Columbia News

The University of Missouri gymnastics team, ranked seventh nationally, will face No. 13 Auburn in its final home meet of the season on Sunday at noon at Hearnes Center. The event marks Senior Day for the Tigers and will be broadcast on SEC Network+, with John Roethlisberger providing play-by-play and Samantha Peszek as analyst.

Missouri enters the matchup with a higher national qualifying score (NQS) than Auburn on floor and bars, while Auburn holds an edge on vault and beam. Auburn's three conference victories have come against Arkansas, Georgia, and Alabama. Missouri has seven gymnasts ranked in the top 25 of NQS in their events compared to three from Auburn.

This season is shaping up as one of the best in program history for Missouri. The team's current NQS ranking of seven is its highest regular-season mark ever, surpassing its previous best of ninth during week seven of 2022. Missouri also tied its best NQS ranking on floor at third nationally.

Helen Hu achieved her first perfect 10 score on balance beam at Oklahoma on January 17, becoming the first gymnast to do so this season. Kennedy Griffin earned a perfect 10 on floor during the Zou to the Lou meet on February 14, marking only the third time in program history that two perfect scores have been recorded in one year.

Hu and Griffin have combined for five Southeastern Conference Specialist of the Week awards this season—only the third time one school has reached that number in a single year. Hu has received four such honors, making her just the second gymnast in SEC history to achieve that many in one season. She is currently tied for second nationally in beam NQS.

Missouri has secured two top-15 dual meet wins this year over Kentucky and Alabama and recently posted its second-best team score ever—197.725—in a loss to Florida.

Senior Amari Celestine continues to contribute strong performances in her final season. She set a personal-best all-around score of 39.625 at Zou to the Lou, tying for seventh best in program history. Celestine leads Missouri with seven event titles this year and has scored at least 9.900 on bars six consecutive times—a feat unmatched by any Tiger since 1999.

Griffin's performance at Zou to the Lou was only the second time a Mizzou gymnast scored a perfect 10 on floor; she is now among six Tigers who have achieved perfect scores since 2023. Griffin ranks 24th nationally in NQS for floor routines.

Hu was named SEC Specialist of the Week for a fourth time this season after posting three scores of 9.975 or better on beam this year, including a perfect routine against Oklahoma that gained national attention by being featured as No. 5 on SportsCenter's Top-10 segment.

Missouri began using NQS rankings following week seven, starting out eighth nationally—their highest-ever initial ranking—and currently sits inside the top ten across multiple events: third on floor, sixth on bars, and tenth on beam.

Jocelyn Moore has also contributed significantly this season with high marks on vault and floor exercises; she remains Missouri’s only gymnast with a perfect vault score.

Freshmen Kaia Tanskanen and Olivia Kelly have stepped into key roles when needed—Tanskanen earning a 9.900 during her first career routine filling in for Moore due to illness, while Kelly notched high marks early competing both bars and beam.

Missouri’s record stands at 11-3 prior to its ninth meet—matching their best start since 2009 under head coach Shannon Welker’s leadership—and includes six straight meets scoring at least 197 points as well as ten consecutive wins over Georgia since 2021.

Director of Athletics Laird Veatch announced earlier this year that head coach Shannon Welker signed an extension through 2029 after leading Missouri gymnastics to several historic milestones since his arrival in May 2013: NCAA Championship appearances, record-breaking scores, attendance records, and numerous individual accolades.

Following Sunday's meet against Auburn, Missouri will conclude its regular season facing No.16 Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena on March 14.