Mizzou Advances to Sunday’s Regional Finals on Strength of... Beam?

Alternate Title: The One Where I Almost Threw Up

Alternate Title 2: The One That Took Years Off My Life

I won’t bury the lede here. When it came down to it, Mizzou got it done. Performing on that pesky little 4-inch apparatus that has caused them pain and suffering all season long, in their FINAL rotation, the Tigers’ beam squad worked around a fall and had ice in their veins and got that s@$* done. Needing a minimum 9.825 from Beam Queen Sienna Schreiber to secure the final Sunday slot, it happened. And I burst into tears.

THE TIGERS ADVANCE.

Before examining what will be some tough competition for Sunday’s Regional Finals, we first need to examine how we got here. I don’t even know HOW we got here, you guys. This meet was part bizarro-world, part emotional roller coaster. The scoring was just plain weird in spots and seemed to favor the home team (who was going to win this round, I’m not disputing that). If you told me Mizzou would advance despite floor - FAB FLOOR, YOU GUYS - being the Tigers’ worst scoring event of the night, I would have told you it wasn’t April Fool’s Day anymore and knock it off. Alas, that’s what happened.

First Rotation: Starting on Floor, hands-down Mizzou’s best event, I expected the Tigers to have a big lead. That... did not happen. In fact, if you go by the scores, it ended up being the worst event of the evening, and their worst score on FX of the season. Were the Tigers bad? Absolutely not! Perhaps it’s because they were the judge’s first look at floor that they low-balled them a bit on the scores. We’ll never know, but it was infuriating, to say the least, and I hope they don’t get the same treatment on Sunday.

Sienna kicked off the rotation with a 9.85 before Alonna struggled with the landing of her double pike dismount to earn a 9.775 (it would be dropped). Hannah followed with what seemed like an oddly-scored 9.825 (she received a 9.90, 9.85, and 2x 9.80) before Amari brought it back with a 9.875 (someone gave her a 9.75?!). Kennedy’s six-straight 9.90+ streak was sadly broken when she earned a 9.85, but Jocelyn’s 16-meet streak of 9.90+ continued as she earned a surprising 9.90 spot in the anchor spot (the judges gave her a 9.95, 2x 9.90, and a 9.85?!). The 49.300 rotation score was unsightly, and instead of putting them up, it put them in THIRD, playing catch up for most of the meet.

Host school Florida got started on Vault, earning a 49.575 rotation score, which was just off their season best 49.600. Skylar Draser led off with 9.925, and Victoria Nguyen followed with a 9.95 (side note: upon rewatch, she most certainly didn’t deserve this score). Freshman Anya Pilgrim’s large hop on the landing earned her a questionable 9.90, and both Danie Feris and Leanne Wong also added 9.90 scores as well. A 9.725 by Ellie Lazzari was dropped. A strong first rotation by the Gators put them firmly in the driver’s seat.

Georgia kicked off their awesome meet with a season-high 49.45 score on their first rotation, balance beam. How good was that score? Per @TalentStats (Drew Porche) on twitter, this was the Bulldogs’ highest score since 2021 and their fourth highest since 2013. The GymDogs were led off by Naya Howard’s career-best 9.90, and also counted a 9.875, 9.90, 9.825, and a career-high tying 9.95 by SEC Freshman of the Year, Lily Smith. They dropped a 9.80 from the two-spot, and with this rotation secured second place for the time being.

Iowa State, the winner of Thursday’s play-in dual, got started on bars, and while this wasn’t their best, earning only a 48.975, they did progress as the meet went on. The Cyclones counted scores of 9.85, 9.825, 2x 9.80 and a 9.775, while dropping a 9.725. It was higher than their score from Round 1, so that was nice to see.

