Tigers take Athens for yet another top 10 matchup

Another day, another top 10 matchup. Welcome to life in the SEC! To wrap up the regular season, the Tigers are taking their high-flying show on the road to the southeastern United States for their final two matchups of the season. This week, the no. 7 Tigers come face-to-face with the no. 6 Georgia Bulldogs, and I expect it to be yet another fight to finish as the Tigers seek their third top-10 win of the season.

In their dual meet in CoMo last season, the Tigers emerged victorious with both teams

charting season high scores to date, 49.425 to 49.375, and the meet actually came down to the final competitor with a matchup of Lily Smith vs. Helen Hu.

Weirdly enough, neither figure to be a part of this meet. Helen’s gone now (sad face), and Lily was injured during warmups in the Gymdogs’ week 8 matchup, emerging with a boot and crutches at the start of the meet. While no update has been given, I’d shocked if the Georgia floor queen participates.

I read back over my recap — which you can read here — to refresh my memory, and there was so much good in this meet that I hope extends into THIS WEEK AND THIS MEET.

Let’s review. The Tigers notched TEN scores of 9.90+, including scores by current Tigers H2 (VLT), Addi (UB), Elise (FX), Ken (FX), Kaia (FX). It also was this meet when Kaia debuted on floor, earning a 9.90, a score she’s met or exceeded five times in 2026. Oh, and Hannah stuck her vault, earning a 9.925. And Addi earned her first ever 9.90 on bars, a mark that she’s now tied twice this season, including last week in exhibition. And Elise hit her career-high as a Tiger, a 9.925 (which she’s also tied this season).

What made this meet even better, which I wrote about at the time, was that one team didn’t falter and just give it to the other team. It was two teams doing their damndest to get good scores and outdo the other. I sincerely hope for that this time around as well.

Let’s get to it.

Meet Info: Senior Night + Cause Meet

When: Friday, March 6

Where: Stegeman Coliseum | Athens, Georgia

Time: 6:00pm CST

TV: SEC Network+

Live Stats: Virtius— https://virti.us/session?s=kqfoXXSKUB

Leotard Prediction— While I originally thought the Tigers would be wearing Firefly as it’s the team’s “cause” leo, Jackie told me she’s being retired — “she’s green!”— and they’re wearing Gatsby, the all-white leo.

History: The Tigers hold a 12-1 record in their last 13 meetings with UGA, and the last L was on January 8, 2021 in Athens. The Tigers’ 11-meet win streak includes three wins over them head-to-head last season, including the aforementioned February 21 dual, an early season win at the Denver Quad, and a victory in the second round of NCAAs. Technically, they also beat them at SECs as well, but it wasn’t head-to-head. Overall, the Tigers are 14-22 all-time against Georgia, which includes a 2-5** mark in Athens.When the Tigers last visited Athens, they put up their best score of the season in 2024. _{^{**Georgia’s site says UGA is 7-2 v. Missouri at Stegeman.}}

2026 Mizzou Gym Schedule (updated)

Week 11 (3/13): at Auburn, 7pm

Week 12 (3/21): SEC Championships (BOK Center, Tulsa, OK)

Week 13 (4/2, 4/4): NCAA Regionals (tbd site)

Week 14 (4/16-20): NCAA Championships (Fort Worth, TX)

What To Expect At The Venue

Stegeman Coliseum was opened in 1964 and is the home of men’s and women’s basketball and gymnastics, and with renovations has a capacity of 10,523. The GymDogs are averaging 8,682 at home this season, including a season-high 10,224 against LSU in their home opener.

Fun Fact: Per Georgia Athletics’ site, the Coliseum itself is actually made up of two structures, the roof and the building beneath it. The only connection between the two is an aluminum bellows which seals the joints and permits the rise and fall of the roof with temperature change.

Last Time On The Mats: Week 9 Rewind

You can read my lengthy recap (with some nitpicks) here. Here are the brief highlights from the Tigers’ 197.425 (third highest of season) to 197.225 win.

Rotation 1 (MIZ VLT | ARK BARS): New lineup rotation translated to lowest score of season (49.125). RJ 9.775 | Kaia 9.80 | KG 9.80 | HH 9.875 | ET 9.775 | KE 9.875 | DE 9.700 exh | AA 9.75 exh. Event title shared by Hannah/Kimarra. Arkansas earned 49.175 on bars and has a slight 0.050 lead.

