources, we didn’t have a gym on campus and a lot of my friends were also graduating. I thought, ‘Okay I have two years left, it is gonna be now or never.’ At the end of the season, I decided to enter the portal and see what else was out there.” 

Little did Titarsolej know that Missouri gymnastics head coach  Shannon Welker and his Missouri Tigers were interested. Once Welker noticed Titarsolej entered the transfer portal, he was quick to offer her spot as a Tiger gymnast

“Her gymnastics is so pretty.” Welker said in an interview. I struggle to find deductions on her routines,”…“We recruited her super heavy once she got into that transfer portal.” 

One big change in transferring schools for Titarsolej was the all-competitive SEC. The SEC is a conference that has gained a lot of fanfare due to the stiff level of competition and highly broadcasted meets. All of the SEC teams rank in the top 20 on the Road to Nationals rankings. 

“The meets feel much more professional,” Titarsolej said. “I would compare it to European [Championships] or Worlds… It feels like you are training for something bigger… It was a challenge to get used to, but it is a lot of fun.” 

Despite being at Missouri for less than a year, Titarsolej’s teammates have helped her feel at home. Being so far from home, it can be difficult for Titarsolej to adjust to a new area. She said she has been able to find a gym family in a place far from home.  

“They (her teammates) have been so welcoming and did a really good job of making me feel at home from day one,”  Titarsolej said. We are all on the same page on what we want to achieve gymnastically and academically… It is just great to be around people that have the same mindset and same goal.” 

Titarsolej has also greatly enjoyed getting to work with a new coaching staff, specifically the Tigers uneven bars coach Whitney Snowden, who has helped her improve her specialty. 

“Whitney has been a really big help on bars,” Titarsolej said. “She is very technical and I really like that. It’s kind of how my coach was in elite… She looks at each person and says okay what can we change and what does this person need… It is very professional.” 

Titarsolej’s teammates and coaching staff have helped her find success at Missouri. She became the first Missouri gymnast to earn a perfect 10.0 on bars and due to her 9.950 score at the regional championships, she earned a spot to compete at the NCAA National Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. She was also a WCGA All-American on bars in 2024. 

“It is kind of bittersweet,” Titarsolej said. “I am really happy that I qualified, but we were so close as a team… Making it there is one of my career goals, it is one of the reasons why I transferred so that I would have a better shot at making it[to nationals]…I can’t wait for next year [when] we will be there as a team.”

Titarsolej heads into Fort Worth with what she said were low expectations. She will be up against an incredibly stacked field of bar workers that includes Oklahoma’s No. 1 ranked Jordan Bowers and Audrey Davis, and Florida’s No. 3 ranked Leanne Wong. While she has stiff competition, Titarsolej is No. 10 on the event. Titarsolej will be the final uneven bar competitor of the competition and will rotate with Utah. 

“I do not expect anything,” Titarsolej said.  “I am going in and hoping to do the best routine I can. “I am just going to enjoy it… Rotating with Utah is kind of funny.” 

As Titarsolej’s first year as a Tiger comes to a close, she announced that she will be taking a fifth year and will close out her gymnastics career at Missouri. Titarsolej said she feels she still has more to give to the sport. With one meet to go, Titarsolej is focused on the future as a Tiger.

“I feel like I have not reached the ceiling on beam,” Titarsolej said. “I am excited to see where I can go still. With the team we did not make it to nationals this year, so I am excited to be a part next year and hopefully we can make it … On bars, they changed some values of skills, so I might add a toe full into a double back.” 

Titarsolej will make her NCAA Championships debut on April 18. 

Edited by Grace Ainger | gainger@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com Edited by Sophie Rentschler | srentschler@themaneater.com