University of Missouri
(RV) Iowa State
Seventh-Ranked Gymnastics Hosts Iowa State for 2026 Season Opener
1/3/2026 4:00:00 PM | Gymnastics
Mizzou opens season with its first meet against the Cyclones since 2022.
Mizzou gymnastics kicks off the 2026 season against Iowa State on Sunday, Jan. 4, at 2 p.m. at Mizzou Arena. The meet will be live streamed on SEC Network+ and with Max Thoma calling play-by-play and Adalayna Hufendik-Schrimpf serving as the analyst.
THE FIRST TOUCH
-Mizzou returns four WCGA All-American gymnasts from the 2025 NCAA third-place finishing team, including Elise Tisler (Fairfax Station, Va.) (first team, vault), Hannah Horton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) (second team, bars), Olivia Kelly (Bronx, N.Y.) (second team, bars and beam) and Addison Lawrence (Olathe, Kan.) (second team, beam).
-Thirteen members of the 2025 squad return to this year's roster, including 14 of 24 routines.
-This marks the third-straight year Mizzou has competed against a Big 12 opponent in the regular season.
-The opening meet serves as the Tigers' debut in their new primary home venue, Mizzou Arena.
-Mizzou welcomed seven newcomers for the 2026 season, including the 11th-ranked freshmen class of four and a trio of transfers.
-The Tigers will be featured on four nationally-televised Friday Night Heights broadcasts during the 2026 regular season: vs. Oklahoma, vs. LSU, vs. Florida and at Kentucky.
-Mizzou opens the season ranked seventh in the WCGA preseason poll, receiving two first-place votes.
THE BEST SEASON IN MIZZOU WOMEN'S SPORTS HISTORY
-The 2025 Mizzou gymnastics season finished as the most successful season of any varsity women's team in school history, placing third at the NCAA Championship Final.
-It marked the first time the program advanced to the NCAA National Championship Final and the second time competing in the NCAA Championship Semifinal, doing so for the first time in 2022.
-Helen Hu captured the program's first individual national title after scoring 9.9875 on balance beam.
-The coaching staff was recognized for its outstanding season, as head coach Shannon Welker garnered 2025 WCGA National Coach of the Year and SEC Coach of the Year honors, while the staff was named the 2025 College Gym News Coaching Staff of the Year.
NO FLUKE
-The Tigers' best season in history had nothing to do with luck - it is the standard.
-Under Welker's leadership, Mizzou has consistently become one of the premier programs in the nation, finishing in the top 15 in each of the last six seasons after only doing so four times between 1998 and 2014.
-Both times the Tigers ranked among the top five to finish the season were under Welker - 2022 (fifth) and 2025 (third).
NO SHORTAGE OF ALL-AMERICANS BACK IN COMO
-Of the nine WCGA All-America honors MU tallied following the NCAA Championship Semifinal, four return to Mizzou, tied for most in the country along with Alabama, Oklahoma and Florida.
-Tisler was named a WCGA Vault First Team member. On the WCGA Second Team, Horton earned the recognition on uneven bars, Kelly did so on uneven bars and balance beam, while Lawrence was also honored on balance beam.
THE MATCHUP
-MU holds a 29-29 record against the Cyclones, winning six of the last nine meetings in the series.
-The Tigers take on Iowa State for the first time since March 12, 2022, where Mizzou took the win, 197.675-197.275.
-Mizzou has won its last five home meets against Iowa State dating back to Jan. 18, 2008.
OFF TO A HOT START
-Since Welker took over the program in 2014, the Tigers are 18-4 in their season-opening meets.
-The highest score the team has scored in its opening meet was 197.150 on Jan. 6, 2024, against Northern Illinois, SEMO and Lindenwood.
-Mizzou is looking to win its first meet of the season for the fifth-straight year.
-MU holds a 41-30 record in season openers.
A NEW ERA
-Mizzou gymnastics announced it has changed its primary home venue to Mizzou Arena on Oct. 21, 2025.
-Tigers will compete in five of six regular-season home meets at Mizzou Arena during the 2025-26 season.
-Mizzou Arena previously hosted select gymnastics meets, with the most recent coming at the team's 2025 season opener, the Beauty and the Beast meet.
-Hearnes Center remains part of the schedule, hosting Senior Day vs. Arkansas for the team's last meet in Columbia for the season on March 1.
-Mizzou Arena opened in 2004 and is home to Mizzou men's and women's basketball, known as one of the nation's top home-court advantages, with both programs beating a No. 1-ranked opponent in the last four seasons.
