Fresh off a 197, Tigers head to Baton Rouge to face reigning national champs

It’s a battle of the sailor tiger logos, how novel

Alexa, play Eye of the Tiger.

It’s the eye of the tiger, it’s the thrill of the fight

Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night

And he’s watching us all with the eye of the tiger

That’s right, Tiger fans, we’re getting set for a Battle Royale between the Tigers of Columbia and the Tigers of Baton Rouge. It’s a #3 vs. #9 matchup based on RTN rankings, and a #3 vs. #8 matchup based on College Gym News’ power rankings.

3. LSU (Last Week: No. 2): After gaining momentum with a big SEC win the previous week, LSU stumbled at Arkansas, with mistakes on floor and beam leading to a loss. It was the Tigers’ first rough meet of the season, so there’s no need to panic just yet, but their margin for error is gone if they hope to claim the regular-season SEC title. LSU’s inability to perform under pressure after doing so successfully a week earlier raises questions about how it’ll fare on the road moving forward.

8. Missouri (Last Week: Not Ranked): Swapping places with Kentucky, Missouri’s win over the Wildcats earned them a spot in the top 10. In a matchup of two teams fighting for nationals spots and top-half SEC finishes, Missouri’s veterans, who powered the Tigers to a fifth-place finish at 2022 nationals, came through again. When Jocelyn Moore and Amari Celestine are at their best, scoring multiple 9.9s, Missouri can be a dangerous spoiler in the SEC.

Both the All Things Gymnastics podcast and Inside Gymnastics dubbed this as a ‘must watch’ for Week 5 meets. So get out the popcorn and open a fresh bottle of wine. It’s time for A SHOW.

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Meet Info

When: Friday, January 31

Where: Pete Maravich Assembly Center | Baton Rouge, LA

Time: 7:30 p.m. CST

TV: SEC Network

History: In the all-time series against LSU, Missouri trails the Tigers 7-28 per my search, but Ryan’s preview states that it’s actually 8-49, so who really knows? HOWEVER, they have had some success recently, and last year, in front of a Hearnes Center high 7k+, the black & gold Tigers took down the purple & gold ones in an exciting meet that literally came down to the last competitor, Jocelyn Moore on floor. Needing a 9.85 to secure the win, she did it, and Missouri took the W. You can read the recap here. Notably, the Tigers have never won at the PMAC, so there’s a first time for everything.

Live Stats: Virti.us

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Last Time On The Mats

When we last saw OUR Tigers, they took down no. 6 Kentucky for the first time since 2019, and they did it convincingly, leading from rotation one through rotation four with 11 season best scores and a season high score on beam (the other three apparatuses were second highest). Let’s recap quickly.

Another fun fact, the Tigers took at LEAST a share of each individual event title, with Jocelyn tying for the vault top honors, Amari taking the sole bars crown, Helen winning the beam, and Jocelyn & Amari sharing floor honors. It was a great, great night, and this was the most fun I’ve had writing a recap in a while! No sad Taylor Swift songs for me, though I did think about repurposing the lyric I used last year that kicks off the Eras Tour, “It’s been a long time comingggggg”, but decided to give it a rest this week.

First rotation (MIZ vault, UK bars): Mizzou nailed its second highest rotation score of the season, a 49.200, which included solid 9.85 scores from Elise (first vault of the season) and Kennedy (tied career high) and a stuck 9.90 from Jocelyn, which also gave her a share of the vault title. Kentucky tied its lowest rotation score of the season, a 49.025, which gave the Tigers an early 0.175 lead.

Second rotation (MIZ bars, UK vault): Up against Kentucky’s best event (they were no. 2 nationally coming in to the meet), the Tigers again came out on top, actually extending their lead to 0.225 on a strong bars rotation, which was their second highest of the season (49.225). Due to illness, there were some changes in the Tiger lineup, including Rayna in the leadoff position, where she was just a fraction off her career-high in her first bars routine of the season. Amari earned her season best (9.90), and the Tigers dropped Mara’s 9.80 in the anchor spot. Kentucky earned just a 49.175 on vault, and while I marveled at their unique vaults, they didn’t score particularly well, and after two rotation, it was all Tigers, 98.425 to 98.200.

