March 16, 2000
The Missouri Tigers (8-10) travel to Ames, Iowa for the second time in two weeks this weekend to compete for the Big 12 Conference championship at Iowa State's Hilton Coliseum. Saturday's meet begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for youth.
The championships will be televised by Fox Sports Net (air dates to be announced) with John Naber calling the play by play, and Robin Huebner providing color commentary. The two-hour show is scheduled to air on Fox Sports Midwest at the following times: April 1 - 12 p.m., and April 6 - 12 p.m. A complete listing of air times on other Fox affiliates can be found elsewhere in this release.
No. 5 Nebraska has won the last six conference championships - the last three in the Big Eight and the first three in the Big 12.
MU's Conference History
Missouri won the Big Eight Conference championship in 1992, edging out Nebraska. But the Tigers have finished fourth for the last five years. Last year, when MU hosted the meet in Columbia, it was a close race for third place. Oklahoma nosed out Mizzou, 194.675-194.55.
Missouri had two gymnasts tie for individual championships last year - now graduated Jessica Haag on vault and Shannon Brown on balance beam. Both scored 9.925 - the highest scores in school history.
MU Coach Rob Drass
First-year Tigers head coach Rob Drass has a record of 8-10 in 2000. He spent the last eight years as an assistant coach with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who have won the last six conference championships. He's a 1990 graduate of Penn State, where he was a NCAA qualifier on the men's gymnastics team from 1987-90.
Missouri Records Set in 2000
TEAM RECORDS
Highest Score - 195.05, at Texas Woman's/Utah State, March 12
Highest Road Score - 195.05, at Texas Woman's/Utah State, March 12
Highest Score at Nebraska - 194.325, Jan. 29
Highest Score at Iowa State - 194.525, March 7
Highest Uneven Bars Score - 49.175, vs. SE Missouri State, Feb. 20
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
Floor Exercise - 9.9, Shannon Brown, Cat Classic, Feb. 4, Columbia (ties record)
Uneven Bars - 9.925, Shannon Brown, Corvette Cup, March 5, Columbia
CLASS RECORDS
Balance Beam by a Freshman - 9.85, Leah Gremaud, Jan. 9, Iowa State, Columbia
Balance Beam by a Senior - 9.9, Alison Akers, at Texas Woman's/Utah State, March 12
Floor Exercise by a Senior - 9.9, Shannon Brown, Cat Classic, Feb. 4, Columbia (ties record)
Uneven Bars by a Senior - 9.925, Shannon Brown, Corvette Cup, March 5, Columbia
Tigers Are Making A Late-Season Push For NCAAs
Missouri has improved its Regional Qualifying Score to 194.015 and now leads a three-team race for a berth in the NCAA Region 3 Championships which will be contested April 1 in Tucson, Ariz. But there are still a myriad of possibilities that could affect just how many and which teams qualify from Region 3.
The RQS formula has changed slightly in 2000. The score is calculated by using a team's six highest scores, at least three of which must have been posted on the road. The top score is then thrown out and the remaining five scores are averaged to determine the RQS.
If the current national rankings hold, six teams will qualify from Mizzou's Region 3. No. 5 Nebraska and No. 10 Oklahoma, as teams ranked in the Top 12, would qualify to be seeded teams at one of the six regional sites. That would mean that four other teams would also receive bids - currently Arizona State, Arizona, Missouri, and either Illinois-Chicago, Illinois or Illinois State.
But if Oklahoma slips out of the Top 12, then instead of six teams advancing, only five would go. If Arizona State, currently ranked No. 13, moves into the Top 12, then a total of seven teams would advance from Region 3.
Here are the scores Missouri is currently counting:
HOME AWAY
193.9, vs. Oklahoma 195.05, vs. Texas Woman's (discarded, highest score)
193.8, Cat Classic 194.525, at Iowa State
193.525 vs. SE Missouri State 194.325, vs. Nebraska
The highest Missouri's RQS can climb is 194.32, and MU's other three challengers can each raise their RQS with big meets this weekend as well. Illinois-Chicago and Illinois State will both be competing at the Midwest Independent Championships in Cape Girardeau, Mo., while Illinois is at the Big 10 Conference Championships at Penn State.
Here are the maximum RQS figures that each of those teams could achieve:
Illinois-Chicago 194.49, Illinois 194.09, Illinois State 194.04.
