Mizzou preparing for fifth straight NCAA Regional Final appearance

SEATTLE, Wash. (KMIZ)

No. 7 Mizzou Gymnastics is seeking a spot on a stage that only three teams in program history have reached.

The Tigers (20-7) are aiming to punch their ticket to the program's fourth NCAA Championship Semifinal on Sunday, April 6 in Seattle, Washington. Mizzou is getting ready to face No. 2 Oklahoma (24-2), No. 15 Auburn (12-7) and No. 21 Arizona (22-5) in the NCAA Seattle Regional Final where the top two teams will move on to perform inside Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

MU advanced to its fifth straight NCAA Regional Final on Friday evening, taking first place in its session of the NCAA Championship Second Round. The Tigers outscored Arizona, No. 10 Georgia and No. 26 Arizona State by more than a full-point margin, recording their best postseason team score (197.650) in program history. Following Friday's performance, head coach Shannon Welker's team has posted a 197.400 or better in six straight meets and reached the 197.650-mark in four of those competitions. Mizzou's consistency and ability to keep raising the bar is something Coach Welker expected, entering the 2025 campaign.

"I felt like, coming into this season, we had a lot of talent and a lot of depth, as well. So, am I pleased we're doing this? Absolutely. Am I surprised we're doing this? I don't know as much because I felt like this is what we had, and I'm just pleased that it is coming to fruition as we kind of projected a little bit," Coach Welker said at Saturday's press conference. "I feel like in years past, maybe we relied on a couple of events to really kind of get our head above water sometimes. This year, I feel like any event can really knock it out of the park, and that's a good thing because it's hard to get every event clicking on all cylinders in one night. Those are tough to do. But, if one event's good, we've got two, we have three others that can be great, and I think that's really what's helping us out here."

Along with their program-high team score in a postseason meet, the Tigers continued to rewrite their own record books in the Emerald City. MU matched the program's best tally on the balance beam (49.575), guided by a history-making gymnast who attained perfection. Helen Hu became the first athlete in school history to achieve three perfect scores in a single season. The Chicago native's performance clinched the NCAA Seattle Regional's balance beam championship, joining Amari Celestine (vault) and Hannah Horton (uneven bars) who were also crowned champions in an event. Hu's historic return to college gymnastics has caught national attention and sparked conversations as arguably one of the sport's all-time greats.

I've seen a lot of college gymnastics, and she's definitely, on [balance beam], she's one of the best there is, potentially in history. It's really cool for me just to be a part of that journey with her and she's having fun," Welker said. "I'm not surprised she's doing it, but I am impressed. I'm just happy for Helen, and obviously, happy for our team because they have the benefit of having somebody that talented, with that type of leadership, competitive leadership on their team."

After Friday's impressive effort, Mizzou has a quick turnaround for the NCAA Regional Final, getting only one full day to prepare for the performance. However, MU has replicated this quick turnaround already this year. Following the team's meet at then-No. 6 Florida on Feb. 28, the Tigers held an intrasquad exhibition just two days later. In between those competitions, the team followed a similar routine to how it's handling preparation for the NCAA Seattle Regional Final, and Coach Welker said his group actually scored better than its 197.725 effort against the Gators at the intrasquad meet, giving them confidence that they can perform at a high-level despite less rest. Welker and true freshman gymnast Olivia Kelly gave a glimpse into what Saturday's preparation will look like for Sunday's competition.

"It's just like little things that I've been trying to work on and perfect all season. Just going into tomorrow, I feel like it's just trying not to change anything major with me, going into like that last day of regionals, trying to do my normal routine and trying to just stay consistent, stay confident with what I'm doing," Kelly said.

"We got a little bit of stretching and a little bit of light conditioning [on Saturday]. But, we're giving them kind of about a four or five hour block off in the afternoon just to get a little downtime," Welker said. "You got to remember to enjoy part of the process too, along with being super focused."

Sunday's first rotation at Alaska Airlines Arena is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.