After One: Mizzou sat in third place— UF 49.575 | UGA 49.45 | MIZ 49.30 | ISU 48.975

Second Rotation: Mizzou visited vault in the second rotation and despite only sticking just a single landing of the six, the Tigers had a 49.375 rotation score, which tied their third highest of the year. Sienna got things started for Missouri with a 9.825 (9.90, 9.85, 2x 9.80), and Grace Anne followed with a 9.85, which is just off her best of 9.875 (one judge gave her a 9.90). Kennedy’s 9.80 was dropped, and she had a few issues with the landing as she hopped and had some arm swings that will need to get cleaned up before Sunday. Her distance and height were good, however. The final three scores of the rotation, all 9.90 on Yurchenko 1.5 vaults with 10.0 start values, came courtesy of Amari and Hannah, who both earned one 9.95 from the judges, and Jocelyn.

The host team Florida next took to bars, where two members of the rotation had season best scores. Sloane Blakely led off with an unusual fall as she missed the bar on her pak salto, earning only a 9.35 which would be dropped. It’s tough to start with a fall though, as it puts that much more pressure on everyone else in the rotation. Nguyen earned a 9.85, while Lazzari’s 9.725 also had to count due to the aforementioned fall. Draser followed with a season-high 9.85 and Pilgrim earned two 10s from the judges on her 9.975 routine. Wong closed it out with a solid 9.90 to keep the Gators in control of the lead after two (though it did lessen).

Georgia’s floor rotation earned a 49.300 (tying Mizzou’s score on the event). There were no career-highs in this set, but Lily Smith did earn the session’s highest floor score, 9.925, in the anchor spot. Was it better than Joci’s? No, I don’t think it was. The Dawgs also counted a 9.875, two 9.85, and a 9.80, while dropping a 9.75. This allowed Georgia to maintain a slim lead over MU going into the third rotation.

The Cyclones had a terrific beam rotation, earning their best score of the season and also their best since January 2017 (per @TalentStats). ISU was led by a lead-off season best 9.90 by Hannah Loyim and a season-best tying 9.90 by Josie Bergstrom. Other counting scores were a 9.875, 9.85 and a 9.825. A 9.80 was dropped.

After two, Mizzou is still in third, but it’s gotten a bit closer from top to bottom. UF 98.875 | UGA 98.780 | MIZ 98.675 | ISU 98.325.

Third Rotation: At the halfway point of the meet and in third place, Mizzou would need a great final two rotations to advance, and they did not disappoint on bars. Kyra led off with a career-tying 9.90 and Hollyn followed with a 9.80 (it was dropped). Amaya stuck her sky-high full-twisting double tuck, earning a 9.875, and Sienna followed with a tiny hop on her double layout dismount, earning a 9.85. Jocelyn’s tkachev was super high, tying her season high 9.90 and earned her a 9.95 from one judge. And then came Mara, which could earn her a spot in nationals. That 9.95 was, as always, incredible and earned one 10 score from the judges. Missouri’s 49.475 was their highest scoring event of the session, and was their third highest of the season.

Florida had a great beam rotation, earning a 49.575. Draser tied her season-high 9.90 in the leadoff role, and Blakely followed with a 9.875. Pilgrim’s 9.925 was gorgeous — she performs very tall — before a 9.925 from Wong and a 9.95 from Lazzari in the anchor spot closed it out. A 9.825 from Nguyen was dropped.

On vault, Georgia tied their season high with a 49.30, but ultimately struggled to stick any of their landings, which allowed Mizzou to take over second place. Both Howard (9.90) and Battle (9.875) achieved season-highs, and the other counting scores were a 9.90 in the anchor spot from Wahl, a 9.825 and a 9.80. A 9.75 was dropped.

Iowa State had two gymnasts tie their season-highs on floor with a 9.85 and 9.825 respectively, on their way to a 49.20 rotation score. They also counted a 9.875 and 9.85 while dropping one of two 9.80 scores.

After Three: Mizzou moves into 2nd by a 1/10. UF 148.45 | MIZ 148.15 | UGA 148.05 | ISU 147.525

Final Rotation: As I mentioned in the beginning, ending on beam, the apparatus that for much of the year was the bane of this Missouri team’s existence, was already anxiety inducing, but holding only a 0.10 lead over Georgia with them ending on their best event added a whole another level of nerves. Luckily, the Tigers were more prepared than I was, ha! Grace Anne led off with an awesome 9.90 (she earned 2x9.95 from the judges) before Rayna came in and KILLED IT, topping her previous 9.80 career high with a 9.875. The judges awarded her a wide range of scores, from a 9.80-9.95). Kennedy earned a solid 9.85 (she got one 9.90 from the judges) and Mizzou seemed well on its way to dropping a 9.85 with three strong performers to go.

