Preview: Mizzou Gymnastics travels cross-state for first multi-team meet of the season

No. 14 Mizzou Gymnastics finds itself back on the mats today, ready to take on Lindenwood and Texas Woman’s University for their first multi-team meet of the year. Let’s preview!

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Meet Info

When: Sunday, January 29, 2023

Where: Robert F. Hyland Arena | St. Charles, MO

Time: 1pm

TV: ESPN+

STATS: TBD (will update when it shows up)

History: It appears that Mizzou and Lindenwood (thanks LU site for this info) have squared off twice in their history, but not since 2016. Mizzou won both battles decisively.

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About the Venue

Robert F. Hyland Arena, on the campus of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, is the home of LU’s basketball, volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics teams. Its capacity is 3,270. I cannot find any attendance notes on the Road to Nationals site, but in pre-Covid times, they brought in just under 1,000 fans on average.

Last Time On The Mat

When we last saw Missouri in action, they faced off against LSU in a packed Markovich Center with a crowd of over 11,000 on hand. WOW.

First rotation (MIZ bars, LSU vault): Helen Hu’s fall (more of a loss of grasp on the bar than an actual fall) from the bars mid-move aside, this was a very successful first rotation for the Tigers, as no Tiger score that counted was below a 9.825 (Schreiber). The addition of Amari Celestine back into the lineup was a welcome addition for the Tigers. LSU, on the other hand, was led by former national champion Haleigh Bryant’s perfect 10. Mizzou’s high scorer is Jocelyn Moore, scoring a 9.875. After One, LSU led by .225, 49.475 to 49.250.

Second rotation (MIZ bars, LSU vault): Mizzou gets its best vault score of the season, but it’s not enough to close the gap, and it actually widens after some amazing routines from LSU. Mizzou’s high scorer is again Moore, who anchors the rotation at 9.875. MU drops a 9.75 (Lawrence). After Two, LSU led by .600 (that’s a lot), 98.9 to 98.3.

Third rotation (MIZ floor, LSU beam): This was 100% Mizzou’s chance to make a move as LSU majorly faltered on beam, having to count a 9.65, 9.7 and 9.75 after a major mishap dropped a 9.15. MU, however, just couldn’t manage to close the gap that much. Mizzou’s highest score on floor is Amari Celestine with a 9.9. The lowest score, a 9.825, is dropped. After Three, LSU led by .275, 147.85 to 147.575 with both teams’ best events to go.

Final rotation (MIZ beam, LSU floor): With Mizzou trailing, they needed to step up big on their best event, balance beam. Surprisingly, some of the normally steady Tigers faltered, scoring under a 49 for the first time in 22 consecutive meets. The Tigers drop a 9.575 (Schaffer),but have to uncharacteristically count a 9.6 (unheard of for this group) and a 9.75, before ending with three nice routines from Sheremeta, Hu, and Schreiber. After Four, LSU takes down Mizzou by 0.575, 197.100 to 196.525.

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Quick Comparisons

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Matchups to Keep an Eye on

While there aren’t individual head-to-head matchups, I thought it was an interesting to share the no. 1 vs the no. 1, no. 2 vs no. 2, etc. And a wild card if there is one. Scores in parentheses are their highest of the season.

Floor vs. Lindenwood: Gayla Griswold (9.875) vs. Alisa Sheremeta (9.925) | Hannah Appleget (9.85) vs. Hannah McCrary (9.925) | Trinity Caffey (9.85) vs. Sienna Schreiber (9.9) | Sydney Lopez (9.825) vs. Amari Celestine (9.9) | Jaly Jones (9.8) vs. Jocelyn Moore (9.875) | Wild Card: Reagan Jones (9.85) vs. Alonna Kratzer (9.85)

Floor vs. TWU: Alixandra Pierce (9.9) vs. Alisa Sheremeta (9.925) | Daisy Woodring (9.8) vs. Hannah McCrary (9.925) | Madeline Gose (9.775) vs. Sienna Schreiber (9.9) | Sierra Muns (9.775) vs. Amari Celestine (9.9) | S) vs. Jocelyn Moore (9.875) | x (high score) vs. Alonna Kratzer (9.85)

Analysis: Lindenwood, should they perform their best, has the potential to be pretty close to Mizzou on the floor, as all of my projected entrants scores 9.8 or above. I have Reagan Jones listed as a WC as she’s only competed in the event once. As for Texas Woman’s, their top performer Pierce has the potential to score big, but also must have a mistake or two under her belt as her average is only 9.5. Woodring and Gose are more consistent, and will provide depth for their battle against LU. As for Mizzou, you know it’s a good event when your no. 6 scorer is Alonna Kratzer, an excellent floor specialist who has scored a 9.86 in every meet this season.

