Breaks out the boombox because it's time for the battle of some big Southeastern Conference cats!
History: In its history, Missouri holds a 13-11 lead over UK, though they have the last five in a row, meaning the Tigers haven't taken down the Wildcats since before the pandemic (2019).
They last faced off on February 9, with the other big Cats, ranked no. 5 nationally, coming away with a 197.350 to 196.60 victory. With their goal to attack from the start, the Tigers started on bars on a 9.95 from Mara and a 9.90 from Joci and garnered a 49.425 score, their best of the season. Kentucky countered with a 49.500 on vault, their best event, and it was shaping up to be a close one. In the second rotation, Mizzou had a 49.25 on vault, including two 9.90 scores from Joci and Hannah, to go with a 9.85 from Amari, while Kentucky countered with a 49.30 on bars to extend their lead to 0.125. Then came the third rotation, where Mizzou made its move and Kentucky faltered. While UK had only three scores 9.85+ and had to count two 9.60-range scores, Mizzou earned a 49.525 on floor courtesy of a 9.975 by Joci, a 9.95 by Amari and two 9.875s that I apparently didn't agree with by Hannah and Kennedy. Kentucky's 48.85 score put the Cats behind and set up for the epic final rotation finale, where the Tigers had a 0.600 lead going into beam... and what happened I eloquently described as Thelma & Louise driving off a cliff at a the end of the movie (I included a gif, of course.) Amari got a severe case of the yips and had many balance checks AND a fall, and then Sienna Schreiber also fell in the anchor spot on her tumbling pass, and it was over. It had been since January 29, 2021 that Mizzou had to count a 9.3 or lower on beam, and POOF! It was gone. Kentucky countered with a phenomenal floor rotation in which the lowest counting score was a 9.925 on their way to earning a 49.750 and winning the meet.
About the Venue: It's really the true home opener for Mizzou, as the first meet was at Mizzou Arena, and now we're back at Hearnes, their home. Last year Mizzou averaged 4,644 at Hearnes and maxed out at 7,336 against LSU. With the Chiefs' AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills on at 5:30pm, I'm expected attendance to be a bit impacted.
When we last saw our Tigers, they were in Norman to take on six-time national champion Oklahoma, currently ranked no. 1 in the country. No big deal, right? Mizzou head coach Shannon Welker said before this meet that he liked the early match up, because it gives the team a chance to see what the best teams are doing and what they need to do better in order to compete. You can also read my lengthier recap here.
First rotation (bars): Bars felt very similar to last week, in which there were some handstand issues and a bit of unsticky feet that ultimately kept the Tigers from achieving a better rotation score (they had a season-low 49.100). It wasn't all bad though, as Kyra tied her season high 9.875 and Mara tied hers in a 9.90. Oklahoma took an early lead with its 49.350 score on vault.
Second rotation (vault): The Tigers had an excellent vault rotation, led by Jocelyn's near-perfect 9.975 Yurchenko 1.5. While the sticks weren't in abundance, Kaia earned a season-high 9.825 and Hannah followed with a season-high 9.875. The 49.300 was the highest of the season, and the Sooners only gained an additional 1/10 as they garnered a 49.400 on bars.
Third rotation (floor): It was a weird week for Mizzou's floor squad, as aside from Railey's new career-high 9.875 and Hannah's 9.875, which was close to her season-high, the Tigers struggled, as there were some landing issues on tumbling passes that typically are not a problem, including a fall from Amari that caused us all to hold our collective breath. (she's okay.) The Tigers' 49.100 was their lowest score of the season, and allowed the Sooners to extend their lead with their 49.375 score.
Final rotation (beam): Missouri saved a good beam rotation for the end,
Mizzou & Kentucky find themselves among just 13 teams nationwide (and 2 of 5 SEC schools) without "misses" this season (no counting scores 9.5 or under).
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TIME TO STAND ON BUSINESS like Coach Drink likes to say. They are ready for this. The home crowd will be loud and Mizzou has some of the best hype women I've heard. They've GOT to stick the landings, ESPECIALLY on vault and bars. The handstands need to be CRISP. The leaps need to be high and controlled. The toes need to be pointed. All of it.
Mizzou has to come out attacking. Kentucky will be starting on Bars, which is their lowest scoring apparatus, so a big vault rotation will be so, so important. They can do this.
To be the best you gotta beat the best, and right now, Kentucky is looking to be one of the best in the country. I'm confident Mizzou can hang in this one.
Remember, there's no defense in gymnastics. It is truly you against yourselves. The Tigers can't control what the Wildcats do any more than I can control how Mizzou WBB plays on a given night (I wish I had those powers). They have no control over how the judges score them or the Cats. All they can do is stick -- literally and figuratively -- to their training and put themselves in the very best position to earn a high score.
I will say this again. I'd love to see a 197, please and thank you. Are you there, Gymnastics God? It's me, Karen, asking for a favor.