@MizzouGym Opens 2018 Season Friday at Auburn

Friday, January 12

Auburn, Ala.

7 p.m. CT

University of Missouri

#23 Auburn

1/11/2018 5:36:00 AM | Gymnastics

MEET WEEK - MIZZOU AT AUBURN
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH
at Auburn	Auburn, Ala.	Jan. 12	7 p.m. CT	SEC Network +
NOTES: Meet Notes

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri gymnastics team opens the 2018 season on Friday, Jan. 12 when the team travels to Auburn, Alabama, to face No. 23 Auburn at 7 p.m. CT. The meet will be broadcast live on SEC Network +.

QUICK HITTERS

Mizzou, which is not ranked this week as the team did not compete opening weekend, was ranked 17th in the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women preseason poll
Auburn holds a 25-8 advantage in the all-time series
Missouri finished the 2017 season ranked 17th in the final poll, the team's highest final ranking since the squad finished 12th in 2010
The 2018 Tigers return 94.2 percent of routines from a season ago
In fact, Mizzou returns 100 percent of all bars and beam routines from a season ago, and 92.3 percent of all floor routines back and 85.7 percent of all vault routines back
Mizzou's 2018 slate is ranked the fifth-toughest in the country entering the season, behind only SEC foes Georgia, Arkansas and Alabama
Friday's meet marks the return of redshirt sophomore Morgan Porter, who suffered a season-ending injury in Mizzou's meet against Alabama a year ago, only three meets into her sophomore campaign. Porter was the 2016 SEC Freshman of the Year
Three-time All-American Britney Ward returns for her third year with the Tigers. Ward claimed two regular season All-America honors from the NACGC/W in 2017 with second team honors on both vault and floor. She also earned second team honors on beam as a freshman in 2016
The 2018 regular season features 12 matchups with 10 teams ranked in the preason top 25, including meets against No. 2 Florida, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Alabama, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 14 Auburn, No. 16 Georgia, No. 19 Arkansas, No. 20 Iowa, No. 21 Georgia Washington and No. 23 Illinois. The Tigers actually take on LSU and Arkansas twice during the regular season
Head Coach Shannon Welker enters his fifth season at the helm of the Tiger program. In his first four years in Columbia, Welker has Mizzou back in the national spotlight. In 2017, the Tigers finished 17th in the national ranking. The 2017 season also saw Mizzou go 3-4 in Southeastern Conference dual meet action, with wins over No. 12 Arkansas, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 18 Auburn. The Tigers entered the season with just one SEC dual win in program history. Additionally, Missouri recorded the third and fourth-highest scores in program history in 2017, with a 197.200 against Auburn and a 197.150 one week later against Kentucky.

LAST TIME OUT

The Missouri gymnastics team gave Tiger fans a preview of the upcoming 2018 season with the annual Black & Gold exhibition on Dec. 9 at the Hearnes Center
The Tigers opened the meet on vault, where junior Allison Bower made her Tiger debut on the event with a 9.75
Redshirt sophomore Morgan Porter returned to the lineup from injury, and opened the rotation with a 9.725. Also with strong vaults were sophomore Aspen Tucker (9.825) and seniors Shauna Miller (9.775) and Kennedi Harris (9.750).
Tucker stuck her bars dismount to open the second rotation with a 9.750. Porter and junior Brooke Kelly each tallied 9.800s, while senior Becca Schugel earned a 9.700
The Tigers alternated between beam and bars in the third and fourth rotations. On beam, Porter, Tucker and sophomore Mary Nicholson all led the way with 9.800s after strong sets on the event. Freshman Gabrielle Gottula earned a 9.750 and Bower, senior Tia Allbritten and freshman Lauren Clevenger both went 9.700
Bower concluded her strong meet with a team-best 9.900 on floor in the final rotation. Tucker, debuting her full-in tumbling pass, posted a 9.850, as did Harris. Claiming 9.800s on the event were Clevenger and Kelly. Nicholson added a 9.700

UP NEXT

The Tigers make their home debut on Friday, Jan. 19 as the squad hosts Arkansas in the annual Pink Out meet. Meet meet, slated for 6:45 p.m., will air live on SEC Network +

MISSOURI RANKED 17TH IN PRESEASON POLL

Missouri enters 2017 ranked 17th in the nation in the preseason coaches poll, announced on Dec. 11
It is the highest preseason ranking for the Tigers since prior to the 2011 season, when they were chosen 13th
This year marks the third-consecutive season Missouri was among the top 25 teams in the preseason poll, as the Tigers were selected 19th prior to last season and 23rd prior to the 2016 campaign

MIZZOU OWNS NATION'S FIFTH-TOUGHEST SCHEDULE

Heading into the season, the Tigers' schedule is rated the fifth-toughest in the nation
The strength of schedule was calculated by reverse assigning points to each team based on their final 2017 final ranking (example: No. 1 Oklahoma is worth 82 points, No. 2 LSU 81 points, etc.). Additionally, only the highest-ranked team at each meet is used to assign points for that particular meet
The 2018 regular season features 12 matchups with 10 teams ranked in the preason top 25, including meets against No. 2 Florida, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Alabama, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 14 Auburn, No. 16 Georgia, No. 19 Arkansas, No. 20 Iowa, No. 21 Georgia Washington and No. 23 Illinois.
The Tigers actually take on LSU and Arkansas twice during the regular season
Missouri's schedule ranks behind only Southeastern Conference foes Georgia, Arkansas and Alabama