CURRENT REGION 3 STANDINGS
1. Nebraska 196.455
2. Oklahoma 195.465
3. Arizona State 195.170
4. Arizona 194.395
5. MISSOURI 194.015
6. Illinois 193.855
Ill.-Chicago 193.855
8. Illinois State 193.495
9. Texas Woman's 190.765
10. SE Missouri St. 190.310
11. N. Illinois 187.835
Where The Tigers Rank
All-Around Vault Bars Beam Floor
Gymnast Reg./Nation Reg./Nation Reg./Nation Reg./Nation Reg./Nation
Alison Akers 9.83 - 6/t39
Shannon Brown 38.915 - 11/t50 9.835 - t11/t64 9.825 - 7/t41 9.84 - t43/t218
Katie Cole 9.775 - t14/t77
TEAM 194.015 - 5/34 48.24 - 8/46 48.62 - 6/39 48.595 - 5/t23 48.79 - 4/33
Quick Notes on the Tigers
ALISON AKERS, senior, Springfield, MO - Has worked on vault, beam and floor in every meet this season and established her career high - 9.9 - in winning the balance beam competition in Missouri's last meet - Sunday at Texas Woman's ... has scored 9.8-or-better on beam five times this season ... her 9.9 on beam on Sunday is the second-best beam score in school history ... has struggled on floor in Missouri's last three meets ... her mother sang the national anthem prior to the start of the Big 12 Gymnastics Championships last year in Columbia.
LAURA ANSON, freshman, Kansas City, MO - Has been in the Mizzou lineup on vault and bars in every meet this season ... her best vault was 9.725 at Central Michigan in January and she scored 9.85 on bars in MU's February win at home over Southeast Missouri State ... has averaged 9.5 on vault and score 9.8-or-better three times on bars.
SHANNON BROWN, senior, Queen Creek, AZ - Is the defending Big 12 tri-champion on balance beam ... has enjoyed a superb senior season, competing in the all-around in every meet ... is a contender for a conference championship in three events - bars, beam and floor where he career bests are 9.925, 9.925 and 9.9 ... set the Missouri bars record with a score of 9.925 at the Corvette Cup, March 5, tied the school record of 9.9 on floor at the Cat Classic in early February ... has twice established her career best in the all-around - 39.15 - at Nebraska and at Iowa State ... has been an NCAA Regional qualifier in the all-around the last two seasons and is certain to repeat in that role if for some reason Mizzou does not qualify as a team this year ... of the nine 9.9-or-better scores ever recorded in MU gymnastics history, Brown is responsible for five of them ... leads Mizzou this season with average scores of 9.733 on beam and 9.771 on the floor ... has won 10 individual events this season - three on bars, three on floor, two on beam and two in the all-around ... the April 1 Region 3 Championships in Tucson will be a particulary special moment for her as she returns to her home state.
JACQUELINE COATSWORTH, freshman, Las Vegas, NV - Has shown this season that she should become a gymnast with which to be reckoned on both the Big 12 and national levels in the future ... graduated from high school in December and entered MU in January ... slowly worked her way into the Missouri lineup, where she has competed on both the bars and beam ... scored 9.8 on bars in Sunday's meet at Texas Woman's, and has a season-best of 9.825 ... scored 9.8 the first time she climbed on the balance beam for the Tigers - at Nebraska.
KATIE COLE, senior, Hamilton, MO - Has truly made her senior year her best at Mizzou and has been a vital cog in the Tigers' transition from the 20-year tenure of former coach Jake Jacobson to first-year man Rob Drass ... is coming off of her best meet ever - at Texas Woman's ... competing against TWU and Utah State, Cole set or tied her career high in the vault (9.825), beam (9.8) and floor (9.875) ... has competed in those three events in every meet this season ... has won five events in 2000 - four in vaulting, including the Cat Classic and Corvette Cup ... has scored 9.8-or-better on the floor in four of MU's last five meets ... has won two straight vaulting competitions with identical scores of 9.825.
LAURA FORBES, freshman, Columbia, MO - A walkon gymnast who worked hard and was rewarded with Missouri's leadoff spot on floor at mid-season ... has been very steady, getting the Tigers off to a flying start in that event, ever since MU's meet at Nebraska ... is averaging 9.653 and has scored 9.7-or-better four times ... in the Tigers last five meets, has averaged 9.71 ... career high of 9.75 came at the Corvette Cup and last Sunday at Texas Woman's.
ANN GIETLER, junior, Mesa, AZ - Former walkon who is the only junior on the Missouri roster ... competes on bars and floor ... is one of the most exhuberant cheerleaders for her teammates ... set her career high on bars - 9.775 - in Missouri's most recent meet ... has a season best of 9.775 on floor, but has not approached the Mizzou sophomore floor record she established last year when she scored 9.875 at the Cat Classic ... dances with exhuberance and elicits crowd involvement with her floor exercise routine, which includes the song "Tequila" ... a first-team member of the Big 12 All-Academic team each of the last two years ... one of two Tigers from Arizona who craves a visit home to compete in the NCAA Region 3 Championships.
