No. 18 Gymnastics to Stick it to Hunger Friday against No. 6 LSU

Friday, February 21

Columbia, Mo.

8 p.m. CT

University of Missouri

LSU

No. 18 Gymnastics to Stick it to Hunger Friday against No. 6 LSU

2/20/2020 2:39:00 PM | Gymnastics

Mizzou and LSU face off at 8 p.m. CT

No. 18 Mizzou vs. No. 6 LSU
OPPONENT	DAY	TIME	LOCATION	TV	STATS	GAME NOTES
No. 6 LSU	Friday, Feb.21	8 p.m. CT	Hearnes Center	SEC Network	Stats	Mizzou

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 18 Mizzou gymnastics team returns to the Hearnes Center to host No. 6 LSU on Friday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. CT. The meet will be televised live on SEC Network. The meet is the Tigers' Stick it to Hunger event in conjunction with The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri. Fans who bring a jar of peanut butter will receive $4 admission.

TIGER TIDBITS

Mizzou moved up one spot to No. 18 in the RoadtoNationals.com national rankings.
The Tigers rank 16th nationally on beam (48.971) and floor (49.139), 17th on vault (49.014) and 26th on bars (48.742).
Additionally, freshman Helen Hu is ranked fifth nationally on beam (9.914) and redshirt senior Morgan Porter is tied for 16th on floor (9.896).
Last time out, Missouri scored a 196.450 at the Mardi Gras Invitational.
The Tigers tied the program's bars record with a 49.400 in the final rotation. Mizzou previously tallied the same score at the Texas Woman's Invite on March 12, 2004.
Hu and freshman Sienna Schreiber both notched 9.95s on bars to tie for the event title and match Mizzou's individual bars record. Hu previously matched the record against Florida on Jan. 17.
Against Alabama on Feb. 7, the Tigers tallied event scores of 49.350 on floor, 49.300 on beam, 49.250 on vault and 48.950 on bars.
It was the first time in program history Mizzou scored at least 49.250 on vault, beam and floor in the same meet.
Missouri recorded scores on beam (49.425), vault (49.300) and bars (49.225) at Auburn. The beam score stands as the second-highest total in program history, while the vault total is tied for sixth in the record books, and second on the event since vault start values were changed.
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 tied its program bars record with a 49.400 at the 2020 Mardi Gras Invitational on Feb. 14 at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. Mizzou placed third with a 196.450, behind No. 9 LSU (197.875) and No. 18 Iowa State (196.625) and ahead of Lindenwood (193.500).
Freshmen Helen Hu and Sienna Schreiber tied for the bars title with identical 9.95s, which tied Mizzou's individual record on the event. Hu also notched a career-best 39.475 in the all-around to place second overall.
Mizzou opened the meet with a 48.800 on beam. Hu closed the rotation with a 9.85, while redshirt senior Morgan Porter tallied a 9.825. Sophomore Hannah McCrary added a 9.75.
The Tigers surged for a 49.275 on floor, the team's third-straight meet with a 49.275 or better on the event. Porter notched a team-high 9.925 to increase her season average on the floor to a 9.896. Both Hu and junior Gabrielle Gottula tallied 9.875s, which tied Hu's career-mark. Schreiber earned a 9.85 and McCrary and sophomore Alisa Sheremeta both went 9.75.
Porter tied her season-best on vault in the third rotation with a 9.875 on vault as the Tiger compiled a 48.975 as a team. Hu notched a new career-best with a 9.8, while McCrary went 9.8 as well.
Mizzou's 49.400 on bars tied the team's program record, matching the total first set at the Texas Woman's Invite on March 12, 2004. Hu and Schreiber bookended the rotation with 9.95s to also tie the program's individual record on bars. Schreiber's score bested her previous career-high of 9.8, while Hu tied her personal-best. Junior Chelsey Christensen also set a personal-high with a 9.85, and Sheremeta and Porter added 9.825s.

UP NEXT

Mizzou closes out the home portion of its schedule when the team hosts No. 7 Minnesota, Ohio State and Lindenwood on Friday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. CT.

MISSOURI RANKED 18TH IN NATIONAL POLL

Mizzou moved up one sport to No. 18 in this week's national poll.
The team was chosen No. 16 in the preseason rankings.
The Tiger also rank 16th on beam and floor, 17th on vault and 26th on bars.
Individually, freshman Helen Hu is ranked fifth nationally on beam with an average score of 9.914.
Additionally, redshirt senior Morgan Porter is tied for 16th on floor with a average of 9.896.

MIZZOU TIES BARS RECORD AT MARDI GRAS INVITE

Mizzou concluded the Mardi Gras Invite with a 49.400 on bars, which matched the program record on the event.
The Tigers also went 49.400 on bars at the Texas Woman's Invite on March 12, 2004.
The team was paced by a pair of 9.95s from freshmen Helen Hu and Sienna Schreiber. Those scores also tied Mizzou's individual bars record.
Schreiber's previous career-best on the event was 9.8, while Hu also tallied a 9.95 on bars against Florida on Jan. 17.

FLOOR A STRENGTH

Floor has become a strength over the last three meets for Mizzou.
During that stretch, the Tigers are averaging 49.333 on the event
Mizzou's floor average was 48.994 the first four meets of the season.
Three Tigers average at least a 9.829 so far this year. Senior Morgan Porter leads with a 9.896, freshman Sienna Schreiber has a 9.855 and sophomore Hannah McCrary averages a 9.829.

TIGERS POST SEASON-BEST SCORE AT ALABAMA

Mizzou erupted for a season-best high 196.850 at Alabama on Feb. 7.
The 196.850 stands as the second-highest road score in program history.
The Tigers compiled event scores of 49.350 on floor, 49.300 on beam, 49.250 on vault and 48.950 on bars.
It marked the first time in program history Missouri scored 49.250 or higher on vault, beam and floor in the same meet.

MIZZOU POSTS SECOND-BEST ROAD SCORE IN PROGRAM HISTORY

Mizzou's 196.850 at Alabama was the second-best road score in program history.
The 196.850 trails just the 197.475 at the Texas Woman's Invite on March 12, 2004
The 196.850 edged out a 196.750 Missouri posted at Florida on Feb. 24, 2017.
Additionally, Missouri's 49.300 on beam at Alabama was the eighth-best beam total in school history.

FRESHMEN MAKING THEIR IMPACT

Seven meets into the 2020 season, Mizzou's freshmen class has made an impact
So far, freshmen have made up 35.7 percent of the team's routines, with 60 of the 168 total coming from the class.
Overall, the 60 routines by the freshmen led the team, followed by 40 from the senior class, 39 from the sophomore class and 29 from the junior class.

>HU ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST BEAM WORKERS

Freshman Helen Hu stands as one of the top beam workers.
Hu currently ranks fifth nationally on the event with an average score of 9.914.
She has tallied a 9.9 or better on beam in six of seven meets this season, with three 9.95s and three 9.9s.
Hu also stands as the only the second freshman in Tiger history to score a 9.95 on the event, joining Morgan Porter, who accomplished the feat in 2016.