Mizzou Gymnastics Qualifies for NCAA Championship Semifinal in Thrilling Fashion

The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Championship Semifinal for the fourth time after a close victory over Auburn.

United States; Missouri gymnast Hannah Horton poses during her floor routine. / Will Burris, Mizzou Athletics

Missouri gymnastics faced No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 15 Auburn and No. 21 Arizona in the NCAA Championship Regional Final.

To advance to the NCAA Championship Semifinal, the Tigers needed to finish in the top two, and they succeeded by earning second (197.425) behind Oklahoma (198.450). Missouri finished ahead of Auburn (197.325) and Arizona (196.250) to advance to the NCAA Semifinal for the fourth time and the first time since 2022.

The Tigers advanced after a thrilling finish. Heading into the final rotation, the final spot was up for grabs between Missouri and Auburn, and after Missouri redshirt junior Amy Wier fell off the beam, the pressure was on.

With the meet coming down to the wire, it was up to redshirt senior Helen Hu to clinch second place. She did so after posting a 9.925.

Even with Hu's score, Missouri struggled the most with beam, posting a score of 49.275. Ultimately, that was enough to put Missouri over Auburn.

Missouri looked better on other events, especially floor.

The team performed below its standard on floor in the last meet, looking to clean that up on Sunday. The Tigers put together some strong routines to finish in second place after the first rotation, trailing Oklahoma 49.650-49.550.

One athlete who improved on floor was sophomore Hannah Horton. After scoring a 9.650 on Friday, Horton posted a 9.900 on Sunday.

Senior Amari Celestine posted a 9.900 and sophomore Kennedy Griffin hit a 9.925. Senior Jocelyn Moore built off the momentum to post a team-high 9.950.

Oklahoma grabbed an early lead after an impressive showing on bars. Senior Jordan Bowers earned a perfect 10, and four more Sooners scored a 9.900 or better.

After a strong vault routine with four stuck landings in a row, Auburn kept Missouri in its sights trailing 49.550-49.450. Arizona brought up the rear with a 48.850.

Missouri posted a 49.300 on both vault and bars.

The Tigers got off to a slow start on vault, with two of Missouri's first three vaulters posting 9.800s. One of those was dropped, but even still, Missouri was forced to count three scores of 9.850 or lower.

Horton stood out for the Tigers, sticking her Yurchenko 1.5 for a 9.950.

Despite the struggles, Missouri stretched its lead over Auburn (98.850-98.725). Oklahoma remained in the lead and seemed untouchable (99.175).

The Tigers also started slow on bars, but Missouri's anchor gymnast showed up when the team needed her.

Graduate student Mara Titarsolej recorded a 9.950.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Missouri Gymnastics (@mizzougym)

Oklahoma established itself on floor, with Bowers posting her second 10 of the night. Junior Faith Torrez also earned another 10 for the Sooners, pushing them to a season-high 49.800 on the event.

Bowers later earned her third 10 of the meet on vault, highlighting the dominance of the Sooners.

Missouri will see Oklahoma again in the NCAA Championship Semifinal. The Tigers and Sooners will compete with No. 3 Florida and No. 11 Alabama at an undecided time on April 17 in Fort Worth, Texas.

NCAA Regionals

Top two teams in each regional advance
Wednesday’s Results
University Park Regional
First Round Play-In: Maryland 196.250, West Virginia 195.325

Salt Lake City Regional
First Round Play-In: BYU 195.950, Utah State 194.475

Thursday’s Results
University Park Regional
Regional Semifinal, Session 1: Michigan State 197.625, Kentucky 197.525, Ohio State 196.400, Penn State 196.225
Regional Semifinal, Session 2: LSU 198.100, Arkansas 197.550, Michigan 197.050, Maryland 196.825

Tuscaloosa Regional
First Round Play-In: Clemson 195.400, Rutgers 193.875

Salt Lake City Regional
Regional Semifinal, Session 1: UCLA 197.750, Minnesota 197.200, Southern Utah 196.475, Boise State 195.175
Regional Semifinal, Session 2: Utah 197.650, Denver 197.650, Stanford 196.500, BYU 196.000

Seattle Regional
First Round Play-In: Illinois 195.475, UC Davis 194.050

Friday’s Results
Tuscaloosa Regional
Regional Semifinal, Session 1: California 197.550, Alabama 197.275, North Carolina 196.250, Iowa 196.000
Regional Semifinal, Session 2: Florida 198.225, Oregon State 197.050, NC State 196.275, Clemson 195.875

Seattle Regional
Regional Semifinal, Session 1: Missouri 197.650, Arizona 196.250, Georgia 196.175, Arizona State 196.050
Regional Semifinal, Session 2: Oklahoma 198.025, Auburn 196.950, Illinois 195.725, Nebraska 195.675

Saturday’s Results
University Park Regional
Final: LSU 198.050, Michigan State 198.000, Kentucky 197.625, Arkansas 197.375
Salt Lake City Regional
Final: Utah 197.825, UCLA 197.625, Denver 197.350, Minnesota 196.825

Sundays' Results
Tuscaloosa Regional
Final: Florida 197.700, Alabama 197.675, California 197.575, Oregon State 196.875
Seattle Regional
Final: Oklahoma 198.450, Missouri 197.425, Arizona 197.325, Auburn 196.250

National Championships
April 17-19
Fort Worth, Texas

Read more Missouri Tigers news:

feed