Third rotation (MIZ beam, UK floor): Again with a different lineup, the Tigers put together a season high score, and it was particularly impressive considering they started the rotation with a fall. But the remaining five managed to stay on the beam and minimize mistakes, led by freshman Olivia Kelly’s 9.90 on her first official beam routine, Illinois transfer Abby Mueller’s career-high tying 9.875 on her first Tiger beam routine, and of course, another near perfect routine from Helen Hu, who scored a 9.975. A 49.350 rotation score matched Kentucky’s beam score, and the score remained .225 apart going into the final rotation. I was so impressed with Mizzou’s beam that I awarded Abby & Olivia two of my completely serious MVG (Most Valuable Gymnast) weekly honors.

Final rotation (MIZ floor, UK beam): With the Fab Floor on hand to finish off the meet, I had a good feeling about this one. Rayna again led off in this one (no Railey this time) and tied her season best, and the same thing happened with Elise. Amari then hit her season high with a 9.925, and Jocelyn closed it out with a 9.925 of her own. Ultimately, four of six Tigers either tied or surpassed their season best scores, and the 49.425 was just off their season best 49.450. For Kentucky’s part, they scored a 49.250 on beam, and the Tigers took the win, 197.200 to 196.800, notching their first 197 of the year, and making everyone go crazy.

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What To Expect At The Venue: PMAC

Per a quick search, LSU finished the 2024 season ranked tops in the NCAA in attendance, as they averaged 12,590 fans to Utah’s 12,522, though Utah did have a higher max from a meet at mid-March. As for this year, the Bayou Bengals have only had one home meet so far this season, their home opener against Iowa State where the reining national champs brought in 12,324 fans. Missouri, for reference, averaged 4,644 last year and maxed out at 7,336.

It will be LOUD. And it will be an absolute madhouse, 1) because they love their gymnastics teams at LSU, who have a storied history — they’ve finished in the top 10 in 9/10 years, and top 5 in 6 of those and are coming off a natty — and, 2) because they have Olivia “Livvy” Dunne, a money-making machine (she’s the country’s highest grossing woman NIL earner, and #2 nationally amongst all college athletes, just behind Arch Manning). Despite not having the skill or accolades of say, Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles (UCLA) or even some members of her own team, she gets that bag). She also brings in so many rabid, crazed male fans that they have to put special security measures in place so it will be loud even if she’s not in the lineups.

LSUsports.net

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Records To Watch

Because it came out that the judges will be receiving no feedback in the new SCORE board system this year, I wonder if the scores start to go back up?!

• Overall Score: 197.85, set at Arkansas in 2023 (197.600 at IL Quad in Mar. 2024)
• Away Meet Score: (see above!)
• Balance Beam: 49.550, set at Arkansas in 2023 (49.400 at Georgia in Jan. 2024)
• Uneven Bars: 49.600 at Illinois Quad on March 10, 2024
• Vault: 49.500 set March 2022 (tied at 2023 NCAA LA Regional Second Round and at Illinois Quad, Mar. 2024)
• Floor Exercise: 49.700, set at Illinois Quad on March 10, 2024

Both Mizzou and LSU remain on this list as one of only 11 schools (and 2 out of 5 SEC schools) who haven’t counted a miss this season. A miss is categorized as a counting score 9.500 or under.

Additionally, both schools are among the 15 nationwide who have hit the 197-score mark (and 2 of 8 SEC schools— just missing UGA).

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Quick Comparisons

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About the Opponent: Louisiana State

KEY ADDITIONS: Kaliya Lincoln (fr, VLT) | Kailin Chio (fr, AA) | Lexi Zeiss (fr, VLT, BB) | Kathryn Weilbacher (Bowling Green)

LOSSES: KJ Johnson (sprained ankle, 1/11) | Zoe Miller (fr, shoulder) | Elena Arenas (medical retirement, AA) | Kiya Johnson (AA) | Annie Beard (retirement, BB) | Savannah Schoenherr (VLT, BB, BB)

NOTES:

• It looks like Jay Clark’s lone portal pickup was Bowling Green’s Kathryn Weilbacher, the MAC co-champ on the floor. Her season highs were 9.95 on vault (on a 9.95 SV vault!), 9.925 on floor and a 9.875 on bars, but we haven’t seen her perform yet this season.
• The Bayou Bengals brought in a very talented freshmen class, including five-star Kaliya Lincoln, a five-time floor national champion and four-time USA national team member and non-traveling USA alternate for the Paris Olympics, four-star Zoe Miller, a three-time national team member and 2023 Pan Am gold medalist on bars, four-star Lexi Zeiss, a silver & bronze medalist on AA & beam at the 2022 Pan Pacs, and the undisputed leader of the class, five-star Kailin Chio, the seven-time national camp and 2023 Dev Program national champ on vault and bars who earned (per LSU Sports) “multiple perfect scores on vault and a first place finish in the AA in the 2023 Nastia Liukin Cup.”
• LSU head coach Jay Clark has been with the Tigers since 2012, serving as Associate HC from 2012-19 and Co-Head Coach from 2019-20 before taking the reins completely in 2021.
• The Cajun (spicy?) Tigers have two Missouri natives on their roster in juniors Alexis Jeffrey (Warrensburg) and Aleah Finnegan (Lee’s Summit). Aleah was a member of the Pilipino Olympic team in Paris after her performance at the 2023 World Championships. Another fun fact (though probably to no one but me)— Haleigh Bryant hails from Cornelius, NC, where I used to live for many years!
• Social media sensation Olivia Dunne recently made headlines for all the wrong reasons on a truly absurd social media take that seemed to imply that people aren’t going to meets because there are less 10s? The word salad sounded like it was generated by CaktusAI, which consequently is one of her NIL sponsors and has gotten her into some hot water with the school in the past. You can hear us rant about it towards the end of the new Majority Rules podcast.
• Freshman Kailin Chio was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors after her 39.625 all-around performance (9.95 V, 9.9 UB, 9.85 BB, 9.925 FX) at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad in week two. Junior Ashley Cowan was named SEC Co-Specialist of the Week in week two as well, for her 9.95 bars routine.
• All-star all-arounder Hailey Bryant is still working her way back from an early injury and has only appeared on beam and floor thus far. It’s possible, per this week’s press conference, that she may be trying out vault this week.
• LSU fell to no. 14 Arkansas in their SEC road opener last week, failing to eclipse the 197 mark (196.875). Beam had two score 9.65 or under, so one of them counting, and perhaps most surprising was the team’s 48.85 on floor, as three of the rotation members — Chio, Finnegan, and Dunne — earned sub-9.70 scores. Of their performance last week, they said they’re working out kinks on their approach this week and hoping that they learned from that meet.
• “We always talk about what happens next is most important and that’s our focus this week,” said head coach Jay Clark this week. “Missouri is the next five minutes in front of our face and they are a great team. They’re coming off a good SEC home win and we know that they’re going to come here and be competitive, so we’re just going to look to take our next best step forward this week.”

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Matchups to Keep an Eye on

While there aren’t actual individual head-to-head matchups — Shannon famously says there’s no defense in gymnastics — 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 (or 2). Just so you can see how they may line up. LSU is listed first, as they’re the home team. Scores in parentheses are their highest of the season. I’ve provided some analysis after each event.

Vault: Aleah Finnegan (9.95) v. Jocelyn Moore (9.975) | Kailin Chio (9.95) v. Hannah Horton (9.875) | Chase Brock (9.925) v. Amari Celestine (9.85) | Amari Drayton (9.925) v. Elise Tisler (9.85) | Haleigh Bryant v. Kennedy Griffin (9.85) | KJ Johnson (9.825) v. Kaia Tanskanen (9.825) | Wild Card: Kaliya Lincoln (9.85) OR Lexi Zeiss (9.85) v. Abby Mueller (9.80) OR Kyra Burns (9.775)

Analysis: Vault is hard in college, you guys. And unlike the Olympics, you don’t get two chances. You go at warp speed and you hope like hell you don’t pike or split your legs while also sticking the landing and avoiding any extra steps. Missouri has been experimenting with their vault lineup recently and have welcomed back with open arms the services of Elise Tisler, who scored a 9.975 at Towson a year ago. Abby was held out of last week in favor of Kennedy, who tied her career-best as a surprising anchor, so I don’t know what to expect this week. Last year’s high scores: Joci 10 (in 2023) | Elise 9.975 | HH/Amari 9.95 | Kyra 9.90 | Rayna/Abby 9.875

Per CGN’s injury updates, KJ sprained her ankle sometime after the first meet and hasn’t been back in the lineup since. However, in this week’s press conference, it was mentioned that both KJ and Haleigh Bryant are likely to be back, so I’m going to move both freshmen to WC status— Kaliya is having trouble reining in her power, and Lexi because of her lower scores.