Rotation 2 (MIZ BARS | ARK VLT): Tigers, now coached by Shannon for second week in a row while Whitney is on leave, earned their highest score of the year (49.475). MG 9.85 | LM 9.90 (SB) | OK 9.875 (SB-tie) | MT 9.925 (CH) | HH 9.925 | KE 9.675 | KT 9.825 exh (SB-tie) | AL 9.90 exh (CH-tie). Event title shared by Maiya/Hannah. Arkansas earned 49.200 on vault, allowing Tigers to take lead by 0.225.

Rotation 3 (MIZ BB | ARK FX): Third highest score of season (49.350). AW 9.875 | OK 9.80 | LM 9.90 | KT 9.825 | RJ 9.95 (CH-tie) | AL 9.80 | GAD 9.85 exh (SH). Arkansas earns season-high 49.425 on floor, and Tigers head into last rotation with 0.15 lead.

MVGs (as voted on by me, Nate, Matthew): Kaia Tanskanen | Maiya Terry | Lauren Macpherson | Hannah Horton | Railey Jackson

Quick Comparisons

Georgia and Missouri are pretty similar teams, as you can see from the chart above. While the GymDogs’ highs have been higher, the average scores are pretty even, which tells me they are lacking a bit of consistency. Perusing RTN data, overall, Georgia has just one sub-197 meet this season, a 196.875 in their third meet, but they also have two scores in the 197.0 range. Per the team site, the Dawgs’ eight 197 scores this season ties the most regular season 197 scores set in 2003 and 2007. They are averaging a 197.438 at home this season.

Mizzou, on the other hand, has three sub-197 scores, but none lower than 197.825, and three scores in the 197.2 range. They also have two scores in the 197.5 range, and then last week’s 197.425.

Opponent Outlook: Georgia

View Link

KEY ADDITIONS:

KEY LOSSES:

Naya Howard (VLT/UB/BB, transfer to Michigan State) | Zora Morgan (BB, left team in January) | Anaya Smith (VLT, grad) | Sidney Fitzgerald (UB/FX) | Sadie Jane Berry (UB, transfer to Ohio State)

RETURNING/KNOWN SCORERS:

NOTES:

Week 9 Rewind: Last weekend, Georgia picked up its first SEC road win of the Cecile/Ryan Roberts era at Georgis with a 197.275 to 197.025 win over Kentucky. It was their highest road score of the season. Five Gymdogs claimed at least a share of an event title: Reingold (UB), Scott & Aquino (VLT), Wahl/Williams (FX), Woolford (BB). Georgia, like Missouri, is now sitting at 10-3 and 3-3 in the SEC. All five UGA freshmen competed in this meet for just the second time this season.
Coaching Staff: The GymDogs are led by co-head coaches Cecile Landi (Simone Biles’ former coach), now in her second season, and Ryan Roberts, who served the past seven seasons as an assistant at Alabama & Georgia.
Fantasy Frenzy: Per College Gym News, over the last five weeks, several Georgia gymnasts have been considered the most valuable on their respective events, including Nyla Aquino (VLT) and Ja’Free Scott (BB). As for Ja’Free, watch out for her signature beam moonwalk; it’s so fun. FWIW, Mizzou’s Kennedy Griffin was also mentioned in this piece for her hit rate on floor.
Historical Context: As of the culmination of the 2025 season, the GymDogs’ all-time record, which started in 1973, is 1134-377-11. They have 10 national championships under the belt (leo?), including 1987, 1989, 1993, 1998-99, 2005-09. They also have 16 SEC titles to their name, including 1986-87, 1991-94, 1996-99, 2001-02, 2004-06, 2008.
Roster Make-up: UGA has three KCMO natives on their roster, including Kara Eaker, Ja’Free Scott and freshman CaMarah Williams. They also have two international athletes in Csenge Bácskay (Budapest, Hungary) and Aberdeen O’Driscoll (Léglise, Belgium).
Freshmen Five: Brooke Pierson won a silver on bars at the 2025 Winter Cup, and was a participant in the 2024 Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships and the 2024 Core Hydration Classic. Autumn Reingold was a member of the 2024 USAG Developmental Program National Team, and qualified for the 2024 Nastia Liukin Cup, finished 2nd on bars and fifth on floor. CaMarah Williams is a Level 10 national qualifier and participated in the 2025 Winter Cup. She joined the team in December after graduating early when a roster spot opened up. Kelise Woolford is a three-time USA Gymnastics Championships qualifier.
Senior Sendoff: The five seniors who will receive recognition post-meet are Bácskay, Eaker, Nicole King, Scott and Eryn Williams.
Wherefore Art Thou? Of the 20-member roster, only Aberdeen O’Driscoll and Emma Mason haven’t seen any sort of action. Eaker and King got their first action of the year in Week 9, and I’m wondering if we’ll see more with Lily being out.
The Lily Effect: How will the loss of Lily Smith impact this Georgia team? We don’t know yet, as we have no details on the extent of her injury. CGN pontificated in their weekly Questions, Comments, Concerns piece:
- Two pieces to this: One, we don’t yet know (at the time of writing) what the injury actually was. Two, I don’t have a good read on how the lineups are going to withstand this one in the long term. Immediate indicators are strong: The meet following that injury felt pretty routine for an SEC road win. The routines that went in for her bars (Brooke Pierson) and floor (Nicole King) were more than credible, and the beam lineup has been a bit all over the place anyway, with Smith herself not a juggernaut this year.
2025 Season Rewind: The GymDogs finished last season ranked no. 19 (no. 10 in regular season) with 197.210 NQS and 196.961 average. They were placed in the same Washington Regional as Mizzou, and critics famously (and incorrectly) predicted UGA to emerge out of its region.
- Ady Wahl and Lily Smith come into the 2026 season fresh off First Team All-America honors after finishing tenth on vault and fifth place on floor, respectively. They were the GymDogs’ lone competitors at NCAAs last year after UGA finished behind Missouri in the Washington Regional final. Smith also received WCGA Regular Season Second Team All-American honors on bars and floor. Smith was named to the All-SEC Team for bars, while Nyla Aquino earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team.
Double Trouble: Georgia is one of several SEC teams this week participating in a double this week, and this is actually their second double of the season, which is just craziness. After taking on Mizzou Friday, they will participate in Elevate the State in Huntsville, Alabama against Auburn, Clemson, and Pitt.
Graph Analysis: Floor (purple) has definitely been the best of the GymDog events, and there’s a reason it’s their highest rated event, having scored 49.50 or higher four times this season. Having someone like the aforementioned Lily Smith in the anchor spot definitely helps, as she’s scored 9.95+ more times that I can count. As for bars, UGA is hitting that 49.3-49.4+ sweet spot pretty frequently, though they did run into some trouble last week. with their lowest score of the season (they counted a fall, if I remember correctly.) As for vault, the GymDogs are in the midst of a three-week run of scoring 49.375, and it’s that consistency that helps with their rankings, making it their second best event. Beam has really been a source of confusion, as you can see by large peaks and valleys in lime green. While they managed to go sub-49 just once this season, they also were on the cusp of it two more times.

Missouri Lineup Preview

LINEUP PREDICTIONS:

VAULT

Lineup Prediction: I’m on the fence here. Two weeks ago, Dak was looking incredible with an almost stick in EXH and a stick in the intrasquad, but in Week 9, she had just a 9.70, which was a season low. Based on that info, I’m running with a top 6 of RJ/Kaia/Ken or Dak/H2/ ET/Ki. Kimarra anchored last week despite having a 9.95 SV vault, and I’m inclined to go with Shannon’s previous statement of trying a lineup for a few weeks.

Alternates: Liv (Y 1.5 tuck) | Ken (YF) or Dak (Y 1.5) | Ayla (YF) — Only two weeks ago and we haven’t seen Liv’s vault. I still think it’s coming.

BARS

Alternates: Addi — I think there’s a chance she’s in for Liv or Mak, but I really don’t know | Kaia — she hasn’t gotten >9.825 this season, and with a lineup of 9.90 options, I think she might be out | Sara W (9.90 CH)— it hasn’t happened yet this season but bars is her specialty and there’s limited meets to go.

