March 29, 2007
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Tigers play host to the 2007 Big 12 Conference Gymnastics Championship on Saturday, March 31 at 7 p.m. in the Hearnes Center in a matchup with four top-18 teams. No. 18 Mizzou will square off against No. 7 Nebraska, No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 15 Iowa State in its quest for the program's first Big 12 title.
Championship page
Live scoring
Rotation order announced for Big 12 Championship
The league office determined the meet's rotation order on March 20 via double blind draw. Missouri will follow the traditional Olympic order during the meet while Nebraska starts on bars, Iowa State on beam and Oklahoma on floor.
Rotation Vault Bars Beam Floor
1 Missouri Nebraska Iowa State Oklahoma
2 Oklahoma Missouri Nebraska Iowa State
3 Iowa State Oklahoma Missouri Nebraska
4 Nebraska Iowa State Okahoma Missouri
Big 12s on the tube
Fox Sports will broadcast the Big 12 Championship on tape delay the first week of April. The broadcast schedule for Missouri is below:
FSN Midwest (Non-Cardinals) Thursday, April 5 12:30 p.m.
FSN Midwest Saturday, April 7 12 p.m.
Mizzou in the rankings
Missouri held steady at 18th for the fourth consecutive week in the GymInfo top 25, based on a team's Regional Qualifying Score. An RQS is calculated by taking the six highest scores of the season, of which at least three must be from an away meet. The highest overall score is dropped and the remaining five scores are averaged to get the RQS.
Last time out
The Tigers finished second in a quad meet at No. 12 Arkansas with a 195.725 on March 23. The host Gym'Backs scored a 196.400 to finish first, SEMO took third with a 192.975 and Texas Woman's had a 192.00 for fourth.
Sophomore Adrianne Perry claimed the all-around, beam and floor crowns with scores of 39.450, 9.925 and 9.900, respecively. Entering the meet with a previous beam high of 9.875, Perry's 9.925 easily set a new personal mark. Senior Whitney Crater kept up her string of great vaults as she took her first title of the season with a career high tying 9.900 on the event.
Mizzou posted its best event score of the night on floor as the team posted a 49.100, highlighted by Perry's 9.900 and a 9.825 from senior Amanda Pezzullo. The Tigers also scored a 48.975 on vault as four gymnasts scored 9.800 or higher: Crater (9.900), Perry (9.850), Pezzullo (9.800) and junior Ashley Khederian (season high 9.800).
Seven Tigers earn academic honors
Seven Tigers earned a spot on the Academic All-Big 12 teams announced on Tuesday. Mizzou's seven selections led the league for the second year in a row. Seniors Ali Gilmore and Amanda Pezzullo, juniors Julie Abaray, Nikki Bowman and Katie Kluga and sophomore Alicia Hatcher were named to the first team while sophomore Adrianne Perry was a second team selection.
Pezzullo is now a three-time first team honoree and Abaray, Gilmore and Kluga made the first team for the second consecutive season. Bowman was a second team selection in 2006.
Perry back among nation's best
After a somewhat slow start to the season, sophomore Adrianne Perry has been on a tear the past two months to return among the country's elite in the national rankings. This week she is ranked tied for 10th in the all-around (39.400 RQS), 12th on vault (9.895), 26th on beam (9.865) and floor (9.875) and 57th on bars (9.835).
Crater continues her comeback
Senior Whitney Crater continues to astound with her lightning quick recovery from an Achilles injury. Crater ruptured her Achilles in the last practice before Mizzou left for the 2006 NCAA Southeast Regional and has not missed a meet during her senior season. She's been in the vault lineup all 12 meets and entered the floor lineup against SEMO on Feb. 9. In the past three weeks Crater tied her career high on vault with a 9.900 twice and also scored a 9.875.
Career day for Tigers individually...
Six different Tigers set or tied personal bests in Mizzou's win over Michigan on March 16. Sophomore Adrianne Perry recorded a 39.550 in the all-around and a 9.925 on floor for new marks and tied her best on beam with a 9.875. Also setting new highs were junior Julie Abaray with a 9.900 on floor, and freshman Danielle Guider with a 9.850 on vault. Tying their marks were senior Amanda Pezzullo with a 9.875 on floor, freshman Becky Scholle with a 9.850 on bars and junior Nikki Bowman with a 9.750 on beam.
...and as a team
Mizzou posted season highs on both floor and vault against Michigan on March 16. The Tigers' score of 49.350 on floor tied the fifth-highest total in program history and the best score in three years. With a 49.225 on vault, Missouri tied the program's seventh-best score. Additionally, the team score of 196.675 was the sixth-highest score ever for the Tigers and the best total since Mizzou notched a 196.700 at the 2003 Big 12 Championship.
