Helen Hu Earns a Perfect Score in Mizzou Gymnastics' Loss to Top-ranked Oklahoma

The Missouri gymnastics season is off to a good start, but things are only getting harder.

After opening the year with two quad meets in which the Tigers finished first and second, Missouri sat at 5-1. Holding a strong record, the team set off for its toughest test of the year so far: taking on the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners on the road.

In Norman, Okla., the Tigers squared off with their rival that has historically gotten the better of them. The trend continued as Missouri lost 197.775-196.750.

This meet, which had a ‘90s theme, still showed promise for Missouri. The team's overall score was the highest of 2025, and several Missouri athletes had breakout moments.

Helen Hu had the moment of the night when she scored a perfect 10 for the first time in her career on the beam. The 10 came after Hu took a year off from gymnastics in 2024. When she decided to come back and use her final year of eligibility, one of her goals was to earn a perfect 10, and it came against the best team in the nation.

Freshmen Railey Jackson and Kaia Tanskanen continued to shine. Jackson, who has now competed in all three of Missouri’s meets this year, participated in both the floor and the beam. Her 9.875s on both events were career-bests. Fellow freshman Tanskanen also earned a career-best 9.825 on the vault.

Transfer Amy Wier scored a 9.825 on the beam. That season-best score came at a cool time, as Wier spent three seasons with Oklahoma.

The Tigers’ best event of the night was the vault, with the team earning a 49.300 on the apparatus. Jocelyn Moore, who has earned a perfect 10 on the vault in her career, came pretty close to doing it again. Moore and her teammates went wild when the judges revealed her score of 9.975, which was the highest score on that event of the night.

Though the Tigers had several strong moments, it was no match for the Sooners. Even when Missouri was crushing it on the vault, Oklahoma was killing its routines on the other side of the arena.

Due to the fierce competition Oklahoma was providing, the Tigers needed to do their absolute best on every single apparatus.

That was easier said than done.

Missouri struggled on both the bars and the floor, scoring two 49.100s that were season-lows. Some mistakes were made that hurt the Tigers, such as when Hannah Horton overextended her handstand on the high bar. That and some other errors resulted in a deduction for Horton and a team-low score on the bars of 9.375. Horton later redeemed herself with a 9.875 on the floor, as well as another 9.875 and fourth-place finish on the vault.

A scare came for the Tigers during Amari Celestine’s floor routine. After falling backward on the mat, Celestine grabbed her ankle. She got back up and completed the routine, but it was a concerning moment for Missouri.

Celestine later competed on the beam, providing relief for concerned fans. The senior was pumped up after her routine, finding redemption from the earlier fall by recording a 9.725.

No matter how well the Tigers were able to bounce back from poor performances, it didn't matter. The Sooners were just too strong, recording 11 scores of 9.900 or higher.

With the loss, Missouri fell to 5-2 on the season, and 12-61-1 against the Sooners all-time.

The Tigers will look for redemption when they travel home to take on Kentucky, another ranked Southeastern Conference opponent. The Wildcats currently sit at No. 8, so Missouri will be looking for an upset. The meet will occur on Jan. 26 at 5 p.m. and be streamed on SEC Network.