Live Blog: Mizzou Gymnastics Competes in National Championship

Updates as the Missouri Tigers look to earn their first national title.

Apr 17, 2025; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Missouri Tigers gymnast Amari Celestine performs on beam during the 2025 Women's National Gymnastics Semifinal at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

A tremendous season for Missouri gymnastics has brought the TIgers to the natinoal championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

No. 7 Missouri will compete against No. 4 Utah, No. 5 UCLA and No. 2 Oklahoma for the title.

Missouri finished second in Session I of the semifinals Thursday, finishing with an overall score of 197.30000. The Tigers edged out Florida and Alabama in the semifinals to punch its ticket to the national championship.

Missouri has already claimed program history in the week. Not only by earning its first bid to the NCAA Finals, but also with Helen Hu being named the national champion on balance beam, becoming the first Tiger to earn an indivual national title.

For Hu and the rest of the team, there's a belief they haven't even put together their best performance.

"We keep breaking these records and doing amazing things," Hu said in a press conference Friday. " "We keep thinking, ‘Man, we didn’t have, like, our best day on every event. We still have room to grow, but we’re just going out and doing what we do every day in the gym.

READ: 'We've earned the right to be here:' Mizzou Gymnastics to Compete for 1st National Title

Missouri will need to hit that peak Saturday afternoon, entering the competition as underdogs.

To follow along with the events, follow the live blog below. Newest updates will be posted to the top.

Live Updates:

• More changes came after review, moving Missouri to officially finish in third place.

Final Rankings:

1. Oklahoma, 198.0125
2. UCLA, 197.6125
3. Missouri, 197.2500
4. Utah, 197.2375

• After some changes to scoring, Missouri's final placement drops to fourth after initially being ranked third.

Initial Rankings:

1. Oklahoma, 198.0125
2. UCLA, 197.6125
3. Utah, 197.2375
4. Missouri, 197.2125

• Rotation 4: Utah - vault, Oklahoma - bars, UCLA - beam, Missouri - floor.

• Missouri enters the final rotation still in fourth.

Full standings:
1: Oklahoma, 49.4375
2: UCLA, 49.4000
3. :Utah, 49.3500
4: Missouri, 49.4750

• Helen Hu rounds out Missouri's beam rotation with an impressive showing, just short of a perfect 10.

Full scores for Missouri on the beam:
Amy Wier: 9.550
Amari Celestine: 9.8625
Railey Jackson: 9.8625
Addison Lawrence: 9.8850
Olivia Kelly: 9.8125
Helen Hu: 9.9625

• Rotation 3: Oklahoma - vault, UCLA - bars, Utah - floor, Missouri - beam.

• Missouri remains in fourth after a rough rotation on bars. Full standings:
1. Oklahoma: 99.2000
)UCLA: 98.9000
Utah: 98.6375
Missouri: 98.3750

• Rotation 2: UCLA - vault, Uneven bars - Missouri , Balance beam - Utah, Floor - Oklahoma.

• Missouri finishes the first rotation in fourth place. Full standings:
No. 1 (tie): UCLA, 49.6125
No. 1 (tie): Oklahoma, 49.6125
No. 3: Utah, 49.4500
No. 4: Missouri, 49.2000

• Missouri gymnastics end the first rotation with an overall score of 49.2000 on vault. Amari Celestine rounded the rotation out with the best score for the Tigers.

Full results:
Kennedy Griffin - 9.7750
Kaia Tanskanen - 9.8125
Elise Tisler - 9.8000
Hannah Horton - 9.8375
Jocelyn Moore - 9.8500
Amari Celestine - 9.9000

Amari Celestine anchors the vault rotation and scores 9.9000, her sixth time reaching the threshold this season 🔥

📊: https://t.co/xAROlpP3t6
📺: https://t.co/dyuYe739FI (@ABC)#MIZ 🐯 pic.twitter.com/rhtT2MZSWj

— Mizzou Gymnastics (@MizzouGym) April 19, 2025

• Missouri begins the meet on the vault, Utah on the uneven bars, Oklahoma on beam and UCLA on floor.

• The meet will begin at 3 p.m. central.

How to Watch: NCAA Championship Final

Where: Dickies Arena in Forth Worth, Texas

TV: ABC

Last Time Out, Missouri: The Tigers placed second in their Semifinal with a 197.3000. Missouri clinched second place after a strong beam performance (49.5000). Redshirt senior Helen Hu earned a meet-high 9.9875 to win the beam title.

Last Time Out, Utah: Utah won its Semifinal, recording a 197.7625 in a victory over UCLA, LSU and Michigan State. Utah made a statement on bars, posting a 49.6500. 2021 Olympic silver medalist and Utah senior Grace McCallum impressed, earning a 9.9500 on vault, a 9.9625 on bars and a 9.9500 on floor.

Last Time Out, UCLA: The Bruins earned second place in their Semifinal, coming in close behind Utah with a 197.7375. UCLA has Olympian Jordan Chiles on its roster, and she triumphed on bars with a 9.9750. Senior Emma Malabuyo also earned a 9.9750 on beam.

Last Time Out, Oklahoma: Oklahoma won its Semifinal, topping Missouri, Florida and Alabama. The Sooners achieved a score of 197.5500. Senior Jordan Bowers and junior Faith Torrez performed well, with Bowers notching a 9.9375 on bars and beam and a 9.9500 on floor. Torrez recorded two 9.9500s on beam and floor.