ST LOUIS – The No. 21 Missouri gymnastics team posted its highest conference championship score since 2004 with a 196.100 to finish seventh at Saturday's Southeastern Conference Championships at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo. The 196.100 was the highest total since a 196.425 at the 2004 Big 12 Conference Championships and the third-best conference championship total in program history.
LSU won the Championship title with a score of 197.400, followed by Alabama (196.975) in second, Florida (196.825) in third and Kentucky (196.550) in fourth. Arkansas (196.425) placed fifth, Georgia (196.350) sixth and Auburn (195.650) eighth.
Four Tigers garnered All-SEC honors for their individual performances on Saturday. Senior Shauna Miller (Knoxville, Tenn.), redshirt sophomore Morgan Porter (Overland, Mo.) and sophomore Aspen Tucker all earned All-SEC honors on bars, Tucker added a second honor on floor, and junior Britney Ward (Ozark, Mo.) claimed accolades on beam.
KEY TIGERS
The Tigers closed the meet with a 49.175 on beam, their highest individual event score of the day. Ward tallied a team-best 9.900, her fifth score of 9.900 or higher on the apparatus this season. Junior Brooke Kelly (Birmingham, Ala.) also went big with a 9.875, Porter tied her season-best score with a 9.850 and senior Tia Allbritten (Garland, Texas) earned a 9.800.
Missouri put up a 48.925 on floor to open the Championship in the first rotation. A 9.850 from Tucker held up for the second-best score on the event of the first session to give the sophomore her All-SEC honors. Three Tigers, senior Kennedi Harris (Atlanta, Ga.) and juniors Allison Bower (Mesa, Ariz.) and Michaelee Turner (Parkville, Mo.) added 9.775s.
Identical 9.850s from Ward and junior Madeleine Huber (St. Louis, Mo.) and a pair of 9.775s from Miller and Tucker helped Mizzou go 48.975 on vault in the second rotation
The Tigers combined to score 49.025 on bars, as Miller, Porter and Tucker all claimed team-best 9.825s, while Huber and Kelly added 9.775s.
QUOTABLES
Mizzou Head Coach Shannon Welker
"l was pleased. I thought we were steady all night, not too high, not too low. I thought we started strong on floor and we kept a pretty steady flow all night. I think we're getting better and they continue to progress, so I feel like our ceiling has not been met yet. I'm excited to play out the rest of the postseason."
UP NEXT
Up for the Tigers are NCAA Regionals, which will be announced on Monday, March 26 at 3 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.
