It came down to a clutch tenth.
A tenth is a slim margin, even for a sport such as gymnastics that is scored out into the thousandths. And Missouri needed to hold onto one, headed into the final rotation of Sunday’s NCAA gymnastics regional in Seattle.
There were four teams in action: Oklahoma, MU, Auburn and Arizona. That was the running order for much of the meet, with the Sooners solidly in the lead, the Wildcats trailing and the pair of Tigers battling for the final spot in the NCAA championships.
Mizzou picked up a one-tenth lead during the first rotation, scoring 49.550 on the floor exercise while Auburn posted a 49.450 on the vault. Then the lead grew a little bit more as MU scored a 49.300 on vault to Auburn’s 49.275 on the uneven bars.
Another slim addition via the third rotation — Missouri posted 49.300 on bars and AU scored 49.225 on the balance beam — gave Mizzou two tenths of breathing room as it began rotation No. 4.
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For the uninitiated: Each rotation in a gymnastics meet sees six gymnasts participant in the event. Each is scored out of 10 points, then the lowest score is dropped — so the team takes the total of five scores, which is what puts most in the 48-49 range. A team can survive one poor score, provided that the other five gymnasts do enough to make sure that is dropped and not especially felt.
That was the case during Missouri’s fourth rotation: Its first beam routine scored a lowly 8.925, meaning the final five gymnasts to step up onto the bar would need to post usable scores.
Mizzou pulled it off. Amari Celestine, Railey Jackson, Addison Lawrence and Olivia Kelly all notched 9.825 or 9.850 scores. Then Helen Hu, who has multiple perfect 10s on beam to her name this season, dropped a 9.925 to close out the meet.
Auburn, on floor for that rotation, delivered a 49.375 as a team. MU scored 49.275 on beam. The margin slimmed, but the lead held — sending Missouri through to the NCAA championships.
Mizzou is one of eight teams left in the mix for a national title, and it’s the second time in the past four years that the Tigers have made it to this stage of the postseason.
Missouri will compete in the national semifinals on April 17 in Fort Worth, Texas, in another four-team meet with the top two moving on to the national finals, which take place April 19.
Post-Dispatch photographers capture hundreds of images each week; here's a glimpse at the week of March 23, 2025. Video edited by Jenna Jones.
