Friday, February 1
Columbia, Mo.
7:30 p.m. CT
University of Missouri
vs
#8 Alabama
No. 16 @MizzouGym Hosts No. 8 Alabama Friday in SEC Matchup
1/31/2019 3:11:00 PM | Gymnastics
| MEET 5: ALABAMA | |||||
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DATE | TIME | WATCH | STATS |
| No. 8 Alabama | Hearnes Center | Friday, Feb. 1 | 7:30 p.m. CT | SEC Network | StatBroadcast |
| Meet Notes: Mizzou | |||||
MEET PROMOTIONS - STICK IT TO HUNGER
- $4 tickets with the donation of a jar of peanut butter for The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri
- Free Mizzou gymnastics cup to the first 200 fans
- Free Mizzou gymnastics koozies
- Free Mizzou gymnastics trading cards (set 2 of 4)
- Free Mizzou gymnastics poster (version 2 of 5)
STORYLINES
- The No. 16 Mizzou gymnastics team returns to the Hearnes Center to host No. 8 Alabama on Friday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. CT. The meet will be televised SEC Network with Bart Conner and Kathy Johnson Clarke on the call.
- The Tigers fell one spot to No. 16 in this week's national poll.
- Mizzou also ranks 10th nationally on floor, 14th on vault, 15th on beam and 22nd on bars.
- Last time out, Missouri scored a 196.200 to place third at the Metroplex Challenge on Jan. 26 in Fort Worth, Texas.
- No. 1 Oklahoma took the team title with a 197.975, while No. 7 Denver placed second with 196.350, and No. 21 Arkansas was fourth with a 195.825.
- At Metroplex, the Tigers tallied a season-high 49.275 on vault. It tied for the ninth-best vault title in program history and was the highest score on the event in over two years, when Mizzou went a program record 49.425 at Lindenwood on Jan. 15, 2017.
- Senior Madeleine Huber and junior Aspen Tucker both earned top three finishes at the meet. Tucker scored a 9.9 on vault to tie for second on the event, while Huber's 9.9 on bars tied for third. Both scores were season highs.
- Against Auburn on Jan. 19, senior Britney Ward earned her second event title of the season against Auburn, as she won beam for the second time in three meets.
- On Jan. 11, Missouri tallied season-bests on all four events in a 197.300-196.450 loss at preseason No. 3 Floriday on Jan. 11. The Tigers did not record a score lower than 9.725 in the meet against the Gators.
- Redshirt senior Becca Schugel has returned to the lineup after missing most of the 2018 season with a season-ending Achilles injury.
- Four different Tigers have made their competitive debuts so far this season: sophomores Lauren Clevenger, Chelsey Christensen and Paige Kovnesky, and freshman Hannah McCrary. McCrary has made the vault and floor lineups, Christensen and Kovnesky the vault and bars lineups, and Clevenger made her debut on beam.
- Head Coach Shannon Welker is in his sixth year at the helm of the Tiger program. Last season, Welker and the Tigers earned three top 10 wins, including a victory over No. 5 Florida.
LAST TIME OUT
- Mizzou placed third at the 2019 Metroplex Challenge with a team score of 196.200 on Jan. 26 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. No. 1 Oklahoma scored a 197.987 to take the team crown, followed by No. 7 Denver with a 196.350, and No. 21 Arkansas took fourth after a 195.825.
- Mizzou opened the meet with a 49.925 on beam in the first rotation. Senior Britney Ward anchored the rotation with a team-high 9.875 for her fourth score of at least 9.85 this season. Junior Mary Nicholson put up a 9.825, while senior Allison Bower went 9.775 and senior Brooke Kelly earned a 9.75.
- The Tigers notched their second-best floor performance in the second rotation, going 49.100 on the event. Four Tigers claimed scores of 9.8 or higher, with three posting 9.85s. Junior Aspen Tucker, Bower and Nicholson all earned marks of 9.85, while redshirt junior Morgan Porter went 9.8. Additionally, sophomore Gabrielle Gottula posted a score of 9.75 in only her second time in the floor lineup.
- A season-best 49.275 on vault put Mizzou in a solid position with one rotation remaining. Putting up five gymnasts, two gymnasts went career-best and the three others earned season-highs. Tucker closed the rotation with a 9.9, which tied her career-high, and Gottula also went a career-best with a 9.825. Posting season-highs were Ward with a 9.875, Porter with a 9.85, and senior Madeleine Huber with a season-best-tying 9.825.
- Missouri totaled 49.000 on bars to conclude the night. Huber anchored with a 9.9, which was a season-best. Additionally, Porter posted a score of 9.85 and Kelly notched a 9.8, also a season-high.
UP NEXT
- Mizzou hosts No. 6 Georgia on Friday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. in the annual Pink Out meet.
MISSOURI CLOCKS IN AT NO. 16 IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
- Mizzou dropped one spot to No. 16 in this week's national rankings with an average score of 195.769.
- The Tigers also rank 10th nationally on floor, with an average score of 49.106.
- Additionally, the team ranks 14th on vault, 15th on beam and 22nd on bars.
