ST. CHARLES, Mo. - No. 20 Mizzou Gymnastics scored a 196.025 to finish second in a stout field at the Mardi Gras Invitational Friday night at the St. Charles Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. No. 4 LSU won the meet with a 198.025, while No. 21 George Washington took third with a 195.650 and No. 8 Arkansas scored a 195.575 to finish fourth.
Missouri notched season-high event scores on both beam and vault, with totals of 49.375 and 49.250. The beam score also stands as the second-highest in program history, only trailing the 49.500 set against Kentucky last season.
KEY TIGERS
Mizzou opened the meet with its near-record-breaking beam tally of 49.375. Five Tigers scored at least a 9.8 on the event, including a pair of scores in the 9.9s from juniors Britney Ward (Ozark, Mo.) and Brooke Kelly (Birmingham, Ala.). Ward earned a season-high 9.950 in the anchor position, while Kelly tied her career-best with a 9.925. Also tying a career-high was senior Tia Allbritten (Garland, Texas) with a 9.875, while sophomore Aspen Tucker (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) and junior Allison Bower (Mesa, Ariz.) added a 9.825 and 9.800, respectively.
On floor in the second rotation, the squad recorded a 49.100, paced by senior Kennedi Harris' (Atlanta, Ga.) team-best 9.875. Junior Michaelee Turner (Parkville, Mo.) matched her season-best with a 9.825, while Bower also garnered the same score. Sophomore Mary Nicholson (Richland Hills, Texas) added a 9.800 as well.
The positive momentum continued to vault, where five 9.8s or better gave the Tigers their season-best total of 49.250. Tucker and Ward both notched 9.900s to lead the lineup, with Tucker tying her career-best and Ward setting a season-high. Junior Madeleine Huber (St. Louis, Mo.) earned a 9.850 and Harris and senior Shauna Miller (Knoxville, Tenn.) earned 9.800s.
A pair of 9.850s from Miller and Huber led the way on bars in the final rotation, while Allbritten and Tucker added 9.750s.
QUOTABLES
Mizzou Head Coach Shannon Welker
"We counted a fall on bars, which obviously we're not happy about, but I did think we made really great strides in a lot of areas. We stuck five out of six dismounts on beam today, that was a really great beam rotation. There were a lot of great things happening and we'll put it together. Good things are on the horizon."
UP NEXT
The Tigers hit the road for a pair of away meets next weekend. First Mizzou faces No. 9 Kentucky on Friday, Feb. 23 in Lexington, Ky. Then the squad heads to Champaign, Ill., to take on Illinois on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 4 p.m.
