Hu Claims Third-Straight SEC Specialist of the Week Award
2/4/2025 12:00:00 PM | Gymnastics
Helen Hu is the only gymnast in Mizzou history to win an SEC weekly award three-straight weeks.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri gymnast Helen Hu was awarded the Southeastern Conference Specialist of the Week award for the third-consecutive week, the league office announced Tuesday afternoon.
Redshirt senior Hu notched yet another near-perfect score on the balance beam, earning a 9.975 during the team's meet at No. 3 LSU on Friday. She is the lone individual in the nation with at least three scores of 9.975 or better on a single apparatus this season.
Hu becomes the second gymnast in the award's history to receive the recognition for three weeks in a row and the first since Florida's Trinity Thomas did so in the 2023 season. She is the lone individual in Mizzou program history to win an SEC weekly award three times in a row and previously did so in 2020, claiming three-straight Freshman of the Week honors.
"It is an honor to be recognized again among the many incredible athletes in this conference," Hu said. "It's an even greater honor to be a part of making history with Mizzou gymnastics, a program I owe so much. I would not be here without the unique opportunity and support from my coaches, team, and the entire support staff."
This marks the fifth time Hu has won the weekly award. She won the award twice in 2020 and was also named the SEC Specialist of the Year that season. As a team, MU has earned SEC Specialist of the Week honors four times in 2024.
Hu made history by posting her first career perfect 10.000 and the first perfect 10.000 of the 2025 NCAA Division I women's collegiate gymnastics season during her balance beam routine on Jan. 17 at No. 1 Oklahoma. She ranks fourth nationally and second in the SEC for average beam score.
Following the fifth week of competition, Hu is still the only individual to score 10.000 on the beam, one of five with a score of 9.975 on the event and one of two with multiple scores of 9.975 or better.
Hu scored at least 9.950 on 15 occasions before her first perfect 10 at Oklahoma on Jan. 17. The only other time a Mizzou gymnast recorded a 10 on beam on the road was by Lauren Schwartzman on March 12, 2004, at the Texas Women's University Invitational.
Mizzou will be on the road for the second-straight week in its penultimate non-conference meet at No. 29 Illinois on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Huff Hall. This marks the first of two times the Tigers and Fighting Illini will compete this season, with Illinois competing in the Zou to the Lou field Feb. 14.
Mizzou and Illinois met in a pair of quad meets in 2024, with the Black & Gold standing victorious on both occassions. The last time the programs competed in a dual meet was the opening competition in the 2023 season, where Mizzou won in Champaign, Illinois by a score of 196.425-196.275.
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