That is, until Sydney took a fall (more like a step) off the back of the beam on her acro series, which earned her 9.10 scores across the board and caused a heart attack in Mizzou fans nation-wide. With the pressure on, Amari earned a solid 9.85, including one 9.90 from the judges and Sienna followed with perhaps the beam routine of her career. Needing a 9.825 or higher to secure a position in the regional finals, she delivered with a 9.90. Despite a bit of a lean on her switch half, one judge gave her a 9.95, but she also earned two 9.90 to go with a 9.85.The Tigers 49.375 score was their second highest of the season, and couldn’t have come at a better time. That’s two meets in a row now with 49.30+ scores.

Florida finished off their regional win with a 49.475 on floor. While Pilgrim took a seat on one of her tumbling passes, the rest of the Gators were on point, though perhaps earning a touch too high on some of their scores. Nguyen and Wong both earned 9.925 scores, and Lazzari and Blakely each had 9.90 scores. A 9.825 made up the last of the counting scores.

Down a tenth with their best event, Georgia did okay on bars. Their 39.375 score was decent, but not enough to counteract the Tigers’ increasingly good beam squad. Smith led all scorers with a 9.975 in the anchor spot — she’s so good, and only a freshman! — and they also counted a season-high 9.90 by Howard, as well as two 9.85 and a 9.80. They dropped a 9.70.

On the Cyclones’ final event, vault, they earned a 49.050 to secure a higher score than the play-in round, leaving them in a promising position for next year. Kaia Parker earned the highest rotation score with her season-high tying 9.85. They also counted an additional 9.85 and three 9.80 scores. They dropped a 9.75.

On the final rotation, Mizzou and Florida secured their spots in Sunday’s event. UF 197.925 | MIZ 197.525 | UGA 197.425 | ISU 196.575

per roadtonationals

I feel kinda bad for Georgia honestly, as they battled so hard, and came so close, and after a season of being decimated by injuries, it was cool to see them do so well... just not at the expense of Missouri, ha. They’re young though, and showed they are a force to be reckoned with in the SEC going forward. In fact, per the tweet below, they will have tied the record for the highest score in the Round 2 to NOT advance. Eek.

As for the Tigers, this was their highest Round 2 score in program history, handily beating the 197.400 record scored in the same round a year ago. It also was the first time all season that the Tigers put together four rotation scores of 49.300+. This is the fourth consecutive season the Tigers will reach the Sweet 16. Only six other teams in the country have advanced to four consecutive finals, joining Alabama (made Nationals on Saturday), California (knocked out in Round 2), Denver, Florida, Oklahoma and Utah.

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Round Two, Session I

Earlier on Friday on the other side of the bracket at Exactech, Utah and Michigan State advanced, scoring a 197.825 and 197.475, respectively, to overtake third place Maryland and fourth place Tolson convincingly.

Utah, the Session 1 winner, tied their season-high on beam with a 49.600, and hit their season-high on bars with a 49.575. Some other things to note: the Spartans had to count a 9.70 on beam due to a fall as well as a 9.75 on bars, which is pretty low for a team of this caliber. Utah didn’t have a single 9.90+ vault on the day, but shined on bars, with not a single score under 9.90, and beam, not counting a single score under 9.90 (they dropped a 9.70). They put up 11 consecutive scores of at least 9.9. They came away from the first session with three top scores— Amelie Morgan’s career-igh tying 9.95 on bars, Abby Paulson’s 9.975 on beam, and Jaylene Gilstraps’ 9.95 on floor.

via statbroadcast

via statbroadcast

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Meet Info: NCAA Regional Finals

When: Sunday, April 7 (my birthday!)

