I’ll be honest, my fellow Mizzou gymthusiasts… This one was a struggle for me to write, as my original idea, thought of in the immediate aftermath of the meet, was titled “What Could Have Been.” In fact,
I had this very conversation with a booster member as I made my way across the competition floor to the media room late Friday evening. He asked what I thought about the meet and I said, “It was a missed opportunity.”
Because, you guys, I think Mizzou could have won this meet. I really do. Oklahoma was good, but not great. Hell, they — OKLAHOMA!!!! — had two rotations where they did not record a 9.90 or above. That’s actually bonkers. Meanwhile, Mizzou put together three solid rotations and one really weird one, and if not for that off-kilter one, I think they could have knocked off the seven-time national champion or at least made it very close.
Ultimately, though, after hearing from head coach Shannon Welker after the meet, I decided to change course. This is a story about progress, because despite the end result, there WAS definite progress shown on the floor of Mizzou Arena on Friday night. You won’t find it in the final score, but it was there.
I counted nine scores that either tied or beat a 2026 season best, along with four that tied or beat career highs. Pretty, pretty cool. Nine routines received a 9.90 score from at least one judge, and it should have been more but the judging was a bit stingy on Friday night. Haven’t they heard of home cookin? I kid, I kid… kind of.
In Shannon’s presser, he said, “So I thought we were really good on three events. You know, we just had this little whoopsie on bars, not as clean as we needed to be there, but overall, I actually saw a lot of progress tonight…” He continued. “A lot of things to be excited about between the fans. Look, we beat OU on floor. We were right there, a tenth behind them on beam, and were real close on vault over there, too. So there’s a lot of positives to take away here. You know, we just got to clean that up and excited to get on the road next weekend and test out how good we can be against our next SEC opponent.”
Let’s get to it.
Rotation 1: MIZ Vault | OU Bars
The Tigers got started off strong again on vault, matching last week’s 49.300 score. Kennedy’s YF was solid, with a season best 9.85, and she was followed by Kaia’s 9.80 (also a season best). Railey followed with a solid 9.80— she was perhaps a little too close to the table and took a step forward. Kimarra took a small hop on her YF, and we remain fully “Team Kimarra Y1.5” around these parts. She’s done twisting sooooo early, you guys.
Just so you know I’m not a total homer, the College Gym News live blog wrote about her vault: “HUGE Yurchenko Full, small hop back on that landing, but wow what a huge vault.”
Shannon mentioned in the Iowa State presser that with Kimarra competing other events that adding a new vault may be a bit much for a freshman, so while it’s possible she’ll debut the 1.5 this season (we’ve seen her do it in intrasquads), the general consensus among the media is if she sticks that YF, it’s a 9.95 (i.e. a perfect score), and she very likely won’t get that high on the 1.5.
Elise followed with a 9.85 — she had a small hop but a controlled landing— before Hannah, who stuck it in the touch period, took a small lil hop to the side, earning a 9.90. No Tiger scored below 9.80. You guys, that is CRAZY. Time to come up with a moniker for the vault squad, I think.
“One of our goals coming from last year was to start stronger on vault, and certainly, we worked pretty hard on it over the summer and in the preseason,” Shannon said. “A lot of it’s just putting in some numbers and focusing on technique.”
That has been evident through these first couple weeks.
“We’ve got some pretty good personnel over there that stepped up as well. These two [referencing Elise Tisler and Kennedy Griffin, who joined him at the podium post-meet] are doing a great job. Railey Jackson has really stepped up over there. And Kaia is making some changes.”
Nate Salsman and I both agreed with the assessment that Kaia’s vault looked the best we’ve seen it thus far, despite her chest being down just a little bit on the landing and the hop back.
“I think it fits her better,” Shannon said when asked about Kaia’s vault changing from the Tsuk Full to the Pike Front Half. “A lot of what we do as coaches is we have to put people in positions to be successful, and that’s skill selection, too. So we’ve got to know what skills are best for them and what they’re comfortable with… I feel like this vault is much better for her, and we definitely saw it get better from last weekend to this weekend. We’re excited about that.”
As for Oklahoma, their bars rotation was just… okay? Historically, bars is really a good event for them, so it was surprising. The Sooners did not record a 9.90 in that rotation, with Ella Murphy earning a team-high 9.85. Three more 9.825 scores followed, from Lily Pederson, Mackenzie Estep and Faith Torrez, before Addison Fatta fell in the anchor spot, the first of two falls (none would be counted) on the day for OU.
