University of Missouri
NCAA Gainesville Regional
@MizzouGym Places Third at NCAA Regional, Ties Second-Highest Regional Score in Team History
4/1/2017 6:13:00 PM | Gymnastics
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 15 Missouri gymnastics team finished third with a team score of 196.100 Saturday at the 2017 NCAA Gainesville Regional in Gainesville, Florida. The 196.100 tied the Tigers' second-highest regional score in program history, trailing just the 196.500 recorded at the 2010 NCAA Columbia Regional.
Florida and Georgia advanced out of the Regional to the 2017 NCAA Championships, as the Gators won the Regional with a 197.125 and Georgia placed second with 196.775 points. Penn State placed fourth (195.325), followed by North Carolina in fifth (194.425) and New Hampshire in sixth (194.175).
"I thought we performed well today," Mizzou Head Coach Shannon Welker said. "I liked that we came out and attacked our first event. It got us off to a nice solid start, which was something we were focusing on. We knew it was going to be tough coming in here being the third seed. We've seen Florida and Georgia all year long and we know they're good teams and we were going to have one of our better meets to knock them off."
After a bye in the first rotation, Missouri posted a 49.025 on floor in its first competition of the day. Junior Kennedi Harris (Atlanta, Georgia) notched a team-best 9.875 on the exercise, her 10th score of 9.875 or higher in 2017. Sophomores Madeleine Huber (St. Louis, Missouri) and Brooke Kelly (Birmingham, Alabama) each earned 9.8s and sophomore Allison Bower (Mesa, Arizona), junior Becca Schugel (Eagan, Minnesota) and freshman Aspen Tucker (Lehigh Acres, Florida) all went 9.775.
A 49.075 on vault in the third rotation kept up the team's solid start. Ward, a Regular Season All-America second team honoree on the event, posted a 9.875 to pace the squad. A strong vault from Tucker earned her a 9.850 and Harris and sophomore Xarria Lewis (Columbia, Missouri) recorded scores of 9.8, a season-high for Lewis.
The Tigers responded with a 49.150 on bars in the fifth rotation following a bye. Four different Tigers earned scores of 9.825 or higher, including 9.85s from Schugel, Kelly and junior Shauna Miller (Knoxville, Tennessee), while Huber was just behind with a 9.825. Additionally, Ward notched a 9.75 in the leadoff spot.
Ward again led the way for Missouri on beam in the final rotation. Her 9.875 on the apparatus tied for third overall on the event and was only 0.25 off tying her for the event title and a spot at the National Championships. Kelly earned a 9.8 as beam, Schugel and junior Tia Allbritten posted 9.75s and Bower went 9.7.
Players Mentioned
