Fur may fly in Columbia tonight as Missouri hosts a top-10 Tiger clash. LSU has dropped each of its last two trips to Missouri, and with a raucous home crowd behind it, the Tigers will look to deliver the biggest upset in program history.
LSU is coming off just the nation’s second 198 of the season, but cracks remain after its first loss to Georgia in a decade the week prior. Vault continues to be the primary concern: nine athletes have appeared in the lineup, and even proven scorers like Amari Drayton and Kaliya Lincoln have struggled to rein in landings.
Missouri enters after a narrow loss at No. 3 Alabama, where strong beam and floor rotations kept pace before bars and vault proved costly. Bars, the Tigers’ lowest-ranked event, remains in flux. Freshman Kimarra Echols and junior Hannah Horton have provided stability, but the surrounding lineup is still unsettled, including graduate transfer Lauren MacPherson, who has been inconsistent since opening her comeback season with a 9.875.
Neither team can afford mistakes in what shapes up as a high-pressure meet. Watch LSU sophomore Kailin Chio, fresh off her first career 10.000 on beam and ranked top five nationally on vault, beam, and in the all-around. On the Missouri side, junior Kennedy Griffin—who has notched 9.925s on floor in each of the last two weeks and owns a career 10.000—could thrive under the spotlight once again.
The meet is streaming on the SEC Network with commentary from Alex Perlman and Anastasia Webb, and live scores are available on Virtius.
Missouri is debuting its Nightfall leotard tonight, and LSU is wearing its Crown Jewel leotard, which debuted at regionals last season.
In lineup news, LSU has freshman Haley Mustari slated to do bars in what will be her collegiate debut. They also have graduate student Courtney Blackson in on vault after a few weeks’ absence from that lineup. Missouri has freshman Kimarra Echols back in the floor lineup for the first time since its season opener, and graduate student Grace Anne Davis is set to make her season debut on beam.
Rotation 1: Missouri VT, LSU UB
Griffin (Missouri) – FTY with a medium hop back. Leg separation in the air, some piking. 9.800
Zeiss (LSU) – Maloney to Pak with a touch of leg separation in the first skill. Good last handstand. Full-in with feet and a step backwards. 9.800
Jackson (Missouri) – STICKS a Yurchenko 1.5. Solid dynamics. 9.950
Ulrich (LSU) – Maloney to Pak with leg separation in both skills. Quickly over on the half pirouette, great last handstand. Double layout is stuck. 9.925
Tanskanen (Missouri) – Front handspring pike 1/2 with a small hop back. 9.850
Mustari (LSU) – Maloney to Pak, immaculate form. Good last handstand. Full-in with a stick and pointed toes. Excellent debut. 9.900
Echols (Missouri) – FTY that is high and gorgeous in the air, medium hop back on the landing. 9.850
Chio (LSU) – Maloney to overshoot to handstand. Markelov is good. Full-in is stuck-ish, but she has to take a step back. 9.725
Tisler (Missouri) – Yurchenko 1.5 with a medium step back has some pike in the hips in the air. 9.750
Blackson (LSU) – Shootover to handstand. Markelov. Double layout is stuck. Very strong routine. 9.925
Horton (Missouri) – Yurchenko 1.5 with a medium hop forward. Usual good form and dynamics. 9.875
McClain (LSU) – Church is caught close. Toe on to Pak salto. Full-in is stuck although she does have a little bobble in place.
AFTER ONE: LSU 49.375, Missouri 49.275
A close meet, as advertised! Mustari’s debut was worth the wait, and Blackson delivered a near flawless routine. McClain was unable to fully capitalize in the anchor position, but LSU is off to a strong start. Jackson’s emphatic stuck vault was a career high for her and the highlight for Missouri in this rotation. Tanskanen’s FHS pike 1/2 also looked strong, and Horton and Echols paced the team with their reliable contributions. The second rotation features each team’s weak piece and may be the difference maker in this meet.
