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Shire earned a 38.900 in the all-around, just missing a berth to the NCAA National Championships

Tigers Finish Fourth at NCAA Central Regional, Perry Qualifies for Nationals

Adrianne Perry earns her third berth at the NCAA Championships

April 12, 2008

Complete Results

Baton Rouge, La. - The No. 18 Missouri Gymnastics closed their season by posting a 195.100 at the NCAA Central Regional, placing them fourth overall. The Tigers top all-arounder all season long, Adrianne Perry (Columbia, Mo.) tallied a 39.300 with her combined four-event score. The 39.300 was good enough to earn Perry her third consecutive berth to the NCAA National Championships as an all-arounder, the first Tiger to accomplish that feat since Alisha Robinson did it back in 2005.

No. 7 LSU won the event with a 197.625, No. 6 Stanford finished second with a 197.525 while the six-seeded Ohio State finished third with a 195.125, just edging the Tigers. No. 20 Kentucky finished fifth with a 194.950 while Kent State rounded out the event in sixth with a 193.050.

The Tigers received a favorable draw by rotating just like a normal home meet and started on vault. Sophomore Danielle Guider (Nutley, N.J) got the Tigers headed in the right direction by tying her season best on the apparatus, a 9.800. Sophomore Becky Scholle (Chesterfield, Mo.) followed the lead of Guider by tying her season high as well as Scholle posted a 9.775, a mark that she had not hit since the season opener at Bowling Green.

Freshman Alex Gold (Plano, Texas) showed little nerves in her first NCAA Regional appearance as she hit a 9.750. Tiger all-arounders Perry and Sarah Shire (Columbia, Mo.) closed the event out for the Tigers, both posting a 9.850. With those scores, Mizzou tallied a 49.025 on vault, their highest output since March 8 at Illinois when they hit 49.050, a season high.

The Tigers received a bye before they headed to the uneven bars. Looking to gain even more momentum, Mizzou turned to Shire. In the second spot in the lineup, Shire gritted through a sore shoulder and posted a 9.750, her highest score since Feb. 8 against Centenary. It was also the first time she has not fallen off the event in three weeks, giving the Tigers something to build upon. Up next, Scholle continued her fine meet by tallying a 9.775, her highest score since the Centenary meet as well.

Perry kept raising the scores as she hit the event. Posting a 9.800, Perry kept herself in the hunt for the all-around while posting a team high en route to a 48.750 on bars. Junior Alicia Hatcher (Blue Springs, Mo.) also added a 9.775 to help the Tigers.

Heading to beam, the Tigers hoped to leave their beam struggle at Big 12's in the rearview mirror. Senior Julie Abaray (Cincinnati, Ohio) gutted through pain in both of her knees to close her career in fashion by posting a 9.750, her second highest score of the season. It was a score that the Tigers needed to keep pace, especially after Guider fell in the second spot.

Hatcher added another big beam score as she notched a 9.850, her highest score in three weeks while Perry came one step closer to her third consecutive berth at the NCAA National Championships as she tallied a 9.800. In all, the Tigers posted a 48.600, better than at Big 12's, but not good enough to keep them in the hunt with the top seeds.

Heading to floor, Perry needed a 9.700 or better to qualify for her third trip to the NCAA National Championships. Anchoring the floor rotation, Perry tallied a 9.850 earning her a bid. She fell just short of the 9.875 that she needed for the team to pull into third place.

Hatcher posted a 9.700 to add to her fine performance on the evening. The 9.700 was her highest in four weeks. The last time she broke 9.700 was at Illinois when she went 9.750. Khederian added a 9.750 in her final routine as a Tiger while Shire added a 9.750. Shire finished with a 38.900 in the all-around, just one spot shy of qualifying for Nationals as an all-arounder.

Perry will make her trip to Athens, Ga. on April 24th in hopes of earning All-America honors for the first time in her career. The regional marked only the second time in the last eight weeks that Perry did not take home the all-around title. That honor went to LSU's Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, who tallied a 39.825, the highest score of any all-arounder in 2008.

Stay tuned to www.mutigers.com for all the latest on Mizzou Gymnastics and all the latest on Perry's trek to the NCAA National Championships.

Shire, Perry to Rotate with SEC Squads

04/06/2009 - W. Gymnastics

This is senior Adrianne Perry's fourth trip to the NCAA National Championships, a school record, and the first time Missouri has sent two individuals to the competition.