No. 13 Gymnastics Set For NCAA Gainesville Regional Final

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — No. 13 University of Missouri gymnastics continues its postseason journey Sunday at the NCAA Gainesville Regional Final, where the Tigers will square off against No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Utah and No. 12 Michigan State for a spot in the NCAA Championship Semifinal on the line. First touch from Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT, and the action will stream on ESPN+.

The Tigers are one of 16 teams remaining in the 2024 NCAA Gymnastics Championship tournament, and to advance to another weekend of competition in Fort Worth, MU must be among the top two teams in the quad meet. 

Missouri will open the meet on floor, while the Spartans start on vault, the Red Rocks begin on bars and the host Gators lead off the meet on beam. From there, all teams will progress in Olympic order.

• The Tigers put together their most complete meet of the season at the NCAA Gainesville Regional Second Round, scoring a 197.525 to place second and claim a spot in Sunday’s regional final.
• Shannon Welker‘s squad finished behind session winner No. 4 Florida, who posted a 197.925, and outlasted No. 20 Georgia, finishing third with a 197.425, and Iowa State, rounding out the scoring with a 196.575.
• After an early deficit, the Tigers compiled stellar rotations on vault with a 49.375 and bars with a session-best 49.475. With its bars performance, Mizzou pulled ahead of Georgia by a tenth heading into the final rotation.
• Needing a big team score in the final rotation, the Tigers put up their second-best beam score of 2024 with a 49.375 to stave off the Bulldogs and continue their postseason journey.

• With its second-place finish in the regional second round Friday, Missouri advanced to its fourth consecutive NCAA Regional Final dating back to 2021.
• MU is part of a select group to advance to four consecutive regional finals, as only six other programs in the country — Alabama, California, Denver, Florida, Oklahoma and Utah — have sustained a streak as long as the Tigers.

• The Tigers had a sterling start to their postseason with a balanced performance on all four events.
• MU’s 197.525 team score set a team record for the best NCAA Regional Second Round score, breaking the 197.400 mark set in 2023.
• The score marks Missouri’s eighth consecutive NCAA tournament score above 197 dating back to the NCAA Raleigh Regional Second Round in 2022.
• Since the Mizzou to the Lou meet on Feb. 16, the Tigers have recorded seven consecutive meets with a 197+ score, putting them one meet away from tying the record set between Feb. 19, 2023, and Jan. 6, 2024.
• For the first time this season, the Black and Gold gymnasts produced four rotations with a score of 49.3 or higher. Missouri most recently achieved the feat on Feb. 24, 2023, when the Tigers posted a program-record score of 197.850 at Arkansas.

• With the meet on the line, Missouri headed to the beam needing to put up a big score and delivered arguably the most important rotation of the season, notching the team’s second-best beam score of the season at 49.375.
• To start the pressure-packed rotation, junior Grace Anne Davis got the ball rolling with a 9.900 in the leadoff position.
• In the second spot, freshman Rayna Light put together her routine of the season with a career-best 9.875. Her classmate, Kennedy Griffin, followed with a 9.850 to keep Missouri on track.
• After a fall in the fourth spot, the Tigers needed two big routines to stay ahead of Georgia. Junior Amari Celestine stepped up in the fifth position with a 9.850 to keep things steady.
• Graduate student Sienna Schreiber had to put up at least a 9.825 to send Missouri to the regional final and deliver as she had so many times before. The Tigers’ all-time leading scorer posted a 9.900 this season to help MU survive and advance.

• When the Tigers needed a big rotation score, the bars squad delivered with a signature effort to score a 49.475, the best bars score of the second session, to pull ahead of Georgia leading into the final rotation.
• MU counted five scores of 9.850 or higher, including three 9.9s, to post the third-best bars score in program history.
• Senior Kyra Burns started the rotation in stellar fashion, sticking her double layout dismount for a 9.900.
• Graduate students Hollyn Patrick and Sienna Schreiber each put in solid performances, posting a 9.800 and 9.850 in the two and four spots, respectively.
• Senior Amaya Marshall nailed her twisting double back dismount in the third spot to generate a 9.875 mark.
• In the fifth position, junior Jocelyn Moore scored her third 9.9 of the meet, hitting a 9.900 to put Missouri in good shape heading into the anchor position.
• Mara Titarsolej stepped up in a major way as the anchor, as the senior hit a tremendous 9.950 to give Missouri the advantage.

• In a make-or-break moment, Sienna Schreiber delivered a clutch routine for the ages to keep the Tigers dancing in the NCAA tournament.
• After a fall earlier in the beam rotation, the all-around standout from Cumming, Georgia, stepped up in the anchor position needing a 9.825 to outlast Georgia. 
• The four-time All-American on beam hit another solid routine, recording her 10th score of 9.9+ of the season on beam with a 9.900 to close out the meet.

• As she’s done so often in her first season in Black and Gold, senior Mara Titarsolej delivered a stunning bars performance to help the Tigers secure a spot in the regional final.
• One meet after winning a share of the SEC bars title with a 9.950, Titarsolej continued her torrid run through the back half of the season with another 9.950 in the anchor position on Friday.
• The three-time WCGA Regular Season All-American has hit four consecutive 9.9s on bars and has helped the Tigers record the three best bars team scores in program history this year.

• The rise of Jocelyn Moore continued at Friday’s regional second round, as the 2024 SEC Event Specialist of the Year put on another signature performance.
• For the second time in her career, the Hillsborough, New Jersey, star scored a 9.9 on all three events she competed in, earning a 9.900 on floor, vault and bars.
• With her 9.9 floor performance, Moore continues her outstanding floor run with 16 consecutive 9.9s on the apparatus. She is one of just two SEC gymnasts to hit a 9.9 on floor in every meet this season alongside LSU’s Haleigh Bryant.

• Several Tigers provided crucial scores to help MU survive and advance on Friday.
• Kyra Burns tied her career-best mark on bars with a 9.900.
• Jocelyn Moore hit a 9.900 on bars to tie her season-best mark.
• Rayna Light‘s 9.875 beam routine shattered her previous personal-best score of 9.800 on the apparatus.

• At the NCAA Los Angeles Regional Final in 2023, the Tigers scored a program postseason record 197.600, but fell just short of advancing to the NCAA Championship Semifinal, finishing third in the quad meet. 
• No. 5 Utah won the region with a 198.050, while host No. 4 UCLA advanced in second place on the back of a 197.925 team score.
• MU tied the best vault score in program history, hitting a 49.450 mark as Sienna Schreiber and Amari Celestine each produced a 9.900 and Jocelyn Moore recorded a 9.975.
• Four Tigers scored a 9.9 or higher on floor, as Moore hit a 9.950 to lead the way and Amari Celestine, Hannah McCrary and Alisa Sheremeta each notched a 9.900.

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