Rotation 2: LSU VT, Missouri UB
Zeiss (LSU) – Yurchenko 1.5 with a medium step back and knees bent through the majority of the vault. 9.775
MacPherson (Missouri) – Competing on her 24th birthday today. Tkatchev is good. Toe on to shootover to handstand. Last handstand is a tad short. Full-in dismount is nearly stuck, just a small adjustment of one foot. 9.800
McClain (LSU) – FTY that just floats, great form. Small hop back on the landing. 9.825
Kelly (Missouri) – Toe on to Church to shootover. Toe on to Stalder, hesitates a bit before double back with a medium step backward. 9.825
Blackson (LSU) – Yurchenko 1.5 with a small hop forward, some bent legs in the air. 9.900
Green (Missouri) – Maloney to Pak salto, good form. Hits last handstand. Double layout dismount with a small step back. 9.825
Drayton (LSU) – Big Yurchenko 1.5 nearly stuck – a small hop forward. Great improvement for her. 9.950
Terry (Missouri) – Toe on to Gienger to overshoot is good. Good final handstand. Full-in dismount with a small hop forward. 9.825
Lincoln (LSU) – Yurchenko 1.5 with a large hop forward, but better control than last week. 9.800
Horton (Missouri) – Shaposhnikova to Pak with legs glued together. Great final handstand. Double layout is stuck! This should get them into the 9.9s. 9.950
Chio (LSU) – Yurchenko 1.5 is stuck. TEN WATCH, AS PROMISED. 9.950
Echols (Missouri) – Shootover to handstand. Markelov – love a three-Markelov meet. Double layout is stuck! 9.925
AFTER TWO: LSU 98.800, Missouri 98.625
LSU increased its lead with its best-scoring vault rotation of the season, but Missouri’s final two competitors on bars made sure this meet is far from over. The trio of Blackson, Drayton, and Chio propelled LSU to its most promising vault performance of the season. Small landing errors on bars prevented Missouri from keeping the lead to one tenth or less. With both teams still having to conquer beam, this thing remains wide open. Oh, and stay on ten watch for Chio.
Jay’s already biting the cup, and LSU’s not even on beam yet.
Rotation 3: Missouri BB, LSU FX
Wier (Missouri) – Front aerial to BHS x2 with good rhythm. Straddle jump to straddle half, second skill looked under split. Cartwheel gainer full is stuck. She always manages to look like she’s back on her heels and gonna take a step and then just…doesn’t. 9.875
Innes (LSU) – FHS front double full, lacks some control on the step out. 1.5 twist to front layout is solid. Switch full to Popa. FHS Rudi to double stag jump with a tiny bit of travel. 9.850
MacPherson (Missouri) – Switch leap to split jump is solid. BHS BHS layout stepout is right on. Standing gainer layout stepout with no issues. 1.5 twist is stuck. Happy birthday, indeed! 9.950
Ballou (LSU) – Double layout is very solid, leg separation in the air. Switch side to wolf full to pike jump full, love that unusual last skill she throws in there. Front layout to Rudi. She’s a good performer and seems to be really settling into this routine. 9.900
Davis (Missouri) – Standing layout stepout is solid, but she takes a step back out of it. BHS layout stepout with a wobble she has to fight to correct. Small correction on full turn. Straddle jump to sheep jump, not the most head release there, but fine. BHS gainer full is stuck after an arm swing. 9.675
Coen (LSU) – FHS front double full with a controlled step out. Front layout to front full. Switch full to Popa x2 looks good. Solid routine. 9.900
Kelly (Missouri) – Front aerial to BHS is solid. Switch leap to split jump, second element looked under split, but this isn’t the best angle. Side aerial. Does the double wolf turn like it’s easy. 1.5 twist with a small hop forward. 9.775
Drayton (LSU) – Usual ridiculous double layout but she steps out of bounds on the landing. It was a controlled step, but still out. Switch ring leap to switch half. Front tuck through to double back is a bit underrotated with a small step forward. With a better angle on replay, can see that she did slide back in the first pass as well.
