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2024-25 Rock M’mys: Most Euphoric Moment

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These nominations feature the moments we’ll undoubtedly remember for years to come.

It’s awards season at Rock M Nation, and we’ve got a lot to celebrate from the 2024-25 school year. New hires, postseason highs, incredible individual and team performances… There’s a lot of good things going on in CoMo, and we intend to talk about it.

And because we always strive to do things a bit differently around here, we created our own award, the Rock M’my, a few years ago. Consider it to be part Emmy, part Espy, and all parts love of Mizzou Athletics. (pronounced Rock Emmy)

I encouraged the staff to not just consider the major sports and the top dogs, but to dig below the surface and select worthy nominees from all the teams. Luckily, Rock M Nation represents a diverse group of writers with knowledge about a variety of Mizzou sports, so this wasn’t too much of an ask. With each nomination, you’ll also find a bit of backstory, so you, the fans, can make an informed decision, because at the end of each post, you’ll vote. Forget to cast your ballot one day? No big deal. I’ll provide links to the other awards from the preceding posts.

Once all the votes for each award have been tabulated over the next few weeks, I’ll present a winners list, and that student-athlete will win our completely serious award that will undoubtedly be the greatest triumph of their lives thus far.

Voting closes Friday, July 25 at 11pm CST.

Let’s begin.

In case you missed the earlier votes:

Let’s begin.

There were so many great moments this season in Mizzou Athletics. Snapshots in time that, no matter how the season ultimately ended up, left you feeling a sense of utter euphoria at that moment. It could have been an astonishing win that no one saw coming, a court storming after beating a most hated rival, a ranked road dub, a key defensive stop, a champion crowned, a program-defining finish. In fact, there were so many great memories, we’ll undoubtedly be reliving these over and over again in our minds for the rest of summer.

Enjoy! This is gonna be a tough one to decide.

Here are the nominees for Most Euphoric Moment:

Men’s hoops takes down top-ranked kU in Columbia

The morning of the Border Showdown in 2022, I had to get my appendix removed, and thus, I couldn’t attend the game in-person. I was terribly upset, but I didn’t miss much excitement, as Mizzou got clobbered.

Perhaps my body was planning ahead. Two years later, Mizzou took down Kansas 76-67, the first Tiger victory in the series since 2012. MU led by as much as 24, a lead that was almost blown. Luckily for the Tigers, Mark Mitchell canned a humungous corner triple that put Mizzou up five with two minutes left in regulation. kU would never come within one possession the rest of the way. Mark Mitchell and Tamar Bates, who are both from the Kansas side of Kansas City, combined for 46 points. Bates and Anthony Robinson II had five steals apiece. Josh Gray locked down the interior, grabbing 10 rebounds. The Jayhawks looked out of sorts offensively for most of the night, committing 22 turnovers.

As the clock ticked down, troves of fans prepared to rush the court. A good friend of mine told me in the final minute that he drove “about 100 miles an hour” from work in St. Louis to catch the end of the game. Sure enough, as the final buzzer sounded, the court became littered with ecstatic people dressed black and gold. As I watched the biggest party in Columbia take place, one thought crossed my mind… I’m glad he made it. — Quentin Corpuel

Gymnastics secures first ever Four on the Floor appearance

Participating in its second national semifinal in the past three years, the Tigers faced an all-SEC field of Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama with its first ever national final on the line. And doubters — of which there were many — be damned, the Tigers took down both the Gators and the Tide.

After having to start on the floor again and get low-balled on scoring for the umpteenth time this postseason, the Tigers had to come from behind right from the start. Slowly but surely, though, they got back into it after posting the event’s second highest vault rotation score and following that up with a stellar bars rotation that put them ahead of (gasp!) Florida by 0.075 going into the final rotation, beam. The Tigers were magical and as head coach Shannon Welker called them, “undeniable,” and they wrapped up the meet with counting scores of 9.8625 by Amy Wier, a 9.85 by freshman Railey Jackson (who’d changed her dismount just a few weeks prior!!), an unreal 9.9125 by Addi Lawrence, a 9.8875 by freshman Olivia Kelly and a truly mind-blowing 9.9875 by Helen Hu that secured the deal (and gave Helen her first individual national title). —Karen Steger

Mizzou Softball knocks off No. 1 Oklahoma

It was more than just a game. Not only did Mizzou beat the top-ranked, four-time defending champs and previously undefeated Oklahoma Sooners, the Tigers did it in front of the largest crowd in Mizzou softball history at 4,146. The weekend celebrated 50 years of Tigers softball in front of a large contingent of alumna, and the Tigers took down the Sooners 3-1 after several early runs.

