No. 16 @MizzouGym Takes on Loaded Field at Metroplex Challenge

Saturday, January 30

Fort Worth, Texas

7 p.m. CT

University of Missouri

Washington

No. 16 @MizzouGym Takes on Loaded Field at Metroplex Challenge

1/29/2016 9:05:00 AM | Gymnastics

Mizzou faces No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 6 LSU, No. 12 Stanford and No. 36 Washington on Saturday in Fort Worth

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 16 Mizzou gymnastics team hits the road to take on four of the nation's top programs in the 2015 Metroplex Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 30 in Fort Worth, Texas. The meet pits the Tigers against No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 6 LSU, No. 12 Stanford and No. 36 Washington. The meet will be streamed live by FloGymnastics for a fee and live results will be available on MUTigers.com. With the five-team format, Mizzou will start the meet on beam, then move to floor in the second rotation, vault in the third, have a bye, then end on bars.

TIGER TIDBITS

The Tigers clock in at No. 16 in this week's national rankings with an average team score of 195.600.
Freshman Britney Ward earned recognition for the SEC for the second consecutive week as she claimed Freshman of the Week honors on Jan. 26. Last week she was named the SEC Specialist of the Week.
Mizzou won its first-ever SEC dual meet on Jan. 22 in a 195.800-195.350 win over then-No. 9 Georgia at Mizzou Arena. The Tigers boasted event scores of 49.075 on floor, 49.025 on bars, 48.925 on beam and 48.775 on vault against Georgia.
Ward took top honors on two events (vault and beam) and sophomore Kennedi Harris won the floor title in the Tigers' win.
The Tigers closed the meet with a season-high floor score of 49.075.
Through four meets in 2016, the Tigers have notched 39 individual scores of 9.8 or higher, compared to 29 through the first three meets of 2015.
The Tigers opened 2016 with a 195.350-195.075 win over No. 15 Illinois on Jan. 8. The score tied the program record for highest opening meet team total in program history. The 2004 squad also opened its season with the same score.
Against the Illini, Mizzou recorded a 49.175 on bars, the team's highest score on the event since midway through the 2014 season.
Two days later, Mizzou traveled to Lindenwood and notched a 195.200-192.000 win over the Lions.
Mizzou scored a season-high 196.050 at Alabama on Jan. 15.
Head Coach Shannon Welker enters his third season at the helm of the Tiger program. Welker led Mizzou to the nation's biggest improvement in 2015, as the squad finished 21st in the national rankings after coming in 41st at the end of the 2014 campaign.
Youth will be served in 2016, as over half (eight) the 15-person roster are freshmen. Additionally, 12 of the team's gymnasts are freshmen or sophomores in 2016.
The Tigers will face a tough schedule once again, with regular season matchups against seven teams ranked in the preseason coaches poll top 10.