Jackson (Missouri) – Front aerial to BHS. Switch leap to switch half to beat jump is great – good positions in the air and rotation. Gainer pike with a small step backwards. 9.850
Floor judges conferencing…Jay still has his cup….finally Chio is going although I still don’t see a score for Drayton on Virtius or on the broadcast…
Chio (LSU) – Full twisting double back is great, no deductions on that landing. Switch ring to switch full. 2.5 twist to punch front is high and solid. Great routine. 9.950
Lawrence (Missouri) – Side aerial to BHS. Split jump to split 3/4. 1.5 twist is stuck. She celebrates by struggling to lift her feet off the floor. Cos they’re stuck…get it? 9.950
Lincoln (LSU) – I still don’t see a score for Drayton anywhere. Lincoln sticks her double layout on two feet then takes a leisurely lunge back. Switch leap to tour jete half. Front layout to front full. 9.950
AFTER THREE: LSU 148.350, Missouri 148.025
LSU floor was just looking the way we expect LSU floor to look. Drayton’s score is still MIA, but it doesn’t matter at all. Davis had a nervy season debut for Missouri on beam, but the team was not rattled and delivered a strong finish from Jackson and Lawrence. The gap between the two Tigers is up to just over three tenths, the highest of the meet, so it looks like LSU’s victory to take if it can hit beam. Missouri will need to show out and squeeze out all the tenths it can on floor to stay in it.
Update that we can finally see a 9.775 for Drayton.
Rotation 4: LSU BB, Missouri FX
Coen (LSU) – Front aerial and wobbles. Has to back up to repeat the combo of front aerial to beat jump. BHS layout stepout with a small wobble she works hard to disguise. Switch leap to split jump, second element was under split. Sticks double twist dismount. 9.850
Tisler (Missouri) – FHS front layout to Rudi. Switch full to Popa. 1.5 twist to punch front tuck, looked off in the midst, but pulls it out with no problems. 9.825
Zeiss (LSU) – Side aerial with a tiny balance correction. Front aerial to BHS. Switch leap to split jump. I think Anastasia just called out the judges on Coen’s score? Unexpected. Zeiss does the wolf double without issue. Tuck gainer full off the end with a medium hop forward. 9.825
Jackson (Missouri) – Double pike is solid. Switch ring leap to switch half to wolf full. Front through to double back. 9.900
Drayton (LSU) – Switch half is clean. BHS layout stepout. Switch leap to split jump – has a check in between elements and a correction on the final landing. Double twist is stuck. 9.925
Echols (Missouri) – Full-in takes a huge bounce back and out of bounds. Switch leap to switch ring 1/2. Front through to 2.5 twist with a well controlled landing. This is a great routine when she puts it all together. 9.600
Lincoln (LSU) – Front aerial to BHS. Switch 1/2 to beat jump. Huge break and bends all the way over at the waist on the full turn. Switch leap to straddle 1/4. 1.5 twist dismount is stuck. 9.750
Tanskanen (Missouri) – Full-in with a big slide back in the lunge. Switch side 1/2 to straddle jump. I love the part in her choreography where she does the princess wave. 1.5 twist to front layout is solid. 9.900
McClain (LSU) – Switch leap with a small check to switch 1/2 with a wobble that becomes a bend at the waist and then grabbing the beam. Front aerial to BHS is solid. Side aerial. Gainer full looks stuck, but she has to take a step back. 9.550
Griffin (Missouri) – Big double pike with a slide back in the lunge. Front through to double back is stuck on two feet before she goes to the lunge. Switch full to Popa x2 is good. 9.925
Chio (LSU) – Round off BHS mount is easy. BHS layout stepout maybe looks even easier. Front aerial to split jump. Switch leap to split jump. 1.5 twist is stuck. Pretty sure that saves the meet for them. 9.975
Horton (Missouri) – Double layout with a great landing. Wolf hop full to switch side. Front through to double back with a bigger step back. 9.925
FINAL: LSU 197.675, Missouri 197.500
VT: Jackson (Missouri), Chio (LSU), Drayton (LSU) – 9.950
UB: Horton (Missouri), 9.950
BB: Chio (LSU), 9.975
FX: Chio (LSU) & Lincoln (LSU), 9.950
AA: Chio (LSU), 39.600
The LSU Tigers just make it out of Columbia with the win this year. Without Chio’s almost preternatural calm and consistency, it could’ve been much closer. However, both teams will be pleased with the progress shown tonight on their weaker events – bars for Missouri and vault for LSU. LSU’s beam performance will leave some doubt about its ability to hold up under pressure – will it lead the coaching staff to make any lineup changes? Missouri proved it can hold up during its own beam rotation and that it can keep pace with the top teams in the country overall.
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Live blog by Diana Scroggins
Why did Chio only get at 9.725 on bars?