Missouri gymnastics' season ends with 3rd-place finish in NCAA regional finals
Missouri gymnastics’ season ended in the NCAA Gainesville Regional Final, one stop short of the national championship semifinals.
The No. 13-seeded Tigers finished third in the meet, behind No. 4 Florida, the meet hosts, and No. 5 Utah on Sunday in Gainesville, Florida. Missouri put up a score of 197.325, which trailed the second-placed and national-championship-bound Utes by .250. The Gators won the meet at 198.325, while No. 12-seeded Michigan State rounded out the four-team set, trailing Mizzou's score by .700.
Missouri advanced to the regional final after a nail-biting finish in Florida on Friday. Sienna Schreiber scored a 9.900 in the final routine of the evening to keep the Tigers ahead of Southeastern Conference rival Georgia for second place.
The Tigers are likely to send athletes to the national semifinals to compete as individuals. The NCAA on Monday will announce individual bids to the meet on April 17 in Fort Worth, Texas.
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MU coach Shannon Welker’s team faced an uphill battle, matching with two of the most in-form teams in the nation, with only two qualifying spots available.
The Tigers started on floor and leaped out the gate with a 49.525 that put them .550 ahead of Utah, which faltered on the bars. Missouri freshman Kennedy Griffin shared the meet-high score on floor with a 9.950.
But the Utes went the rest of the meet without falling below 49.475 in any discipline to track down and overtake the Tigers, as MU didn’t eclipse 49.275 in any of the three remaining rotations.
Unless she earns an individual berth to the national semifinals, Schreiber, MU’s all-rounder, competed in the final meet of her collegiate career. She ends her five-year Missouri career as the program’s all-time leading points scorer and as a two-time All-American. Schreiber’s score of 9.950 on beam tied the meet high.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri gymnastics' season ends in NCAA regional finals