TURNING HEADS IN THE PRESEASON
-Mizzou gymnastics opens the 2026 season ranked No. 7 nationally in the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason poll — the highest preseason ranking in program history.
-The Tigers topped their previous program-best preseason mark of No. 9 (2023, 2025) and earned multiple first-place votes, one of just five teams to do so.
-Mizzou has now appeared in the WCGA preseason top 10 in three of the last four seasons.
-All nine SEC programs rank inside the WCGA preseason top 12.
-The Tigers were also ranked No. 8 in the 2026 preseason poll by College Gym News, marking the second-straight year inside the outlet's top 10.
ANOTHER CROP OF IMPRESSIVE FRESHMEN JOINS THE AMBUSH
-Mizzou's incoming freshman class - consisting of five-star and top-10 recruit Kimarra Echols (Henderson, Nev.), four-star Hayli Westerlind (Riverton, Utah), three-star Maiya Terry (Coeur D'Alene, Idaho) and Bryce Kupbens (Belmont, Calif.) - adds to the Tigers' impressive depth this season.
-The 2025 class ranks 11th nationally and fifth in the Southeastern Conference, according to CollegeGymNews.com.
-This class marked the third time since 2021 that MU has welcomed a top-11 class nationally.
TRANSFER EXPERIENCE BOLSTERS 2026 ROSTER
-Mizzou continues to be a premier destination for transfers, as it brought in three talented gymnasts for 2026.
-Makayla Green (Mays Landing, N.J.) joins as a veteran uneven bars specialist and 2025 Illinois team captain after a breakout senior season that included multiple bars titles. The year was highlighted by a win at the NCAA Championship First Round, while posting a career-best score of 9.925 four times during the year.
-Dakota Essenpries (Adrian, Mo.) brings SEC and NCAA Championship experience to Columbia after competing in every vault lineup for Arkansas during the 2025 season. She recorded a career-high 9.900 at the NCAA Championship Second Round, adding depth and consistency to Mizzou's vault rotation.
-Sara Wabi (Chicago, Ill.) arrives as an experienced all-around contributor after earning three All-Midwest Independent Conference First Team honors. She helped lead Illinois State to MIC championships in 2023 and 2025 and qualifying as an individual on uneven bars for the 2025 NCAA Regional.
KIMARRA ECHOLS - A NAME TO WATCH
-Echols was named to the College Gym News 2026 Freshman of the Year Watchlist on Dec. 22, 2025.
-She is the highest-ranked recruit to join Missouri gymnastics in history as the No. 7 prospect in her class and the latest top-tier addition to the Tigers' nationally-ranked roster.
-A five-star recruit, Echols brings immediate lineup potential across all four events.
-Echols made an early statement at the Black & Gold exhibition, winning the all-around with a 39.600, tying for the beam title with a 9.950 and posting scores of 9.900 on bars and floor and 9.850 on vault.
TANSKANEN AMONG THE WORLD'S BEST
-Sophomore Kaia Tanskanen (Howell, Mich.) represented Finland internationally throughout the offseason, highlighted by a 15th-place finish in the all-around final at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championship, marking the best all-around finish by a Finnish gymnast in history at the event.
-Tanskanen was the only active NCAA women's gymnast to compete in the World Championship all-around final and one of just two NCAA athletes to qualify, competing among the world's top 24 gymnasts.
-She advanced to the world final after placing 16th in qualifications, posting consistent routines across all four events and debuting upgraded difficulty on bars and floor as part of her elite development.
-Earlier in the summer, Tanskanen placed 11th all-around at the European Gymnastics Championships, recording a 50.799 total to qualify for the World Championships and finish as the top Finnish athlete in the field.
GRIFFIN ETCHED NAME IN RECORD BOOKS
-Kennedy Griffin's (Strongsville, Ohio) performance at last season's Zou to the Lou on Feb. 14, 2025, is the second 10.000 on floor a Mizzou gymnast has received, joining teammate Jocelyn Moore, who achieved the feat at the Illinois Quad on March 17, 2024.
-Her NQS of 9.920 ranked 14th nationally in the event.
-The junior earned SEC Specialist of the Week honors on Feb. 18, 2025, marking her second weekly conference award.
-Three Missouri gymnasts totaled five 10s in 2025 (Griffin, Hu three times and Mara Titarsolej), the most in school history, ranking as the third-most of any team in the 2025 regular season.
ELITE COMPETITION COMING TO MIZZOU ARENA
-In the program's first season at Mizzou Arena, the Tigers welcome some of the best teams in the country.