BEAM

Lineup Prediction: I think this rotation is locked up with Amy | Liv or GAD | LMac | Kaia | RJ | Addi. I’m adding Grace Anne in as an option based on last week’s performance in exhibition (and 9.9/9.8 split). As Olivia continues to struggle a bit with that side aerial landing, maybe she’s off this week?

Alternates: GAD or Liv— whomever doesn’t make it in the Top 6 | Ken | Hayli | Lisa— the latter three looked good at the team’s intrasquad, and Hayli got in as EXH in Week 8.

FLOOR

Lineup Prediction: The Fab Floor is pretty set to me with RJ | ET | Ayla | Kaia | H2 | Ken. This is a really good lineup with SO MANY options — just look at that graphic! — including Ki and Maiya, the latter of whom had a 9.90(!!) in exhibition last week.

Alternates: Ki or Maiya | Rayna— many 9.90+ in 2025, 9.85 exh in Wk 8 | Wabi- warms up a lot

NOTES:

Title Town: The Tigers have taken 38 event titles this season, led by H2 (13), RJ (7), Ki (5), Addi (4), KG/Kaia/Maiya (2), and Ayla/Elise/Amy (1).
9.9! [to be said in my best Jake Peralta Brooklyn 99 voice]: 64 9.90 or higher scores have been earned in 2026, led by Hannah Horton’s 14. Close behind is Railey Jackson & Addi Lawrence with 7, and Kimarra & Kennedy with 6.
2025 Comparisons: Looking at Week 9 in 2025, the Tigers’ averages are up in overall score, floor, beam and vault. On vault, the team’s NQS is also up. Otherwise, the NQS scores from this time last year are pretty on-par.
- Overall: #7, 197.230 (‘25) v. #7, 197.200 (‘26)
- Floor: #3, 49.490 (‘25) v. #5, 49.443 (‘26)
- Beam: #10, 49.315 (‘25) v. #9, 49.304 (‘26)
- Bars: #6, 49.375 (’25) v. #9, 49.300 (‘26)
- Vault: #15, 49.155 (’25) v. #8, 49.232 (‘26)
A couple numbers: 197.400— the score earned the last time Mizzou was in Athens (2024), a then-season high | 197.275— the highest road score earned by the Tigers this season
NQS Looms: Reminder, all away scores count towards the 2026 NQS. My brain isn’t functioning enough to see if there’s any way the Tigers can usurp the Dawgs in the standings if they score a certain mark; I’m not sure they can right now? Because the 197.55 has now essentially … poof… vanished as a result of six home meets, I’m thinking anything in the 197.4-plus range would be good.

Records Watch

Balance Beam: 49.575, broken/tied three times in 2025 (at ARK in March 2025, SEC Champs in March 2025, Seattle Regionals Rd 2, April 2025)
Uneven Bars: 49.600, scored at Mizzou Quad, March 10, 2024
Vault: 49.500, scored at Illinois Quad, March 17, 2024
Floor Exercise: 49.725, scored at Zou to the Lou, February 14, 2025
Best Away Score: 197.85, scored at Arkansas, February 24, 2023
Overall Score: 198.100, scored vs. Auburn, March 9, 2025

Keys to Success

✨ LANDINGS, LANDINGS, LANDINGS—Stuck landings have escaped the Tigers this season on vault consistently, though bars is getting better, with 5/8 sticks last week (including 2 exhibition routines). In order to get those big scores, they need big, sticky landings.

✨BE FIERCE AND ATTACK— You’re Tigers. Time to chew up those bulldogs, even if their mascot is the cutest pup on earth. Mizzou will be starting on bars and I’d love to see something similar to what they did last week, a 49.475, and just go from there. Never let up off the gas.

✨LIMIT BALANCE CHECKS & SOLID CONNECTIONS— While the Tigers are quick to re-do connections when they need to, it’d be best to just limit any sort of wobbles and foot movements to begin with, to not give the judges any reason to take off.

✨CONTINUED FLOOR EXCELLENCE— I’m fairly certain everyone in this lineup has earned at least one 9.90 from a judge this season, and I’d love to see that continue, and for them to earn a massive score, equal or on par with the 49.5+ of a few weeks ago.