The Tigers are headed back to Fort Worth.
Missouri gymnastics placed second in the NCAA Seattle Regional final on Sunday evening, securing a spot in the national championship semifinals for the first time since 2022. MU edged out Auburn by just .100 to avoid elimination in the regional finals for the third straight year.
In each of the past two seasons, the Tigers’ campaign ended in the regional finals. With a score of 197.450 on Sunday in Seattle, Mizzou is advancing alongside Oklahoma, which won the regional with a score of 198.450.
Auburn and Arizona were eliminated with scores of 197.325 and 196.250, respectively.
The national championship will take place April 17-19 in Fort Worth, Texas. The semifinals will consist of two quad meets, with the top two teams from each side of the bracket advancing to the national finals. Mizzou has never been among the final four squads.
Missouri opened its evening on the floor, and scored a 49.550 to get into an early qualifying spot, with Jocelyn Moore putting up the tied-for-third-best score in the rotation with a 9.950.
The Tigers then put up back-to-back 49.300s on the vault and bars, including 9.950s for Hannah Horton on vault and Mara Titarsolej on bars, and held a .200 advantage heading into the final rotation. That brought Helen Hu, who recorded her third perfect score of the season on Friday in the regional semifinals, and the Tigers onto the beam with the season on the line.
Amy Weir faltered with an 8.925 in the leadoff spot. The next four Tigers scored a pair of 9.825s and a couple 9.850s.
Then, Hu came in to save the day.
The SEC Event Specialist of the Year scored a 9.925 to restore the Tigers’ advantage by just one-tenth of a point.
