Mizzou Gymnastics Coach Shannon Welker Previews NCAA Seattle Regional

Missouri gymnastics wants to go far in the postseason, and its head coach believes the team can.

Mar 30, 2023; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Amari Celestine of Missouri completes her floor exercise routine as coach Shannon Welker applauds during the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Los Angeles Regional at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Missouri gymnastics is competing in the NCAA Seattle Regional at 3 p.m. Friday in Seattle, Washington.

The No. 7 Tigers will face No. 10 Georgia, No. 21 Arizona and No. 26 Arizona State in a quad meet. The two teams with the highest scores will advance to the NCAA Championship Regional Final.

If Missouri can finish in the top two again, it will qualify for the NCAA Championship Semifinal in Forth Worth, Texas.

But the team doesn’t want its postseason to end there. Head coach Shannon Welker hopes his Tigers can go all the way to the NCAA Championship Final.

“Our best finish in school history is fifth,” Welker said in a press conference ahead of the Tournament. “We feel like if we are at our best, we can be one of those teams competing on that last day of the season, which would be the final four.”

Making it to the NCAA Championship Final is a lofty goal, but it is not impossible for the talented Missouri squad. 

The Tigers ended the season 17-7 and finished No. 7 in the National Qualifying Score (NQS) Rankings based on their NQS of 197.510. 

“We’ve been in the top 10 for every week this year except for one, and that was early on,” Welker said. 

Missouri also ended the regular season ranked No. 4 on floor and bars and No. 11 on vault and beam.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Missouri Gymnastics (@mizzougym)

The Tigers showcased their talent in their most recent meet, the Southeastern Conference Championship, on March 22. Missouri earned fourth place in a field of eight teams, finishing behind No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 Florida.

Missouri’s score of 197.400 beat last year’s program record of 197.250.

The Tigers performed well at the SEC Championship, but they are capable of more. Earlier this season, Missouri earned a program-best 198.100. 

One factor that has contributed to Missouri’s high scores is perfect routines.

“We have an opportunity to get 10s on every event,” Welker said. “You have to be really good at this level, and I certainly think that our Tigers can do that throughout the season.”

Missouri’s 10s have come on three different events: sophomore Kennedy Griffin earned a 10 on floor, graduate student Mara Titarsolej earned a 10 on bars and redshirt senior Helen Hu earned a 10 twice on beam.

March 14, 2025, Arkansas, United States; Helen Hu hugs her coach as her teammates hold up 10 fingers to celebrate her routine. / Riley Hogan, Mizzou Athletics

The Tigers will need to be perfect, or close to it if they want to advance to the Championship Final, which Welker believes they can do.

“Step one is we got to get our team into the regional finals," Welker said. "Step two is we got to get out of that regional final and get to Dallas."

Read more Missouri Tigers news:

feed