LEAH GREMAUD, freshman, St. Peters, MO - Set the Missouri freshman record on balance beam in her very first meet - 9.85 vs. Iowa State, Jan. 9 ... has struggled since then, though, and has not competed except for exhibitions in MU's last four meets ... has a season-high on floor of 9.75 at the Cat Classic.
ALINA HAMM, freshman, Springfield, MO - Is the all-arounder of the future for the Missouri Tigers, who has enjoyed a very strong freshman campaign ... has competed on vault and bars in every meet this season, and has been up on the beam for the last month-and-a-half ... season-best of 9.725 on vault came in MU's meet at Central Michigan ... her best bars performance came on Sunday at Texas Woman's, where she scored 9.775 ... her best beam score of 9.775 was good enough to tie for first place against Oklahoma.
CHANDRA HARLOW, senior, Raytown, MO - Is Missouri's most exciting and powerful uneven bars performers ... recorded her career-high of 9.875 twice in winning the event against Southeast Missouri State ... has picked up the pace during the second half of the season, averaging 9.81 in the Tigers' last five competitions ... has also moved into the Tiger beam lineup in recent meets, and scored 9.75 on beam back-to-back in the Corvette Cup and at Iowa State ... an elementary education major who was a second-team, Academic-All Big 12 selection.
MEGGEN SMILEY, senior, O'Fallon, MO - Has been one of Mizzou's best on the floor throughout her career, topping 9.7 in that event 31 times in four seasons ... a first-team member of the Academic All-Big 12 team, majoring in physical therapy ... was a nervous wreck at the 1998 Big 12 Championships, awaiting word on her admission to P.T. school ... got the nod just prior to the start of the meet in Lincoln ... has competed in the all-around four times this year, where her best score was 38.525 (against Oklahoma) ... has had her best moments this season on beam and floor ... has scored 9.7-or-higher seven times on beam and eight times on fllor ... has averaged 9.78 on floor in Mizzou's last three meets.
Tigers ... Quickly
· This season, Missouri gymnasts have won 22 individual event championships. The list is topped by senior Shannon Brown who has won 10 times. Katie Cole has won five times, Meggen Smiley and Alison Akers twice, while Leah Gremaud, Alina Hamm and Chandra Harlow have won once each.
· Missouri's current average scores for team total (192.564), bars (48.116) and beam (48.143) are above the school records.
· The Missouri gymnastics team had a team grade point average of 3.017 for the Fall '99 semester, and seven Tigers had individual GPAs of 3.0 or better. Terri Baker, Ann Gietler, Leah Gremaud, and Meggen Smiley made the Dean's List.
· Tigers on this year's Academic All-Big 12 team are first-teamers Meggen Smiley and Ann Gietler, and second-team choice Chandra Harlow.
· In the most recent NCAA report, the Missouri gymnastics team had a 100 percent graduation rate.
· Freshman Terri Baker suffered a season-ending knee injury while practicing for the Cat Classic in early February. During the Classic's Thursday evening's practice session, Baker fell from the balance beam and in the process tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee. She underwent surgery, and Mizzou will pursue an injury hardship season for Baker. If granted, she would retain freshman status next season.
MU BESTS IN 2000
VAULT
9.825 Katie Cole (at Nebraska)
9.825 Katie Cole (at Iowa State)
9.825 Katie Cole (at Texas Woman's)
9.8 Katie Cole (Cat Classic)
9.775 Katie Cole (SE Missouri State)
9.75 Katie Cole (Cat Classic)
9.725 Laura Anson (at C. Michigan)
9.725 Alina Hamm (at C. Michigan)
9.7 Alison Akers (at C. Michigan)
9.7 Katie Cole (Oklahoma)
9.7 Alina Hamm (Oklahoma)
Team 48.425 (Nebraska)
BARS
9.925 Shannon Brown (Corvette Cup)
9.875 Shannon Brown (SE Missouri)
9.875 Chandra Harlow (SE Missouri)
9.85 Shannon Brown (at Nebraska)
9.85 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic)
9.85 Shannon Brown (at TX Woman's)
9.85 Laura Anson (SEMO)
9.825 Laura Anson (at Nebraska)
9.825 Chandra Harlow (Corvette Cup)
9.825 Jacq. Coatsworth (Cat Classic)
9.825 Jacq. Coatsworth (SE Missouri)
9.8 Jacq. Coatsworth (at Nebraska)
9.8 Jacq. Coatsworth (at TWU)
9.8 Chandra Harlow (at TWU)
9.8 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic)
9.8 Shannon Brown (at Iowa State)
9.8 Laura Anson (Corvette Cup)
Team 49.175 (SE Missouri State)
BEAM
9.9 Alison Akers (at Texas Woman's)
9.875 Alison Akers (Gym X-Treme)
9.875 Alison Akers (at Nebraska)
9.875 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic)