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENT...AUBURN

Auburn is ranked 23rd in the nation after clocking in at No. 14 in the preseason rankings
The Tigers opened the 2018 season on Jan. 6, where they finished third at the Arizona State Quad Meet with a 193.950, falling to Iowa State (195.175), Arizona State (194.675) and Iowa (193.000)
Two different Tigers took home event titles at the meet, as Drew Watson tied for the vault crown with a 9.875 and Samantha Cerio won bars with a score of 9.900
Head Coach Jeff Graba is in his eighth season at the helm of the Auburn program

PORTER MAKES HER RETURN

Friday's meet marks the return of redshirt sophomore Morgan Porter, who suffered a season-ending injury in Mizzou's meet against Alabama a year ago, only three meets into her sophomore campaign
Porter earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors and earned an individual invitation to the NCAA Championships during an outstanding freshman season in 2016
That season she notched 41 scores of 9.800 or higher (the most by a Mizzou freshman in program history) and erupted for an all-around tally of 39.675 against Arkansas, the second-highest all-around total in Tiger history
She also competed 54 of a possible 56 routines during her freshman season

TIGERS EARN THREE SEC WINS IN 2017

The Tigers posted a 3-4 SEC record in 2017, triple the number of SEC dual wins the team had entering the season
Missouri entered the SEC for the 2013 season and went winless in league competition in 2013, 2014 and 2015
A 195.800-195.350 win over No. 9 Georgia on Jan. 22, 2016 marked the team's first-ever conference victory
Last season, Mizzou picked up wins over Kentucky (197.150-196.925), Auburn (197.200-195.350) and Arkansas (195.850-193.950)
The victory over Arkansas also marked Missouri's first-ever SEC road dual win

MISSOURI CONTINUED TO RISE IN 2017

The Tigers continued impressive improvements in 2017 in Head Coach Shannon Welker's fourth year with the program. Top highlights during the season included:

Finished third at the NCAA Gainesville Regional with a 196.100, the second-highest regional score in program
history
The Tigers finished 17th in the final rankings, the team's highest final ranking since 2010
Britney Ward earned NACGC/W Regular Season All-America Second Team honors on both bault and beam. She is now a three-time NACGC/A Regular Season All-America Second Team honoree, as she also claimed beam honors as a freshman in 2016
Missouri twice eclipsed the 197 mark in 2017, with tallies of 197.200 and 197.150 in consecutive weeks against Auburn and Kentucky. The scores stand as the third and fourth highest totals in program history
Mizzou set the program beam record with a 49.500 against Kentucky on March 10
The Tigers won three SEC dual meets in 2017 after entering the season with only one in the program's history

TIGERS RETURN 94 PERCENT OF ROUTINES FROM 2017

Having a relatively young squad in 2017 has its perks for 2018: the Tigers return over 94 percent of all routines from a season ago
Only 18 total routines in 2018 were by now departed seniors
In fact, Mizzou returns every routine from last year's bars and beam lineups
92.3 percent of last year's floor routines and 85.7 percent of last year's vaults also return this season

WARD EARNED SECOND AND THIRD ALL-AMERICA HONOR IN 2017

Junior Britney Ward claimed two regular season All-America honors from the NACGC/W last year, as she earned second team honors on both vault and floor based on her RQS following the regular season
Ward narrowly missed first team accolades on both as she ended the regular season tied for ninth on vault and tied for 10th on beam
Over the 2017 regular season, she totaled 13 scores of 9.9 or better on the two events, including seven on vault and six on beam
The top eight gymnastics on each each event and in the all-around received first team honors, while the next eight earned spots on the second team
Ward was a repeat selection on beam as she claimed All-America second team honors on the event as a freshman

2018 SCHEDULE

The 2018 Missouri schedule includes four home meets, 10 matchups with teams that finished in the top 25 in 2017 and seven possible meets in the state of Missouri
In addition to the four home meets, the Tigers will compete in the Mardi Gras Invitational in St. Charles, Missouri, on Feb. 16 and at the 2018 SEC Championships, scheduled for March 24 at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri
Mizzou's home schedule features matchups with Southeastern Conference foes Arkansas, Florida and LSU and non-conference opponents Lindenwood and Southeast Missouri

HELLO, HELLO

The Tigers welcome four newcomers to the program in 2017
The freshman class includes gymnasts from four different states:
Chelsey Christensen - Rapid City, S.D. // Spearfish Gymnastics Academy
Lauren Clevenger - Catoosa, Okla. // Dynamo Gymnastics
Gabrielle Gottula - Spring, Texas // AIM Athletics
Paige Kovnesky - Archbold, Ohio // New Heights Gymnastics

TIGERS SIGN THREE FOR 2019

Missouri signed three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent, Head Coach Shannon Welker announced on Nov. 8
Mizzou's signing class includes Frances Bidwill (Phoenix, Arizona), Hannah McCrary (Mufreesboro, Tennessee) and Mya Mulligan (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Bidwill is a 2017 J.O. National qualifier and won the 2017 Region I floor title
McCrary is a two-time J.O. National qualifier and took home the 2015 J.O. NIT all-around and bars crowns
Mulligan is a three-time J.O. Nationals qualifier and claimed the 2017 Regional and Hawaiian state all-around titles