Bars: Ashley Cowan (9.95) v. Hannah Horton (9.925) | Konnor McClain (9.925) v. Mara Titarsolej (9.90) | Aleah Finnegan (9.90) v. Amari Celestine (9.90) | Alexis Jeffrey (9.90) v. Jocelyn Moore (9.875) | Kailin Chio (9.90) v. Kyra Burns (9.875) | Lexi Zeiss (9.85) v. Addison Lawrence (9.825) | Wild Card: Olivia Dunne (9.725) v. Olivia Kelly (9.825) OR Rayna Light (9.825) OR Kaia Tanskanen (9.75)

Analysis: Last week featured some changes in the bars lineup as well, but we know that Kyra was out due to illness, so she will definitely be back. If she’s back, then I would assume the final spot will go to one of Olivia/Addi/Rayna/Kaia. Best wishes deciding! Last year’s high scores: Mara 10 | Joci/Kyra 9.90 | Rayna/Abby/Addi 9.85. As for the Cajun Tigers, I don’t really have much to add. Ashley Cowan is pretty automatic on bars these days.

Floor: Aleah Finnegan (9.975) v. Jocelyn Moore (9.975) | Amari Drayton (9.95) v. Kennedy Griffin (9.925) | Kailin Chio (9.925) v. Amari Celestine (9.925) | Haleigh Bryant (9.90) v. Hannah Horton (9.90) | Chase Brock (9.875) v. Elise Tisler (9.875) | Sierra Ballard (9.85) v. Railey Jackson (9.875) | Wild Card: Olivia Dunne (9.875) v. Rayna Light (9.85) OR Kaia Tanskanen (9.75)

Analysis: Another evenly matched rotation, as LSU and Mizzou are two of the best floor teams in the entire country and watching these two teams is going to be an artistic showdown. I cannnnnnnnnottttt wait. Now, are the Tigers as strong without KJ Johnson? I’m not sure. Really, for both teams, even if someone is sitting out, it’s pretty much an embarrassment of riches. Last year’s scores: Joci 10 | Kennedy/Elise 9.975 | Amari/Hannah/Abby 9.95 | Rayna 9.90

HB is capable of much higher than a 9.90 and Sierra Ballard is much better than a 9.85 as well, which is why I’m slotting her in above Dunne despite a lower score on the year.

Beam: Haleigh Bryant (9.95) v. Helen Hu (10) | Aleah Finnegan (9.925) v. Addison Lawrence (9.90) | Kailin Chio (9.925) v. Olivia Kelly (9.90) | Konnor McClain (9.90) v. Railey Jackson (9.875) | Sierra Ballard (9.875) v. Abby Mueller (9.875) | Kylie Coen (9.875) v. Amari Celestine (9.825) | Wild Card: Olivia Dunne (9.825) OR Amari Drayton (9.675) OR Lexi Zeiss (9.65 exh) v. Amy Wier (9.825) OR Kennedy Griffin (9.675)

Analysis: If Mizzou can hold its own on beam in the final rotation, this could be a really awesome rotation. Last week the Tigers notched their highest score and that was with some nervousness and wobbles after Addi’s fall. There also were a couple of changes in the lineup, but I expect Amari to be back this week, and then it’s anyone’s guess if Olivia, just a freshman, or Abby gets the nod for the final spot. Last year’s high scores: Addi 9.975 (‘23) | Amari 9.925 | Kennedy, Rayna, 9.875

I’m not sure I have much to add about LSU for beam. other than last year, when LSU came to CoMo, Konnor McClain did pull out a 10. This should be close, as these teams are pretty evenly matched on beam.

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How Missouri Can Win

The Tigers need to keep building on what they did last week. I really think they have another 197 in them, easy, and that going on the road to Denver and Oklahoma already this season will prepare them for facing a raucous crowd at the PMAC.

✨Vault— I’d love to see even more sticks— there was only one on vault last week if I remember correctly. I’m expecting Elise to build on last week’s score, as that was her very first vault this season. Amari is working at harnessing her unreal power a bit better each week, so is this week she hits her sweet spot?

✨Bars— Even more sticks, as Joci (who talked about needing to fix hers post-meet) and Mara need to get theirs, too. Last week was a top-notch handstand week, so I’d love to see that again.

✨Beam— Minimize the wobbles. I know it’s impossible to just have a whole rotation of NO wobbles, but don’t let the wobbles be contagious. Shannon said the Tigers have keyed in on Adversity as one of their words to focus on this season, and how to respond from it. You could see that work come into effect last weekend.

✨Floor— Even more controlled landings, as the CGN Live Blog notes from last week almost all reference some sort of lunge or dance out of a pass. Kennedy has managed just one 9.90+ this season, and I’m looking at her to regain that form; we KNOW she can do it.

✨ In closing— Like I said last week, they just need to worry about themselves and control what they can control. Time to Stand on Business again. They are ready for this and going into PMAC, to steal another Coach Drink phrase, they have Something to Prove (STP).

I’m so excited. LFG.