After one, Mizzou held a two-tenths lead on Oklahoma, 49.300 to 49.100.
Rotation 2: MIZ Bars | OU Vault
The aforementioned lead rapidly evaporated, however, as the Tigers did not have their best day on bars and Oklahoma nailed its vault rotation. The Sooners seemingly saved all their 9.90 scores from bars apparently for vault, earning just one score (that was dropped) under 9.90. Otherwise, they counted three 9.925 from Elizabeth Blessey, Keira Wells and Mackenzie Estep, and two 9.90 scores from Addison Fatta and Faith Torrez. They looked super solid, though I am hearing they were perhaps overscored a bit?
As for Mizzou, aside from a bit of harsh judging, they were just a little “off.” In some cases, the handstands weren’t nearly as tight or vertical, the pirouttes weren’t sharp, the dismounts were squatty or had steps. Only two Tigers, Kimarra (9.825) and Hannah (9.80), earned 9.80+ scores, and the remaining counting scores, from Lauren (9.725), Olivia (9.75), and Makayla (9.725) were a bit lower than we’d like to see. By rotation’s end, the Tigers had scraped together just a 48.825 rotation, their lowest since January 8, 2023(!).
But, as Shannon reminded us, the Tigers replaced 2/3 of their bars rotation. “Obviously, it was great against Iowa State, right?” he said, referencing the 49.450. “We opened up pretty, pretty hot, so it’ll get back there, I’m sure.”
“We had some visible errors that, you know, you can spin that into a negative if you want, but I think it’s actually a positive, like I mean if we clean up bars right there, you know, we’re hanging right with a really good team there, which tells us that we are a really good team. So I’m excited, honestly, for what we can do. We just got to clean up that one event.”
Regarding Lauren’s routine in particular, Shannon said, “Lauren Macpherson, I thought did a really good bars routine over there tonight and goes 9.725. The judging was tough, right? And so that doesn’t mean she didn’t do a good bar routine. It’s just, you know, sometimes the judging stuff. So I think you’ve got to be able to take a step back and analyze like, hey, what was really good, and what areas can we improve.”
After Two, Oklahoma re-took the lead and then some, pulling in front by 0.550, 98.675 to 98.125.
Rotation 3: MIZ Beam | OU Floor
Going into the third rotation, how would the Beam Dream TeamTM do? Quite well, as they earned a solid 49.375, courtesy of a pair of 9.90s from LMac and Liv, the latter of whom tied her career-high for the umpteenth time…. she got a lotta 9.9s last year, guys.
Amy led off with a 9.825 and was followed by Lauren, who at first was awarded a baffling 9.85 before a score inquiry was submitted to re-assess a start value mistake and give her 0.50 back.
Here’s what the CGN Live Blog had to say about LMac’s routine: “Starts with a nice switch leap to split jump. BHS BHS LOSO, solid! Swing to standing LOSO, wow. That was excellent! Dismounts round off 1.5 and nails that landing! What a routine for her!”
Kaia rebounded amazingly well from her Week 1 fall, scoring a career-high 9.875 with minimal landing adjustments, before Liv killed it with the aforementioned 9.90, as her side aerial into her double wolf turn were gorgeous. I LOVE a double wolf turn; I DO NOT CARE if it’s “not worth the difficulty.”
Railey turned in a 9.80 that would be dropped— she had to redo her connection, but looked solid overall, just a small step back on her landing. Addi again looked great in the anchor spot, but there would be no three-time 9.95 score from these judges. A 9.875 it was.
As for Oklahoma’s floor rotation, they managed just 49.275, which is low for them for the second straight week, and again they put up no 9.90s. The Sooners were led in scoring by Murphy, Fatta and Estep, who each secured 9.875s, a 9.85 by the anchor, Mueller, and two 9.80s (one of which was dropped), by Kelsey Slade and Kamile Pawlak.
After three, Oklahoma’s lead shrunk a smidge to 0.450, 147.95 — 147.500.
Rotation 4: MIZ Floor | OU Beam
With one rotation to go, it was time for the Tigers to finish strong. Barring a beam disaster, it was unlikely they could make up the difference, but closing out strong with the Fab Floor putting on a show is always a goal. Combined with their new tiger tail celebration, it was sure to be a party.
“As floor leadoff, I feel like that is your job to not only get your team ready and going, but also get the crowd engaged,” Elise said. “I just think it’s such a fun spot to be in and know what the coaches and the team trusting me to lead off like that means so much.”
