The Lindenwood gymnastics team had its home opener on Sunday afternoon at Hyland Arena in the annual State of Missouri Meet. The Lions finished second, earning a victory over MIC rival Southeast Missouri and coming in behind SEC Missouri.
 
Lindenwood scored a 193.400, its highest mark in program history through two competitions. It was also the second-best home opening score, and the best mark for a home opener in the month of January. The Lady Lions had an improvement of 1.325 over their 2017 season-opening score.
 
Missouri won the competition between the three NCAA gymnastics program from the state of Missouri with a score of 196.225. Southeast Missouri ended the day with a mark of 190.650.
 
The Lady Lions were led by their vault team, which recorded the sixth-highest mark in program history with a 48.800. All six gymnasts had a 9.625 or higher, including four with a 9.750 or better score. Katey Oswalt led the team with a 9.850, and Kierstin Sokolowski recorded a 9.800.
 
On its next event, the bars, the Lady Lions had another strong score with a 48.500. Andavea Alexander and Aubree Horn both had team-highs of 9.750, and Sokolowski had a 9.700.
 
Through two events, the Lady Lions were close to Missouri, trailing by just 0.375. The Tigers pulled away though in the final two routines with scores over 49.000 in both the floor and vault. Lindenwood fell back a bit, scoring a 47.925 on the beam and a 48.175 on the floor.
 
On the beam, Sokolowski led the team with a 9.800, which was the third-highest score overall at the meet. Hannah Rector also scored high with a 9.725. On the floor, Kayla McMullan had a team-high 9.75. Rector and Ryan Henry both scored a 9.700.
 
Lindenwood is back in action next Friday when it travels to Southeast Missouri for a 6:30 p.m. dual event.