TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 23 Mizzou gymnastics scored a 196.550 to place fourth at the 2021 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Final on Saturday evening in Tuscaloosa, Ala. As the top two finishers, No. 1 Oklahoma (198.175) and No. 7 Alabama (197.575) advanced to the national championships. No. 10 Arkansas placed third with a 196.700.
The 196.550 marked the third-highest score for the Tigers in regional competition, while Mizzou's 49.325 on floor was a season-best.
Sophomore Sienna Schreiber (Cumming, Ga.) finished with an all-around total of 39.525, a career-high, thanks to individual event scores of 9.925 on beam, a personal-best tying 9.9 on vault and 9.85s on bars and floor.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Mizzou opened strong on floor with a 49.325, a season-high on the event for the second night in a row, thanks to all six scores of 9.8 or higher. Junior Hannah McCrary (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) tallied a 9.9 to lead the Tigers, her fifth 9.9 or better score on the event this season. Junior Alisa Sheremeta (Circleville, N.Y.) posted a 9.875, and Schreiber, senior Gabrielle Gottula (Spring, Texas) and freshman Sydney Schaffer (Andover, Kan.) earned 9.85s, a career-high for Schaffer. Freshman Amaya Marshall (Kannapolis, N.C.) added a 9.8.
A career-high-tying 9.9 from Schreiber on vault paced the squad to a 49.025 overall on the event. In addition to Schreiber's score, Gottula garnered a 9.85 and Marshall went 9.8. Sophomore Hollyn Patrick (Lafayette, Colo.) earned a 9.775 and McCrary went 9.75.
The Tigers totaled a 49.125 on bars in the third rotation. Three Tigers, Marshall, Patrick and Schreiber, all notched team-best scores of 9.85s. Sheremeta added a 9.8, senior Chelsey Christensen (Rapid City, S.D.) went 9.775 and freshman Adalayna Hufendiek (Columbia, Mo.) posted a 9.75.
Schreiber anchored the final rotation with a 9.925 on beam for her seventh score of 9.9 or better on the event this season. The Tigers went 49.025 overall on the event to close out the meet, as Marshall earned a 9.825, Schaffer a 9.8, Sheremeta a 9.75 and Gottula a 9.725.
QUOTABLES
Mizzou Head Coach Shannon Welker
"We had another great night out on the competition floor, one of our highest scores of the year. We posted our highest score of the year yesterday and our fourth-highest tonight, so what a great weekend. I'm so proud of this group for how we finished, I don't think we could have asked for more out of this weekend. They maximized what they were able to do, I'm just really proud. It was neat to see how they stepped up and enjoyed the moment and had a great evening."
"The season was pretty challenging. We didn't start off so strong in January. The first four weeks of our season were not what we were expecting or what we wanted, due to injuries and just getting things figured out. We had our bye week in early February and did some soul searching, and from then on we stayed above a 196 for every meet. We really turned it on at the right time of year and I couldn't be prouder of them. We really set ourselves up great for next year, where we have this experience under our belt, with a healthy team and some great talent coming in, all of which will hopefully propel us to the NCAA Championships."
