University of Missouri
Kentucky
No. 15 @MizzouGym Earns Comeback Win Over No. 12 Kentucky, 197.150-196.925, in Regular Season Finale
3/10/2017 10:23:00 PM | Gymnastics
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Trailing after the first three rotations, the No. 15 Missouri gymnastics team fought back to record a 197.150-196.925 win over No. 12 Kentucky in the regular season finale Friday night at the Hearnes Center. The Tigers gradually cut their deficits after every rotation and concluded the meet with season-best scores on beam and floor to earn the victory over the Wildcats.
A week after tying the program record on beam with a 49.325, Mizzou bested that mark with a new school mark of 49.500 on the event on Friday. Additionally, the 197.150 stands as the fourth-highest score in team history and the second week in a row the Tigers hit the 197 mark after the program's 13-year hiatus from reaching the score.
With the win, Mizzou improved to 10-7 overall and 3-3 in Southeastern Conference action, while Kentucky fell to 10-4-1 and 3-3.
"I thought we really executed well tonight," Mizzou Head Coach Shannon Welker said. "I was proud that they continued to get better and better in each rotation. I knew if we hit (on floor) we'd get the win even though it was close."
Entering the final rotation trailing Kentucky 147.800-147.750, Mizzou responded with the 49.400 on floor, while the Wildcats finished the meet with a 49.125 on vault. Junior Kennedi Harris (Atlanta, Georgia) assured the Tigers of the win with a 9.900 in the anchor position. Junior Becca Schugel (Eagan, Minnesota) earned the event title with a career-high 9.925, her third-straight week with a 9.900 or higher on the event. The Tigers also received 9.875s from sophomore Madeleine Huber (St. Louis, Missouri), a career-high, and freshman Aspen Tucker (Lehigh Acres, Florida), while sophomore Allison Bower (Mesa, Arizona) went 9.825.
The Tigers made up two-tenths on Kentucky on beam with their team-record 49.500 as five Mizzou gymnasts set or tied career-bests. Sophomore Britney Ward (Ozark, Missouri) earned the event title with a near-flawless routine for a career-high 9.975, which tied the third-best score on the event in Mizzou history. Ward, who entered the night tied for eighth nationally on the apparatus, owns scores of 9.975, 9.995 and 9.95 on the event the last three weeks.
Also on beam, sophomore Brooke Kelly (Birmingham, Alabama) earned a career-high 9.925 and Schugel was right behind Kelly with her personal-best 9.900. Additionally, Bower and Tucker each tied their career marks with 9.850.
A 49.225 on bars in the second rotation for the Tigers was led by five scores of 9.825 or better for the team. Kelly notched another career-best with a 9.900, while Schugel earned a 9.850 to close out Mizzou's rotation. Huber, Tucker and Ward all tallied 9.825s in the first three spots in the lineup as the Tigers posted their second-highest score on the event in 2017.
Missouri opened the meet on vault with a 49.025, led by Ward's 9.900 to tie her for the event win. Tucker claimed a 9.850 and Harris went 9.800 as the home team trailed Kentucky 49.200-49.025 following the first rotation.
The Tigers travel to Jacksonville, Florida, next weekend for the 2017 SEC Gymnastics Championship at the Veteran's Memorial Arena. Mizzou will compete in the first session with No. 12 Kentucky, No. 20 Auburn and Arkansas at 2 p.m. ET, while No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Georgia will go in the second session.
Players Mentioned