Where: Exactech Arena at Stephen O’Connell Center | Gainesville, FL

Time: 4pm CT

TV: ESPN+

Live Stats: statbroadcast (search by school and Florida)

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Mizzou Individual Stats & Honors

WCGA All-Americans: Sienna Schreiber (beam, 1st team) | Jocelyn Moore (floor, 2nd team) | Mara Titarsolej (bars, 2nd team)

All-Conference honorees: Jocelyn Moore (SEC Event Specialist of the Year), Amari Celestine (vault), Kennedy Griffin (floor), Hannah Horton (vault), Sydney Schaffer (beam), Sienna Schreiber (beam), Mara Titarsolej (bars)

All-Freshman honorees: Hannah Horton (vault), Kennedy Griffin (floor)

Records To Watch

• Overall Score: 197.850, scored at no. 17 Arkansas in 2023
• Regionals High Score: 197.600 in LA Regional Finals, 2023
• Balance Beam: 49.550, scored at no. 17 Arkansas in 2023
• Uneven Bars: 49.600, scored at Mizzou Quad, March 10, 2024
• Vault: 49.500, scored at Illinois Quad, March 17, 2024
• Floor Exercise: 49.700, scored at Illinois Quad, March 17, 2024

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Quick Comparisons

data per roadtonationals | Karen Steger Designs

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Teams to Watch in the Way:

Molly Kaiser

Florida

Florida has shown some flashes this season, such as their 198.225 on the road at Kentucky in early March and 198.15 at home vs. LSU at the end of February, but largely has spent the season in the 197.3-197.9 range.

The Gators had two gymnasts earn WCGA regular season All-American honors in junior Leanne Wong and freshman Anya Pilgrim. Wong earned 1st Team honors on bars and 2nd Team honors on both balance beam and all-around. Pilgrim is one of just five freshmen in the country awarded AA honors and earned 2nd Team honors in vault and all-around. Leanne ranks no. 9 nationally in the all-around and is in the top 35 on every apparatus, including no. 3 on bars. Pilgrim is top 30 on floor and vault, including no. 13 on the latter.

Deseret News

Utah

The Red Rocks are led by newly-anointed WCGA All-Americans Abby Paulson (1st Team beam), Maile O’Keefe (1st Team beam) and Grace McCallum (2nd Team bars, floor). In the final year of PAC-12 (RIP) gymnastics as we know it, Utah took home the title for the fourth consecutive year with a 198.000. They were led by Maile O’Keefe, who earned her 15th career 10.0 on beam, and her fourth of the season. Grace McCallum hit 9.90+ in every event. Six Utes earned all PAC-12 honors, including O’Keefe (beam & floor), McCallum (bars & floor), Abby Paulson (beam), Jaedyn Rucker (vault), and Makenna Smith (bars). Jaylene Gilstrap was awarded honorable mention honors for floor.

Fun Facts: Utah is attempting to advance to their 48th consecutive national championship, and is the only program in the country to qualify for EVERY national championship. They’ve won 34 regional titles. Missouri faced Utah in the regional finals last year as well.

MSU Spartans | Ashley Ray

Michigan State

The Spartans are led by All-Americans Nikki Smith (all-around, vault) and Sage Kellerman (vault), and combined for three perfect scores on vault this season.

They won their first Big Ten Championship in a final routine. Skyla Schulte became the first MSU gymnast to win an all-around title, and also shared in the floor title. Baleigh Garcia shared the B1G crown with her 9.925 on beam. Seven Spartans earned All-Big Ten honors, including Schulte, Gabrielle Stephens, Smith and Kellerman (first team), Delanie Harkness, Baleigh Garcia and MaKayla Turner (second team). This is the most they’ve had since six in 2022.

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Final Thoughts

It all comes down to this. I believe the Tigers will be starting again on floor, and hopefully this time they give the judges no reason to take random deductions. This is worth repeating.

“You have to get off to a pretty solid start regardless of event,” Welker said. “But I do think we can capitalize on floor being a very steady event for us, and we feel we can go out and do a great job there and really set the bar for not only our competition, but for other teams that have to go to floor after us.

LFG, Tigers