University of Missouri
#11 Denver
Fifth-Ranked Mizzou Travels to Denver for First Road Meet of Season
1/11/2025 12:00:00 PM | Gymnastics
The Tigers head to the mile high city for its second-straight quad meet at the Denver Quad.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — No. 5 University of Missouri gymnastics heads to Denver for its first road meet of the year as the Tigers take on No. 11 Denver, Georgia and LIU in the Denver Quad on Sunday at 3 p.m. inside Magness Arena.
THE MATCHUP
No. 5 University of Missouri gymnastics travels for its first road meet of the 2025 season with the Denver Quad, taking on No. 11 Denver, Georgia and LIU.
While Mizzou will compete against LIU for the first time in program history, the Tigers are 8-10 against No. 11 Denver and 8-24 versus Georgia all-time.
No. 11 Denver opened its season on Sunday, Jan. 5 with a home win against No. 13 Michigan by a 195.700-194.975 margin. The Tigers rank ahead of the Pioneers in team score and beam after the first week.
Both Georgia and LIU will open the 2025 season at the Denver Quad. Georgia finished the 2024 season with the 20th-ranked NQS score and brought in first-year head coaches Cécile Canqueteau-Landi and Ryan Roberts, while LIU finished 60th in NQS and also welcomed a new coach in Taylor Colwell.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST SHOW STOPPERS
During the Tigers' season-opening meet at Beauty and the Beast, Mizzou gymnasts collected four of the five event titles en route to a 3-0 start to the season.
Amari Celestine competed in the all-around for the first time in her career and won the title with a score of 39.350 - earning a 9.775 on vault, 9.900 on bars, 9.825 on beam and 9.850 on floor.
In her first meet in 643 days, Addison Lawrence competed on beam and did not skip a beat, earning a 9.900 to capture the title, her third time scoring 9.900 or better in the event.
Two Tigers - Hannah Horton and Celestine - finished with a score of 9.900 or better on bars, earning a 9.925 and 9.900 respectively. Horton earned the event title with her first-ever 9.900 or better result in the event.
Celestine, Horton and Jocelyn Moore all claimed a share of the floor title after all three notched a score of 9.850.
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED
Director of Athletics Laird Veatch announced on Thursday, Jan. 2 that gymnastics head coach Shannon Welker has signed a contract extension to remain at the helm of the program through 2029.
Since taking over Mizzou's program in May of 2013, Welker has transformed the Tigers into a consistent contender on the national stage.
He has led the program to historic milestones, including multiple NCAA Championship appearances, record-breaking team scores, home attendance records and the development of numerous All-Americans and conference honorees.
GUESS HU'S BACK?
Helen Hu, a two-time NCAA All-American and three-time All-Southeastern Conference gymnast, has returned to the University of Missouri gymnastic program and will use her final year of eligibility to compete in the forthcoming 2025 campaign. Hu spent the past year backpacking in European, South American and Asian countries.
The redshirt senior holds career highs of 9.975 three times on the balance beam and 9.950 twice on bars, placing her tied for third and second in the program's record books for the respective competitions.
Between beam and bars, Hu has earned a 9.900 or better 36 times between the two events.
In her most recent season of competition, the 2023 campaign, Hu competed in all 13 meets and posted a 9.900 or better on beam in 10 of them.
She earned her second team All-America status in the event and was on the end-of-season All-SEC team.
Notably, Hu reached a 9.975 on beam for the third time in her collegiate career during the team's quad meet on March 10.
IT JUST MEANS MORE
Missouri gymnastics was selected as the ninth-ranked team in the nation by the members of the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association heading into the 2025 season.
In the first RoadToNationals team ranking, all four Southeastern Conference schools that competed in week one earned a spot in the top 10 - No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 LSU, No. 5 Missouri and No. 7 Auburn.
The Southeastern Conference combined for seven of the top 10 in the WCGA preseason poll. Ninth-ranked Mizzou was joined at the top by No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Kentucky and No. 8 Arkansas. All nine programs in the SEC were featured in the top 17 in the country.
This preseason ranking ties the Mizzou's highest in the last 10 years and is the second time in the last three years the Tigers have cracked the top 10. They also slotted at No. 9 ahead of the 2023 season.
All but two of the Tigers' 15 opponents for the upcoming season were featured in the ranking in either the selected 1-36 or receiving votes.
2024 WRAPPED – A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR
The Mizzou gymnastics program broke more than 25 records last year in the 2024 season, most notably setting the team-high score in all four events.
Seven Tigers earned All-SEC selections, the most of any team in the conference, and three were named WCGA All-Americans.
Missouri set a new dual meet attendance record during its Jan. 26, 2024, win over No. 3 LSU with 7,336 spectators as the program earned its highest-ranked win in history.
The Tigers had their best season ever on vault, earning a score of at least 49.000 in every meet for the first time.
Mara Titarsolej, Sienne Schreiber and Jocelyn Moore all earned perfect 10s during the year - Titarsolej on bars, Schreiber on beam and Moore on floor.
The team also set its highest-ever NQS score of 197.420. In addition, Missouri also broke its best NQS score on floor (49.575), bars (49.420) and vault (49.340). Its ranking of eighth on floor and 11th on bars is the highest end-of-year ranking.
STAR-STUDDED TIGERS JOIN THE AMBUSH
After a historic 2024 season, Welker signed the sixth-ranked freshman class and top-ranked transfer class, according to CollegeGymNews.com.
The freshman class was comprised of three-star Ayla Acevedo, four stars Kaia Tanskanen and Lisa Szeibert and five stars Railey Jackson and Olivia Kelly.
Jackson and Tanskanen were the lone two first-year student-athletes to compete in the first week, with Jackson earning scores of 9.800 on beam and 9.825 on floor while Taskanen notched a 9.750 on vault.
The nation's leading transfer class featured Lauren Macpherson, Abby Mueller, Elise Tisler and Amy Wier.
Welker also announced the program's 2025 recruiting class of four signees on Nov. 11, 2024, consisting of CollegeGymNews.com five-star Kimarra Echols, Bryce Kupbens, three-star Maiya Terry and four-star Hayli Westerlind.
The Tigers' class ranks 11th nationally and fifth in the SEC, according to CollegeGymNews.com. This marks the third time since 2021 that MU has welcomed a top 11 class nationally.
UP NEXT
The Tigers will continue their season by opening Southeastern Conference competition for the 2025 season on Friday, Jan. 17 as they travel to take on No. 1 Oklahoma.
Mizzou is 12-60-1 all-time against Oklahoma and will be searching for its first win against the Sooners since 2004. The Tigers will be looking to defeat their first top-ranked opponent in program history.
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Season ticket renewals for the 2025 Mizzou gymnastics season are on sale now at MUTigers.com/Tickets. In addition to hosting "Beauty and the Beast" for the team's regular-season opener, the Tigers will host SEC home duals against Kentucky, Georgia and Auburn.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest on Mizzou gymnastics, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, X, Instagramand TikTok.
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