TIGERS POST SEASON-HIGH VAULT SCORE AT METROPLEX CHALLENGE
- Missouri tallied a season-best vault score of 49.275 at the Metroplex Challenge on Jan. 26 despite only putting five up on the event.
- The score, the highest for the Tigers on any event so far this season, tied for the ninth-best total on the event in program history.
- Additionally, it was Mizzou's highest vault score in over two years, when the team broke the school record with a 49.425 at Lindenwood on Jan. 15, 2017.
- All five Tiger gymnasts scored a 9.825 or higher in the rotation, led by a season-high 9.9 from Aspen Tucker. Other scores included a 9.875 from Britney Ward, 9.85 from Morgan Porter and 9.825s from Madeleine Huber and Gabrielle Gottula. The 9.825 was a career-best for Gottula.
TIGERS NOTCH SEC WIN WITH VICTORY OVER ARKANSAS
- The Mizzou-Arkansas matchup at the Metroplex Challenge counted as the Southeastern Conference matchup between the Tigers and Razorbacks, with Mizzou improving to 1-2 in league action with the win.
- Missouri's win marked the third-consecutive regular season victory over Arkansas, as the Tigers also defeated the Razorbacks twice during the 2018 season.
- Additionally, Mizzou improved to 5-1 against Arkansas in the last six matchups (postseason included).
MIZZOU POSTS SEASON-BESTS ON ALL FOUR EVENTS AT FLORIDA
- Mizzou posted at least 49 on all apparatuses in a 197.300-196.450 loss to preseason No. 3 Florida on Jan. 11.
- The Tigers' full point team score improvement from week one to week two was due more consistency on all four individual events.
- Mizzou's biggest improvement came on bars, where the team went 49.125 at Florida after a 48.375 at the Arizona State Quad Meet.
- The team also upped its scores on floor (49.200 from 49.050), beam (49.125 from 49.075) and vault (49.000 from 49.950).
MCCRARY CLAIMS VAULT CROWN AT FLORIDA
- Freshman Hannah McCrary claimed a share of the vault title in Mizzou's meet at Florida on Jan. 11.
- It was the first event title of the freshman's Mizzou career.
- McCrary earned a career-best 9.875 on her Yurchenko 1.5 at the meet, marking the first time she competed the 10.0 vault in collegiate competition.
- She also went personal-best 9.850 on floor at Florida.
TIGERS FACE TOUGH 2019 SLATE
- The 2019 regular season features 15 matchups with 14 teams ranked in the top 25, including 10 meets against top 10 opponents
- Overall, Mizzou faces off against No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 LSU, No. 5 Utah, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Georgia, No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 13 Denver, No. 14 Auburn, No. 20 Arizona State, No. 21 Stanford and No. 23 Minnesota. The Tigers actually take on LSU twice during the regular season.
WARD NAMED SEC SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK
- Senior Britney Ward was named the Southeastern Conference Specialist of the Week, the league office announced on Jan. 8.
- It marked the third SEC weekly honor of her career, as Ward also claimed Specialist and Freshman of the Week honors as a freshman in 2016.
- Ward claimed the beam event title as Mizzou took first in a quad meet against No. 20 Arizona State, No. 23 Minnesota and UIC in Tempe, Ariz., on Jan. 4. She anchored the Tigers' first rotation with a 9.95, a score that held up as the highest of the night on beam. The score was good enough to rank her tied for second nationally on the event after one week of competition.
- The win was the 29th event title of her Tiger career, including her 16th on beam. It also marked the sixth time in Ward's career she scored a 9.95 or better, which ranks as the second most in Mizzou history. Additionally, it was the 19th time in 40 career beam routines she posted at least a 9.9.
TUCKER, WARD CLAIM EVENT WINS IN SEASON OPENER
- Senior Britney Ward and junior Aspen Tucker both took home event wins in the Tigers' quad meet against Arizona State, Minnesota and UIC on Jan. 4.
- Tucker tied for first on floor with a career-high-tying 9.9. It was her 11th career event title but her first-ever win on the floor exercise.
- Ward scored a 9.95 to win beam and claim the 29th event title of her career, including the 16th on beam.
SCHUGEL MAKES HER RETURN
- Mizzou's meet on Jan. 4 marked the return of redshirt senior Becca Schugel, who suffered a season-ending injury in January of last season.
- The fifth-year gymnast tore her Achilles tendon during practice after seeing action in only two meets during her senior season in 2018.
- Schugel competed on bars at Arizona State and posted a 9.825 on the event.
- Schugel is a three-time All-SEC performer over her first three-plus years with the Tigers, as she earned floor honors in 2017, beam honors in 2016 and All-Freshman Team acolades in 2015
- She earned her bachelor's degree in health science in May 2018 and is currently enrolled in Mizzou's accelerated nursing program.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT...ALABAMA
- Alabama comes into the meet ranked eighth nationally with an average score of 196.169.
- The Crimson Tide also rank fourth nationally on vault, seventh on floor, ninth on bars and 27th on beam.
- They are 1-1 in SEC action with a win at Georgia and a home loss to LSU.
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