I am always ecstatic to see an Elise Tisler floor routine; I just wish the judges would reward her for her performance once in a while. Her 9.85 on Friday was criminally low; I just don’t get it. Are the judges allergic to fun? Exuberance? Excellent gymnastics? GIVE HER A HIGHER SCORE, DAMMIT.
Railey followed with a 9.825 — her chest was a little down on her second pass landing — but everything else looked fabulous. Ayla, now in the three-spot(!) in the lineup, dominated her routine, once again tying her 9.90 from week one. The gymternet questioned afterwards if there ever was a higher double pike than the Glasses Goddess. No, I think not.
Kaia scored a 9.825 on her Hamilton routine and had just a lil’ front foot slide on the first pass, but overall, it was great, and she was followed by Hannah, who again tied her season high with another 9.925. She deserved a 9.95. Full stop. Her double layout was massive and her leaps were fabulous. Her double tuck was sky high and her landing was amazing. Again, I was left to question the judges’ allergies to fun and great gymnastics, because this was awesome. Finally, Kennedy closed it out, also earning a 9.925. Her first pass landing was a little unruly, which makes the twin 9.925 score with H2 even weirder, but I digress. The Tigers pulled together a 49.425 for their second highest floor score of the year.
When talking with 2/6 of the floor squad after the meet, Kennedy and Elise agreed that the biggest factor for them in their floor routines is having Jackie Terpak literally in their corner.
“I’m always like, Jackie, can you be in my corner and hit me in my corner over there, too?” Elise said. “I just like having a familiar face, especially when you go into different environments,” Elise said. “And I so love having Jackie there because she just brings the best choreography and she brings the best energy, too.”
“She’s there when we practice,” Kennedy said. “So it’s really nice to kind of keep that consistency when we go, like Elise said, to like away arenas and stuff like that. It really makes it super easy to just go out and do what we know how to do.”
Meanwhile, Oklahoma closed very strong on beam, earning a 49.475, and even though they dropped a fall, they counted FOUR 9.90+ scores from Fatta & Wells (9.90), Murphy (9.925) and the anchor, Torrez, who scored a 9.95. They did have a fall in the five spot, but it wasn’t counted.
After four Oklahoma took the W, 197.425 — 196.925, and the Tigers justtttt missed another 197.
MVGs
Kaia Tanskanen🏆
The Finnish Women’s Gymnast of the Year had a great meet on Friday, with a season high on vault, a career-high on beam, and a really well done, fun floor routine.
When I asked Shannon his thoughts on the sophomore’s beam performance, he said, “Similar to Ayla on floor, that’s been an even that Kaia has had to work really hard on because there are events that we are more natural on and that’s an event she worked really hard to be good at. And so I think that was a highlight tonight to see her get back up there, especially because she had a mistake, I believe, in the first weekend out so it was good to see her rebound and do a really good job, too.”
Olivia Kelly🏆
Liv had an excellent meet on Friday, especially on beam. It was an absolute delight to watch and she competed a gorgeous routine. I’m really happy to see her back in bars and floor lineups and shining (even if her bars was a little lower scored).
Ayla Acevedo🏆
And finally, I must award the highest double piker in all the land. She’s been so consistent since joining the lineup in week one for the first time in her collegiate career, and I’m ready to call her a lock in this rotation, honestly. I mean, how can you not?! Just unflappable as hell! I also love, love, LOVE how happy her teammates are for her.
“You know, we see that hard work,” Elise said. “We see those amazing routines every single day. And so to see that on the floor is just incredible. I feel like that really lights a fire in us, too, because when Ayla finishes, we’re all screaming, we’re all getting excited. And so I feel like that just fuels the rest of the lineup, the rest of the team, to be like, ‘We can do this. We can all do this together.’ And it takes every single person, no matter what you did your freshman year or anything like that.”
Chills.
A Moment for the Arena
4,039 fans were on hand at Mizzou Arena to take in Friday’s action, and crowds are expected to even larger moving forward.
“Being at home, it’s always exciting to have that crowd involved. We kind of get to wake up in our own beds. We have our own routines,” Elise said. “But I feel like drawing out like, 4,0oo people showed up and students aren’t even in classes yet. So I feel like it’s super exciting to draw out that home crowd and really bring our own energy as a team.”
When asked by my colleague and fellow gymthusiast Matthew Gustafson — check out his live meet thread on Rock M+ — if at any point he took a moment and looked around took in the significance of where the program is at right now and the growth over the last few years, Shannon said:
“We do some operations meetings early in the week, and we just talked about this, but it’s really cool to see the growth and see the buy-in from our entire university. And I think we feel that as student athletes and as a coaching staff that everybody’s in it, and they can see the vision that we’ve been talking about for a while. It just took us a little time to get there.”
