No. 19 Mizzou Gymnastics Hosts No. 2 Florida on Friday

Friday, January 17

Columbia, Mo.

6 p.m. CT

University of Missouri

#2 Florida

No. 19 Mizzou Gymnastics Hosts No. 2 Florida on Friday

1/16/2020 8:50:00 AM | Gymnastics

The Tigers host the Gators at 6 p.m. CT

No. 19 Mizzou vs.No. 2 Florida
OPPONENT	DAY	TIME	LOCATION	TV	STATS	GAME NOTES
No. 2 Florida	Friday, Jan. 17	6 p.m. CT	Hearnes Center	SEC Network	Stats	Mizzou

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 19 Mizzou gymnastics team returns home to host No. 2 Florida on Friday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. CT at the Hearnes Center. The meet will be televised live on SEC Network.

TIGER TIDBITS

Mizzou is ranked 19th in this week's RoadtoNationals.com national rankings (based on average score).
The Tigers also rank tied for eighth nationally on floor (49.188), 14th on beam (49.038), 24th on vault (48.875) and 35th on bars (48.450).
Last time out, Missouri fell to then-No. 10 Kentucky 196.525-195.500 on the road.
Freshman Helen Hu won the beam title against the Wildcats to make her a perfect two-for-two on the event this season. She scored a 9.95 to win the event and become only the second Mizzou freshman in program history to earn a 9.95 on beam.
Mizzou is in the midst of a 16-meet stretch with a team score of 49 or higher on floor. The span dates back to the 2018 NCAA Regional and is a program record.
Missouri opened 2020 with a second-place showing in a tri-meet against Illinois and Southeast Missouri on Jan. 4. The Tigers scored a 195.600, just behind the Fighting Illini's 195.850 and ahead of SEMO's 191.275.
Seniors Aspen Tucker and Morgan Porter and Hu all earned event titles in the season opener. Tucker won vault and tied for the bars crown, while Hu tied for first on beam and Porter tied for first on floor.
Tucker and Hu both received weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference for their performances in the season opener. Tucker took home SEC Specialist of the Week honors after winning the vault and bars titles and posting scores of 9.875 on floor and 9.825 on vault and bars. Hu was named the SEC Freshman of the Week after competing on three events and claiming top honors on beam with a 9.9.
Mizzou's event scores of 49.350 on floor and 49.200 on beam on Jan. 4 mark the highest-ever for the team on the events in a season opener. Missouri's previous best season-opening floor score was 49.325 against Iowa State on Jan. 11, 2004, while the previous high on beam was 49.175 against Illinois and Ball State on Jan. 6, 2017.
Mizzou returns seven gymnasts from last year's team and welcomes eight newcomers to the roster.
Head Coach Shannon Welker is in his seventh season at the helm of the Tigers. Last season, Mizzou knocked off four top 25 teams, including a win over No. 10 Kentucky and a tie with No. 7 Michigan. The Tigers also recorded the second-highest beam score in program history (49.425), the sixth (49.425) and seventh (49.400) best floor scores and the ninth-best vault total (49.275) over the course of the campaign.

LAST TIME OUT

The Mizzou gymnastics team opened Southeastern Conference action with a 196.525-195.500 loss at No. 10 Kentucky on Jan. 10 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. Freshman Helen Hu won her second beam title in as many weeks with a 9.95 on the apparatus.
Mizzou opened the night with a 48.750 on bars in the first rotation. Hu posted a career-best 9.875 to lead the Tigers and tie for second overall on the event. Redshirt senior Morgan Porter scored a 9.75, and sophomore Alisa Sheremeta and freshman Sienna Schreiber added 9.75s.
Three Tigers earned scores of 9.8 or better as Mizzou went 48.850 on vault in the second rotation. Freshman Kambrie Brandt paced the squad with a 9.825, just ahead of 9.8s for Porter and freshman Sienna Schreiber.
A 49.025 on floor in the third rotation extended Mizzou's streak of consecutive meets with a 49 or higher to 16, dating back the final meet of the 2018 season. Porter scored a 9.875, a team-best, and her second straight tally of a 9.875 or better. Sophomore Hannah McCrary went 9.85, and Brandt and Sheremeta added 9.775s.
Hu concluded Mizzou's night with her career-best 9.95 on beam and became only the second freshman in program history to earn a 9.95, joining Porter. Overall, Missouri went 48.875 on the event in the final rotation, as junior Gabrielle Gottula posted a 9.8 and Schreiber went 9.775.

UP NEXT

Mizzou travels to Auburn, Ala., to take on No. 20 Auburn on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. CT.

MISSOURI RANKED 19TH IN NATIONAL POLL

Mizzou is ranked No. 19 in the second in-season rankings of 2020.
The team was chosen No. 16 in the preseason rankings
The Tiger also rank tied for eighth nationally on floor, 14th on beam, 24th on vault and 35th on bars.

MIZZOU'S 2020 SCHEDULE RATED NATION'S FIFTH-TOUGHEST

Heading into the season, the Tigers' schedule was rated the fifth-toughest in the nation by RoadtoNationals.com, behind only Arizona, Arkansas, Arizona State and LSU.
The strength of schedule was calculated by reverse assigning points to each team based on their final 2019 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 2020 regular season features 12 matchups with 13 teams ranked in the top 25, including five meets against top 10 opponents. Overall, Mizzou faces off against No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 8 Georgia, No. 10 Alabama, No. 12 Kentucky, No. 13 Auburn, No. 14 Minnesota, No. 15 Nebraska, No. 19 Arkansas, No. 20 Iowa State and No. 24 Ohio State.
The Tigers actually take on LSU twice during the regular season.

FRESHMAN MAKING THEIR IMPACT

Against Kentucky on Jan. 10, 41.6 percent (10 of 24) Mizzou routines came from the freshman class.
The 10 freshman routines were double the other classes, as Mizzou had five routines from the junior class, five from the sophomore class and four from the senior class.
Three freshmen, Kambrie Brandt, Helen Hu and Sienna Schreiber, made up those 10 routines. Hu did four events for the Tigers, while Brandt and Schreiber each did three.

HU SECOND TIGER FRESHMAN TO GO 9.95 ON BEAM

Freshman Helen Hu concluded Mizzou's meet at Kentucky on Jan. 10 with a career-best 9.95 on beam to win her second beam title of the season.
With the score, Hu became only the second Mizzou freshman in program history to earn a 9.95 on beam, joining current redshirt senior Morgan Porter, who scored a 9.95 on the event as a freshman in 2016.
Hu currently ranks tied for ninth nationally on beam with a 9.925 average, as she went 9.9 against Illinois and SEMO in the season opener.
The freshman also tallied a career-high 9.875 on bars against the Wildcats on Jan. 10.

MIZZOU IN PROGRAM-RECORD FLOOR STRETCH

The Tigers are also in the midst of a program-record 16 meet stretch with scores of 49 or higher on the floor exercise.
Missouri's floor span dates back to the NCAA Regional on April 7, 2018, and includes every meet of 2019 and the first two meets of 2020.
The 16-meet span is a program-long for the Tigers, surpassing the previous high of seven set from Feb. 19, 2010 until April 10, 2010.