©Missouri Communications

Most college gymnastics fans would say the SEC is the toughest, most competitive conference in the nation. Three SEC teams rank in the top five of this week’s NCAA rankings. Last year’s NCAA champions, the Florida Gators, came out of the SEC.

Just last year, the University of Missouri was added into this prestigious conference.

Under the new direction of Head Coach Shannon Welker, the University of Missouri gymnastics program has forgone many changes this season. 

Instead of paying attention to the scores, the Tigers are looking to better themselves, go back to the basics and take a step in the right direction for years to come.

“I’ve seen our overall fitness levels improve drastically and our form cleaned up quite a bit,” explains Head Coach Welker. “We have made a lot of progress in the core areas that you need to have before you are able to achieve some of the long term goals.”

Being the underdog going into this weekend’s SEC championship actually has some perks.  The Tigers realistically have no intention on winning but are rather focusing on themselves and what they can do to develop as a program.  

“I really want to see how they perform. They need to do their best work at this meet. We are looking to put together four solid events and be aggressive,” Welker says.

This year has definitely been considered a rebuilding year for Missouri. The team will only graduate one beam routine and hopefully next year they will gain freshman who will add to the lineup like this year’s freshman class has.  

While other teams may be concentrating on winning this weekend, the Tigers are focused on the future.