‘Secret weapon’: Helen Hu’s beam routine leads MU to 1st NCAA Championship final
A season for the record books has more to be written.
In a back-and-forth battle, No. 7 seed Mizzou gymnastics continued its stellar season, finishing second in the first session of the NCAA Championship semifinal Thursday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Tigers will make their first-ever NCAA Championship final appearance in program history after finishing with a score of 197.300.
Missouri needed a big day to secure a top-2 finish among second-seeded Oklahoma, third-seeded Florida and 12th-seeded Alabama. The meet came down to the wire between the Tigers and Gators for the second-place spot after the Sooners finished first with a score of 197.550.
The All-Southeastern Conference session final saw less than 0.100 separating Missouri and Florida for the majority of the final rotation.
The Tigers sat in the third-place spot after the two opening rotations, trailing by three-tenths of a point. Following scores of 49.2250 on the floor, a season-low, and a 49.1250 on vault, a pair of big rotations was needed for Mizzou to claw back.
“When Florida was just ahead of us, I said, ‘We have Helen (Hu). She’s our secret weapon,’” graduate anchor Mara Titarsolej said. “Her performances give a lot of confidence because we have faith that she’s going to perform every time.”
After both teams ended their first two rotations, Florida led Mizzou by 0.3. The Tigers then passed the Gators on their third rotation — uneven bars — which included a season-high score of 9.9375 from Titarsolej.
Heading into final rotation, the two championship hopefuls were separated by just 0.075. Mizzou ended the meet on beam, and the Gators went to the bars.
To keep the dream alive, the Tigers had to submit a historic performance on their second weakest event (49.370 National Qualifying Score as a team in the regular season).
Florida had been strong on the bars all year, sitting third — one spot ahead of MU in the event — with a 49.530 NQS. The fourth rotation was a nail-biter for both fan bases.
Sophomore Anya Pilgrim and redshirt junior Amy Wier each led off the rotation with scores of 9.8625. Mizzou still held its narrow lead. Halfway through the final rotation, Florida surpassed the Tigers and held a 0.1125 advantage.
Junior Addison Lawrence scored a 9.9125 to put MU back up by 0.025. Florida jumped back ahead after a score of 9.9375 on bars by sophomore Alyssa Arana to go up 0.075 before the final routine.
Just one Tiger remained: the one who has always answered on the beam when her team needs it most.
MU redshirt senior Helen Hu, the SEC Event Specialist of the Year, stepped up for her squad’s final routine of the afternoon. Hu earned three perfect 10s on this exact beam routine.
The Chicago product, who took a year off backpacking around the world, stepped up to the beam needing a 9.875 to make history.
“It’s all about perspective,” Hu said. “I could’ve looked at it as a super-high-pressure moment and (thought), ‘I have to hit this.’ Or I could look at it as, ‘This is my last beam routine, I’m going to have as much fun as I can and just perform for my team and not make it a high-pressure moment.’”
Hu easily surpassed the required mark, scoring a meet-high score of 9.9875. Her teammates cheered after her performance, chanting for a 10. Florida’s anchor senior Riley McCusker, posted a 9.8625 and the final scores were in.
The Tigers scored a 49.500, easily besting their season average.
The calm, cool and collected Hu delivered — yet again — for Missouri. Her routine clinched the Tigers a spot in their first-ever NCAA National Championship Final Four after reaching the Elite Eight for a historic third time since the format was adopted in 1993.
“I was looking at the scores, even though we’re not supposed to,” Titarsolej said. “When that final score came in, it was pure excitement, not disbelief, because we know we belong here.”
Florida finished with a score of 197.200, and the Crimson Tide ended their season with a 196.825 performance.
Mizzou and Oklahoma both advance to take on the top-2 finishers in the quad meet of LSU, Michigan State, UCLA and Utah in the NCAA Championship final at 3 p.m. Saturday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
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