SEATTLE – No. 7 University of Missouri gymnastics clinched its third trip to the NCAA Championship Semifinal in the final routine of the regional final, scoring 197.425 to finish in second on Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena.
Mizzou (22-8, 5-3 SEC) trailed No. 15 Auburn by 0.850 heading into Helen Hu's (Chicago, Ill.) beam routine, where she earned 9.925 to give MU the win over AU, 197.425-197.325. The Tigers also topped the No. 21 Arizona Wildcats, who scored 196.250. No. 2 Oklahoma won the meet with a final score of 198.450.
SHOW STOPPERS
Three Mizzou gymnasts scored 9.950, the team's highest mark of the night: Jocelyn Moore (Hillsborough, N.J.) on floor, Hannah Horton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) on vault and Mara Titarsolej (Zutphen, Netherlands) on bars.
RECAP
Floor
-Mizzou opened the meet on the floor exercise, where it scored 49.550, marking its second-highest floor score in an NCAA meet.
-Horton and Amari Celestine (Wildomar, Calif.) scored 9.900, going second and fourth in the rotation, respectively.
-Kennedy Griffin (Strongsville, Ohio) tallied 9.925 for her routine.
-Moore's 9.950 anchored the rotation.
Vault
-Missouri's second rotation on vault saw it earn a score of 49.300.
-Kaia Tanskanen (Howell, Mich.) went second for Mizzou and earned a 9.850 for her routine.
-Horton's 9.950 tied her career best on the apparatus.
-Celestine capped off rotation, scoring 9.875.
-MU stood in second at the midpoint of the meet, holding a score of 98.850 and leading AU by 0.125.
Uneven Bars
-Mizzou scored 49.300 on uneven bars, its third rotation.
-Olivia Kelly (Bronx, N.Y.) and Celestine both received scores of 9.850.
-Titarsolej's 9.925 to anchor the rotation marked the fifth time she's reached or exceeded the score in the last six meets.
Beam
-MU tallied 49.275 on its final event of the meet.
-Celestine and Kelly each scored 9.825 on their routines.
-Railey Jackson (Forest Park, Ill.) and Addison Lawrence (Olathe, Kan.) went third and fourth in the rotation and both earned scored of 9.850.
-Hu anchored the rotation and clinched the team's trip to the NCAA Championship Semifinal, scoring 9.925.
UP NEXT
Mizzou advances to the NCAA Championship Semifinal at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, where it faces No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida and No. 12 Alabama on Thursday, April 17. The meet will be televised on ESPN2. The top two teams from the quad meet advance to the NCAA Championship Final on Saturday, April 19 at 4 p.m.
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