9.85 Leah Gremaud (Iowa State)
9.85 Shannon Brown (X-Treme)
9.85 Shannon Brown (at Iowa State)
9.825 Shannon Brown (Corvette Cup)
9.825 Alison Akers (at Iowa State)
9.8 Alison Akers (Iowa State)
9.8 Shannon Brown (at Nebraska)
9.8 Jacq. Coatsworth (at Nebraska)
9.8 Katie Cole (at Nebraska)
9.8 Katie Cole (at Texas Woman's)
9.8 Shannon Brown (at Texas Wom.)
Team 49.0 (at Texas Woman's)
FLOOR
9.9 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic)
9.875 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic)
9.875 Shannon Brown (Oklahoma)
9.875 Katie Cole (at Texas Woman's)
9.85 Shannon Brown (at Nebraska)
9.85 Shannon Brown (SE Missouri)
9.85 Shannon Brown (at Iowa State)
9.85 Alison Akers (Cat Classic)
9.85 Katie Cole (Corvette Cup)
9.825 Shannon Brown (Iowa State)
9.825 Shannon Brown (X-Treme)
9.825 Katie Cole (at Nebraska)
9.825 Katie Cole (SE Missouri State)
9.825 Alison Akers (Oklahoma)
9.825 Meggen Smiley (Corvette Cup)
9.8 Alison Akers (Cat Classic)
9.8 Katie Cole (at Iowa State)
9.8 Meggen Smiley (at TX Wom.)
Team 48.95 (SE Missouri State)
ALL-AROUND
39.15 Shannon Brown (at Nebraska)
39.15 Shannon Brown (at Iowa State)
39.025 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic)
38.825 Shannon Brown (SE Missouri)
38.825 Shannon Brown (at TX Wom.)
38.75 Shannon Brown (at C. Michigan)
38.575 Shannon Brown (Oklahoma)
38.525 Meggen Smiley (Oklahoma)
38.5 Shannon Brown (X-Treme)
Team 195.05 (at Texas Woman's)
MU BESTS IN CONFERENCE HISTORY
TEAM SCORE
194.55 1999 at Columbia, Mo.
VAULT
48.775 1997 at Norman, Okla.
9.925 Jessica Haag, 1999, Columbia, Mo.
BARS
48.4 1999 at Columbia, Mo.
9.8 Julie Dorn, 1990, Lincoln, Neb.
BEAM
48.725 1999 at Columbia, Mo.
9.925 Shannon Brown, 1999, Columbia, Mo.
FLOOR
48.9 1993 at Norman, Okla.
9.85 Julie Dorn, 1991, Columbia, Mo.
Amanda Peterson, 1999, Columbia, Mo.
ALL-AROUND
39.1 Amanda Peterson, 1999, Columbia, Mo.
Shannon Brown, 1999, Columbia, Mo.
MU YEAR-by-YEAR
IN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
1980 3rd 1990 2nd
1981 2nd 1991 3rd
1982 2nd 1992 1st
1983 3rd 1993 3rd
1984 3rd 1994 3rd
1985 3rd 1995 4th
1986 4th 1996 4th
1987 3rd 1997 4th
1988 3rd 1998 4th
1989 3rd 1999 4th
MU's CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
1982 Gayle Anderson, beam
Lisa Hyberger, vault
Lisa Hyberger, all-around
1985 Gretchen Schmidt, floor
1988 Mary Houghton, vault
1991 Julie Dorn, vault
Jennifer Sand, beam
Julie Dorn, floor
1992 Jennifer Sand, vault
Jennifer Sand, beam
Jennifer Sand, floor
1993 Chrissy Harkey, floor
Leah Hicks, floor
1999 Jessica Haag, vault
Shannon Brown, beam
MU's ALL-CONFERENCE GYMNASTS
Maria Christensen 1980-81
Michelle Ramsey 1980
Gayle Anderson 1982-83
Lisa Hyberger 1982
Zina Arrington 1984
Val Erickson 1984
Chris Fleckenstein 1984
Gretchen Schmidt 1984-85
Patti McCormick 1985
Mary Houghton 1986-87-88
Julie Dorn 1989-90-91
Kristi Leslie 1989
Kim Leslie 1990
Jennifer Sand 1990-91-92
Kim Burton 1992
Jenny Schmidt 1992
Kellie Copeland 1993
Chrissy Harkey 1993-95
Leah Hicks 1993
Jen Hillman 1993-94-95
Jessica Haag 1998-99
Shannon Brown 1999
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