What I loved so much is that there was a surprise awaiting everyone when they walked into the arena. They were greeted with an incredible new banner that displayed the team’s accomplishments that wasn’t visible in Week 1. It’s glorious, you guys, and presents a stunning backdrop for photos, as you can see.
“It’s really cool to be able to, number one, have that in the arena,” Kennedy said. “That makes it feel a little bit more like our home, because that’s where we are now. And then to see the progress, and to see those placements go down and down and to end up where we were last year. I think it’s a really cool reminder, not only to use what we’re capable of and what we can do, but also to show everybody else what we have done.
“We’ve got to put some ‘26 athletes up there,” Shannon added.
Shannon’s Final Thoughts
On the multiple ways to get a W:
“The great thing about gymnastics is that we can always get the W, you know, that’s an option,” Shannon said. “The other win is continuing to build your score. And I think that’s something we just need to educate people on, too. And hopefully my media friends will help us do that, right?”
Side note: I should mention, Shannon then paused to stare at me & Nate. We hear you, Coach. We’re doing our best!
“We can win, you know, if we would go out and go 198 if the other team goes 198.1, I don’t really feel like that was a terrible performance, right? And so, you know, there’s a lot of positives there. So I think we just stay focused on the things that we can control.”
On Shifting Mindsets:
“We always want to beat any team we go up against,” Shannon said. “I think there have been years in the past that we felt like, hey, if we can even keep it close here, that would be successful. Even last year, to some degree, quite honestly, but not this year. So you know that a little bit of disappointment is not a bad thing that can drive you to get better.”
“We’ve had some really great individual performances, and I think we’re really trying to make this shift to group excellence like in, you know, that event excellence right there on every event. I think that’s something that’s a little bit of a transition we’re pushing towards right now.”
“We just always stay focused on process and things we actually have control over. I don’t have control over our opponent what they’re doing to do, right? But we can control what we do.”
UP NEXT: The Tigers head on the road to Tuscaloosa to take on the Tide at 6:30pm on Friday. The meet will be on SEC+, so it’s quite possible they’ll be an exhibition slot? Outside of the postseason, they last faced off head-to-head at the Zou to the Lou meet, where Mizzou was victorious, 197.15—196.675.
Around the SEC
It was kind of a crazy weekend in the SEC, y’all. I was hoping Mizzou would also get in on the upsets, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be, and after three weeks, Mizzou moves up three spots to no. 4 on Vault (49.267 avg), down four spots to no. 11 on Bars (49.167 avg), up three to no. 10 on Beam (49.175 avg), and up four to no. 2 on Floor (49.408 avg). Ya see? PROGRESS.
Below are the scores from this weekend, along with their new rankings through this week. As a reminder, Mizzou is counting three meets, while the other SEC teams are just counting two. I’ve bolded the highest scores of the week.
- #1 Florida vs. #3 Alabama— 197.425— home
- VLT: 49.175 | UB: 49.550 | BB: 49.475 | FX: 49.225
- #2 Oklahoma at #7 Missouri —197.425— away
- VLT: 49.575 | UB: 49.100 | BB: 49.475 | FX: 49.275
- #3 Alabama at #1 Florida — 197.275— away
- VLT: 49.200 | UB: 49.550 | BB: 49.175 | FX: 49.350
- #7 Missouri vs. #2 Oklahoma— 196.950— home
- VLT: 49.300 | UB: 48.825 | BB: 49.375 | FX: 49.425
- #5 Georgia vs. #4 LSU — 197.200 — home
- VLT: 49.250 | UB: 49.275 | BB: 49.200 | FX: 49.475
- #4 LSU at #5 Georgia — 196.850 – away
- VLT: 49.075 | UB: 49.375 | BB: 49.450 | FX: 48.950
- 10 Arkansas vs. #11 Auburn — 197.250 — home
- VLT: 49.375 | UB: 49.250| BB: 49.400 | FX: 49.225
- #11 Auburn at #10 Arkansas — 196.075 — away
- VLT: 49.025 | UB: 48.750 | BB: 49.100 | FX: 49.200
- #39 Kentucky vs. #27 Arizona State — 194.325 — home
- VLT: 49.250 | UB: 49.000 | BB: 47.000 | FX: 49.075
A moment for Florida’s vintage vibe leo. I LOVE it.
