Ward Nabs Beam Title As No. 10 @MizzouGym Falls to Auburn, 195.825-194.975

Saturday, January 19

Columbia, Mo.

1 p.m. CT

University of Missouri

194.975

195.825

#13 Auburn

Ward Nabs Beam Title As No. 10 @MizzouGym Falls to Auburn, 195.825-194.975

1/19/2019 3:40:00 PM | Gymnastics

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 10 Mizzou gymnastics team suffered a 195.825-194.975 loss to No. 13 Auburn in the Beauty and the Beast event Saturday afternoon at Mizzou Arena. Senior Britney Ward (Ozark, Mo.) claimed the beam title for her second win on the event in three meets so far this season.

Four different Tigers made event debuts in 2019, while three earned spots in their respective lineups for the first time in their careers.

KEY PERFORMANCES

Opening the day on vault, Mizzou used a team-best 9.825 from Ward to go 48.700 on the apparatus. Ward's score was a season-best in the anchor spot in the lineup. Redshirt junior Morgan Porter (Overland, Mo.) went 9.775 and sophomore Gabrielle Gottula (Spring, Texas) earned a 9.725.

Three Tigers all posted scores of 9.825 to lead the home Tigers in the second rotation. Porter, redshirt senior Becca Schugel (Eagan, Minn.) and junior Aspen Tucker (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) all posted 9.825s, while Christensen added a 9.75. Overall, Mizzou went 48.850 on the event.

Ward again led Missouri on beam with a meet-best 9.85, her third score of 9.85 or better in three meets this season. Mizzou scored a 48.350 in the third rotation on the apparatus, as Gottula tied her career-high with a 9.825 and senior Allison Bower (Mesa, Ariz.) leadoff the rotation with a 9.775.

Missouri closed the day with a strong floor rotation to go 49.050. Tucker paced four Tigers with 9.8s or above, with a team-best score of 9.85. Junior Mary Nicholson (North Richland Hills, Texas) continued her floor success with a 9.85 and Gottula earned a 9.825 in her first-career floor routine. Additionally, Porter posted a score of 9.8.

QUOTABLES

Mizzou Head Coach Shannon Welker
"We were not at our best today. We didn't seem as focused as we were the last couple of weeks. It just wasn't our day. We had some great performances and I thought we did fairly well on floor. The upside from today is we had a lot of new people in the lineups, so that was good."

UP NEXT

Mizzou travels to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete in the Metroplex Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 26. The Tigers will face off against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 8 Denver and No. 14 Arkansas at 7:30 p.m. at the Fort Worth Convention Center.