Beam vs LU: Hannah Appleget (9.85) vs. Helen Hu (9.95) | Gayla Griswold (9.825) vs. Sienna Schreiber (9.95) | Jaly Jones (9.80) vs. Grace Anne Davis (9.9) | Nya Kraus (9.75) vs. Alisa Sheremeta (9.875) | Hannah Moon (9.675) vs. Addison Lawrence (9.85) | Riley Daniels (9.725) vs. Sydney Schaffer (9.75)

Beam vs TWU: Madeline Gose (9.85) vs. Helen Hu (9.95) | Ruby Goad (9.825) vs. Sienna Schreiber (9.95) | Kyla Podges (9.625) vs. Grace Anne Davis (9.9) | Alixandra Pierce (9.75) vs. Alisa Sheremeta (9.875) | Emily Six (9.725) vs. Addison Lawrence (9.85) | Daisy Woodring (9.625) vs. Sydney Schaffer (9.75)

Analysis: Despite the aforementioned beam snaffus that plagued Mizzou a bit against LSU, this is THEIR event and really no one can compete with them on it. Example: LU and TWU’s highest scoring beamers, Appleget and Gose, have high scores that would put them as fifth-best in Mizzou’s lineup. As for the Tigers, Alisa is the epitome of consistency, and her average (9.858) almost mirrors her high score. And Helen (& Sienna, for that matter), both First Team All-Americans a season ago, are jaw-droppingly good and AVERAGE 9.9s. Hu is on another playing field though, in my mind. She is honestly must-see tv.

Bars vs LU: Hannah Moon (9.875) vs. Helen Hu (9.925) | Jaly Jones (9.875) vs. Jocelyn Moore (9.9) | Hannah Appleget (9.85) vs. Alisa Sheremeta (9.875) | Kaylee Cooper (9.8) vs. Amari Celestine (9.85) | Riley Daniels (9.80) vs. Sienna Schreiber (9.85) | Savannah Newsome (9.7) vs. Addison Lawrence (9.85)

Bars vs TWU: Brooke Ferrari (9.875) vs. Helen Hu (9.925) | Maddie Griffith (9.825) vs. Jocelyn Moore (9.9) | Kami Zarlengo (9.725) vs. Alisa Sheremeta (9.875) | Beth Lazarus (9.65) vs. Amari Celestine (9.85) | Kyla Podges (9.625) vs. Sienna Schreiber (9.85) | Mara Johnson (9.525) vs. Addison Lawrence (9.85)

Analysis: Lindenwood has the potential to be a pretty good bars squad, with 5/6 of their gymnasts tallying high scores of 9.8 or higher. Moon (9.806), Jones (9.792) and Cooper (9.783)’s average most closely match to their high scores, showing a good level of consistency for the Lions. TWU will counter with two strong bars performers in Ferrari and Griffith, though Maddie is more inconsistent out of the two. As for Mizzou, they are remarkably consistent, and we should expect to see scores at least in the 9.8+ range across the board.

Vault vs LU: Gayla Griswold (9.875) vs. Jocelyn Moore (9.9) | Trinity Caffey (9.85) vs. Sienna Schreiber (9.825) | Riley Daniels (9.80) vs. Grace Ann Davis (9.825) | Jaly Jones (9.775) x Amari Celestine (9.775) | Sydney Lopez (9.75) vs. Hannah McCrary (9.775) | Wild Card: Hannah Moon (9.675) vs. Mackenzie Patricelli (9.825)

Vault vs TWU: Daisy Woodring (9.8) vs. Jocelyn Moore (9.9) | Madeline Gose (9.75) vs. Sienna Schreiber (9.825) | Mara Johnson (9.725) vs. Grace Ann Davis (9.825) | Beth Lazarus (9.7) x Amari Celestine (9.775) | Maddie Griffith (9.675) vs. Hannah McCrary (9.775) | Wild Card: Emily Six (9.525) vs. Mackenzie Patricelli (9.825)

Analysis: This should prove to be the closest rotation for Mizzou and its opponents, as both Lindenwood and Texas Woman’s highest scores are only about a tenth off of Mizzou’s. Lindenwood has several gymnasts who are capable of pulling off higher scores, but their average scores are in the 9.6-9.7 range, and TWU’s difference between high scores and averages is even more. As for Mizzou, the vault is, at present time anyway, their weakness. This is the single most important event where the return of Amari Celestine will matter. The First Team All-American’s highest score in 2022 was 9.95. While she stepped out and perhaps was a little too amped up in her first event back against LSU, I still put her higher up in my rankings because I consider that an anomaly. I have included freshman Mackenzie Patricelli in the WC role as she’s only competed on the apparatus once but did quite well.

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How Missouri Can Win

Really, this is a meet you expect the Tigers to win pretty handily, but the matchup between two Top-50 teams in Lindenwood and Texas Woman’s University should be a fun one to monitor. Mizzou’s first three meets of the season have all been against Top-20 competition, so this will be a bit of a drop-off talent-wise. But for a team that dreams of making the national championship, this is necessary practice and a great chance to work on perfecting skills. Stick your landings. Keep the mistakes to a minimum. And maybe we’ll see head coach Shannon Welker allow some of the other gymnasts on the roster to get some work in.

Make it a fun and a party like normal, and watch the magic happen.