No. 6 Kentucky Travels to No. 11 Mizzou for SEC Road Opener
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The sixth-ranked Kentucky gymnastics squad (3-1, 1-0 SEC) will return to the competition floor for the first time in nine days when the Cats take on No. 11 Missouri (5-2, 0-1 SEC) in their SEC road opener on Sunday evening. Action from the Hearnes Center is set to begin at 6 p.m. ET and will be televised live on the SEC Network with Alex Perlman and Anastasia Webb on the call.
Kentucky travels to Columbia on the heels of a season-high 197.300 performance in their first meet at Historic Memorial Coliseum in nearly two years. In addition to besting their season-opening score of 196.500 by nearly a full point, the Wildcats knocked off No. 3 Alabama in their conference opener on the backs of season-high scores on three events and event titles on all four apparatus and the all-around.
Fifth-year All-American Isabella Magnelli continues to lead the way for the Wildcats in her final season in Lexington, winning the vault and beam titles last weekend with a score of 9.925 on both apparatuses. When adding her beam title from the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad, Magnelli now owns three event wins on the season and 17 on her illustrious career. The Suffern, N.Y. native also ranks in the top five in the country in two events, coming in at No. 3 on vault (9.925) and No. 4 on beam (9.925).
Two more Kentucky vaulters also rank in the top five on the event, led by Anna Flynn Cashion, whose 9.950 collegiate debut in Oklahoma City still ranks her at No. 1 in the country. Senior Makenzie Wilson is also ranked No. 3 on the event with an average of 9.925 and a season high of 9.950. Wilson owns two perfect 10s in her career on the vault, with both coming in 2024.
Fifth-year Skylar Killough-Wilhelm—a transfer from Washington and 2024 All-Around All-American—picked up her first event win as a Wildcat against Alabama, posting a 9.925 on the uneven bars. Killough-Wilhelm was a First-Team All-American on the apparatus a season ago and also completed her first all-around at Kentucky last Friday, posting a 39.375.
Hailey Davis—another fifth-year for Kentucky—earned her first event win of the season last weekend, scoring a 9.900 on the floor exercise. The win marked the fourth of Davis’ career—with all coming on her signature event. Nationally, the New Bern, N.C. native ranks ninth on the floor with a 9.912 average.
Sophomore Sharon Lee—who made her collegiate debut on the balance beam last weekend—also finds herself in the nation’s top 10 on the event. Lee, whose stellar beam routine will go down in Kentucky legend, scored a 9.900 on her first-ever routine as a Wildcat and now ranks No. 7 in the NCAA on the apparatus.
As a team, the Wildcats rank in the top ten in the country on every event. The Wildcat vault rotation leads the way at No. 2 with a 49.363 average. The Kentucky floor lineup slots in at No. 6 thanks to a 49.250 average, with bars and beam both coming in at No. 10 thanks to averages of 49.175 and 49.113, respectively.
Mizzou enters Sunday’s meet after posting a season-high score of 196.750 in an SEC-opening defeat at No. 1 Oklahoma. In that meet, senior Helen Hu posted the first perfect 10 of the season last week for the Tigers, scoring the mark with her signature balance beam routine. Other Tigers of note include Jocelyn Moore—who ranks 16th nationally on vault—and Mara Titarsolaj—who ranks 19th on the uneven bars. Mizzou is ranked in the top ten on floor (6) and bars (9). Sunday marks Mizzou’s first meet of the season in the Hearnes Center, after competing at Mizzou Arena in a season-opening quad meet where the Tigers scored a 196.700.
The Wildcats will have a short turnaround in the coming week, returning home for 2025 Excite Night, presented by White, Greer, & Maggard Orthodontics, on Friday, January 31. The meet will see the Cats host No. 12 Auburn at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network+. Fans can purchase tickets to Excite Night—and all Kentucky Gymnastics home meets—on Ticketmaster.
For the latest on the Kentucky gymnastics team, follow @UKGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