-No. 1 Oklahoma (Jan. 16), No. 2 LSU (Jan. 30) and No. 3 Florida (Feb. 6) are all slated to compete in CoMo.
-This would mark the first time since at least 1998 that Mizzou competed against multiple preseason top-three teams at home in the same season.
THE GIRL WITH THE KOI FISH TATTOO: GROWTH COMES FROM WITHIN
-Lawrence's journey is defined by perseverance, symbolized by a koi fish tattoo inspired by Japanese folklore, representing her belief that growth comes from pushing through adversity rather than avoiding it.
-After beginning gymnastics at age five, Lawrence faced injuries, outside pressure and self-imposed expectations, challenges that reshaped her perspective on the sport, with a hip surgery that sidelined her for the entire 2024 season becoming another chapter in her "upstream swim" and further strengthening her resolve as she leaned on her support system and long-term growth.
-Lawrence returned to the sport in 2025 and was named a 2025 WCGA All-American. She credited Mizzou's culture and coaching staff for "flipping the script" on her relationship with gymnastics, emphasizing authenticity, belonging and joy over perfection.
-Her experiences have shaped her future goals, as Lawrence aspires to become a coach, hoping to help young gymnasts value communication, passion and fun while building confidence beyond competitive results. Lawrence visited Pride of Illinois gymnastics on Dec. 4, 2025, to help provide instruction to youth gymnasts.
HORTON BOUNCES BACK
-Horton's freshman season in 2024 tested her resilience, as the All-SEC honoree faced the twisties late in the year, a mental challenge that forced her to step back, reset and lean on her coaches and teammates.
-Rather than pushing through, Horton showed maturity by prioritizing her long-term development, a decision that strengthened her confidence and focus moving forward.
-Horton's journey is rooted in family perseverance, from beginning gymnastics at age five to becoming the first in her family to earn an athletic scholarship, a path shaped by her father's encouragement and a late recruiting process.
-The Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, native emerged from her freshman year with renewed mental toughness and consistency, a foundation that fueled her continued rise in 2025 as a WCGA Uneven Bars Second Team All-American and NCAA Seattle Regional bars champion, positioning her to compete at a high level moving forward.
AN IMPACT IN AND OUT THE GYM
-Kelly has made an impact well beyond competition, arriving at Mizzou as one of the nation's top recruits while already focused on using gymnastics as a platform to give back and uplift others.
-A native of Barbados, Kelly is one of the few collegiate gymnasts representing the Caribbean, becoming the first Barbadian woman to compete at the Pan American Championships and qualify for the World Championships, proudly carrying her heritage onto the international stage.
-Kelly co-founded the Stronger Together Foundation, which provides scholarships and resources to young gymnasts across the Caribbean, and authored a children's book, Am I Too Tall for Gymnastics?, aimed at promoting inclusivity and confidence in the sport.
-Her purpose-driven approach has translated to elite success, as Kelly earned 2025 WCGA Uneven Bars and Balance Beam All-America Second Team honors, along with multiple international and academic accolades, establishing herself as both a standout competitor and role model early in her collegiate career.
THE ART OF THE LEO
-Leotard design at Mizzou is a collaborative process, led by associate head coach Whitney Snowden with input from staff and direct feedback from student-athletes throughout the year.
-The Tigers try on and train in sample leotards so the staff can evaluate how designs move, fit and catch the light, while athletes share what feels best and what helps them compete confidently.
-Athlete comfort is the priority, as the design goal is to balance Mizzou pride with performance-ready fit, ensuring gymnasts can focus on routines rather than how a leo feels or moves.
-With multiple fabrics, stones and revisions involved, the team's GK partnership helps streamline the process and allows more testing and refinement—making the final look a true player-first, team-built product.
2026 SIGNING CLASS AMONG BEST IN MIZZOU HISTORY
-Mizzou welcomes the No. 6 recruiting class nationally for 2026-27, according to College Gym News, marking the second top-10 signing class in the past three years and the program's second-highest ranked class ever.
-The six-member class—Addison Anderson, Ashtyn Conley, Dakota "Coco" Haynes, Raegan McCarty, Kendall Morgan and Imani White—ranks fifth in the SEC and continues Mizzou's run of three consecutive top-20 classes.
-The group features two five-star recruits and multiple national, regional and state champions, bringing proven success across all four events and depth throughout the lineup.
-Imani White headlines the class as the highest-rated signee in program history, ranking No. 5 nationally, with a decorated résumé that includes a career-high 10.0 on vault, multiple national team selections and extensive postseason experience.
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Players Mentioned