Missouri plated two runs in the first inning thanks to a Madison Walker solo home run and a double from Stefania Abruscato that scored Taylor Ebbs. Later on, Mizzou extended its lead with an Ebbs home run in the third. While Oklahoma added a run in the seventh, the Tigers secured the biggest upset in school history. Cierra Harrison and Taylor Pannell pitched an incredible game, allowing just one run on five hits. It was an unforgettable moment for the program and one of few great memories from an otherwise lackluster season. And it snapped OU’s 31-game win streak as the icing on the cake. —Dylan Heinrich

Stuffed Hawkeye in the Music City Bowl

It had been an up and down football season. After playoff aspirations, exhilarating comeback wins and disappointing blowout losses, the Tigers still had an opportunity to salvage a rare feat in Mizzou football history: a 10-win season. The one final hurdle was a feisty Iowa team that had a history of upsetting good Tiger teams in bowl games. After a back-and-forth affair all game, freshman kicker Blake Craig nailed two clutch 50+ yard field goals in the fourth quarter to tie and then give Mizzou a three-point lead with four minutes remaining.

With time running down and Iowa driving across the 50-yard line to try and tie or take the lead at the end of the game, the Hawkeyes were faced with a 4th and 1 situation. The clock was ticking down to 1:08 remaining and Iowa had no more time outs. Quickly rushing to the line, Hawkeye quarterback Brendan Sullivan snapped the ball and tried to sneak over the left guard to move the chains and extend the game. Corey Flagg, Jr. had other ideas as he dove over the line to knock Sullivan off his route. Sullivan was quickly swarmed by Daylan Carnell and a host of Tigers and was brought down well behind the line to gain. Two Brady Cook kneel-downs later and the Tigers had their 10-win season. —Nathan Hurst

Mizzou Tennis chomps the Gators

The Tigers tennis conference play started off rocky. After dropping their first two games and then claiming a stunning victory over the No.55 Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Tigers looked primed for SEC competition. However, they dropped the next four…

Entering The Swamp, the squad was in desperate need of a win to steer the ship back onto course. Acting as if they were truly on a ship, the Tigers hunted for the gold.

The group jumped out fast, winning two of the three doubles matches, earning them a singular point. The dynamic duo of grad student Lailaa Bashir and freshman Zoe Lazar clinched for the team. In singles, the tide began to sway. Artimedi and Roso won the opening two matches to keep the hopes alive before Mizzou dropped the next three. Soon, the match was on the line for Bashir once again. In her second clinching match of the day, the star claimed victory for the Tigers, ending a losing streak and year-long drought.

The win was not only the first program win against the Florida Gators but also its highest-ranked win since 2017 when the Tigers defeated No. 17 Texas A&M. After the win Mizzou was ranked No.58 in the country. —Rory Whetstone

Zion Young’s scoop-and-score against Oklahoma

Mizzou has been on the right end of some wild finishes since 2023, but this one might have been the craziest.

In their first matchup on the gridiron since 2011, Mizzou and Oklahoma traded touchdowns over the final few minutes after what had been a terribly boring game up until then. But over the final three minutes and 30 seconds, Drew Pyne turned into God, OU scored on a receiving touchdown from their quarterback, then took the lead on a scoop-and-score. That was followed by a dart-prayer-dime sequence of throws from Pyne, the last of which found a toe-tapping Theo Wease Jr. (a former Sooner, nonetheless). With the game tied at 23, Oklahoma was driving … that was until Triston Newson knocked the ball out of Jackson Arnold’s hands, and the loose pigskin was picked up and housed by Zion Young for what would be the game-winning touchdown.

Since I’ve been at Mizzou (August 2022), the loudest crowd pop was Harrison Mevis’ game-winning, buzzer-beating 61-yard field goal to beat Kansas State. Young’s fumble return is firmly in second. As a dogpile formed on top of Young in the back of the north end zone, any civility within Faurot Field left the premises.

To recap, Oklahoma led by seven with under two minutes left in regulation and lost by seven … in regulation. I still cannot believe this happened. —Quentin Corpuel

Volleyball pulls off upset of the tournament, advances to Sweet Sixteen

Major upsets are relatively rare in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament, especially on the first weekend against top-3 seeds. But the Tigers didn’t just take down 2-seed SMU in Dallas, arguably the biggest upset of last year’s tournament. Mizzou took down the Mustangs in dominant fashion, maintaining strong control for most of the match and taking the second set by nine points. Everyone was seemingly waiting for the hosts, who had taken down Nebraska and Pitt earlier that year, to make a run and get back into the match.

It never happened, and the Tigers’ victory was the culmination of a shocking two-year turnaround orchestrated by Dawn Sullivan. The victory made waves in the volleyball world, and helped establish Mizzou firmly back on the national map. It was clear after the match that the win was incredibly meaningful to the players on the squad, especially those who had been alongside Sullivan since the beginning – and the team absolutely made sure to enjoy and appreciate the moment (see video below). —Matthew Gustafson

Time to vote!