Tigers sweep weekly awards
Sophomore Adrianne Perry and senior Amanda Pezzullo swept the Big 12 Conference weekly awards on March 20 after helping Missouri upset No. 11 Michigan on March 16. Perry was tabbed the Gymnast of the Week for the second time this season and Pezzullo earned Specialist of the Week honors for the first time in her career.
No growing pains for Guider
Over two months into her freshman campaign, Danielle Guider has evolved into one of Mizzou's most consistent competitors. Guider started the season in and out of the vault and beam lineup but is now a constant on those two events and floor. At the Tigers's recent meet against Iowa, Guider notched a then career-high 9.825 on vault and won the floor title with a 9.800. One week later at Michigan, Guider upped her personal mark on vault to a 9.850. She also has personal bests of 9.800 on beam (vs. Centenary; at Pittsburgh) and 9.825 on floor (at Oklahoma, vs. Centenary).
Gilmore grabs the spotlight
In an event lineup for only the fourth time in her career, senior Alicia Gilmore posted a personal best 9.875 on bars at Pittsburgh to tie two teammates for the event title. It was the first event crown of her career and the score bettered her previous career high by a full tenth of a point.
A beaming success
After nearly two months of competition the Tigers finally put together a successful beam lineup at the Cat Classic. The squad's Achilles heel all season, Mizzou recorded a 49.175, which bested its previous season high by over six-tenths of a point. The lineup was highlighted by a career-high shattering 9.925 for junior Julie Abaray. Since the Cat Classic, the Tigers have averaged 49.015 on the event, compared to 48.218 the first seven meets of the season.
Tigers ranked nationally...
Six Tigers are ranked among the nation's elite this week. Sophomore Adrianne Perry is tied for 10th in the all-around, 12th on vault, tied for 26th on beam and floor and 57th on bars. Junior Julie Abaray is 43rd on beam, tied for 79th on bars and 84th on bars; senior Amanda Pezzullo is tied for 63rd on beam and 71st on floor; senior Whitney Crater is tied for 62nd on vault; freshman Becky Scholle is tied for 75th on bars and sophomore Alicia Hatcher is tied for 85th on bars.
...and regionally
In addition to their national rankings, seven Tigers are ranked in the top-30 in the South Central Region. Perry is tied as the region's top-ranked all-around competitor and is second on vault, tied for fifth on floor, sixth on beam and 10th on bars; Crater is ninth on vault; Abaray is 10th on beam, 16th on bars and 18th on floor; Scholle is 15th on bars; Pezzullo is tied for 15th on floor, 17th on floor and 22nd on vault; Hatcher is tied for 17th on bars and tied for 30th on beam and freshman Danielle Guider is tied for 23rd on floor.
Look back at the 2006 Big 12 Championship
Iowa State picked up its second conferene crown as the Cyclones scored a 196.425 at Nebraska's Devany Sports Center on March 24, 2006. Host Nebraska finished second with a 196.275, Oklahoma claimed third with a 195.350 and Mizzou notched a 194.850 to finish fourth.
Oklahoma's Brittney Koncak-Schumann won the all-around crown with a 39.425 and Nebraska's Emily Parsons claimed the vault and beam titles with scores of 9.900 on each event. Erin Detloff of Iowa State posted a 9.850 to win bars and fellow Cyclone Kacey Oiness won floor with a 9.950.
2006 All-Big 12 performers
All-Around
Brittney Koncak-Schumann, OU
Emily Parsons, NU
Janet Anson, ISU
Kylie Stone, NU
Vault
Emily Parsons, NU
Janet Anson, ISU
Stephanie Carter, NU
Brittney Koncak-Schumann, OU
Bars
Erin Detloff, ISU
Stephanie LoPiccolo, OU
Vanessa Meloche, NU
Desire' Sniatynski, NU
Beam
Emily Parsons, NU
Laura-Kay Powell, ISU
Tricia Woo, NU
Brittney Koncak-Schumann, OU
Lauren Schwartzman, MU
Floor
Kacey Oiness, ISU
Laura-Kay Powell, ISU
Janet Anson, ISU
Brittney Koncak-Schumann, OU
Emily Parsons, NU
Looking ahead to Regionals
A total of 36 teams will qualify for six different NCAA Regionals, with Alamaba, Arizona, Cal-Berkeley, Denver, Michigan and West Virginia serving as hosts. After this weekend's conference championships, the top 18 teams based on RQS will earn seeds to NCAA Regionals. Teams will be seeded as shown:
1 2 3 4 5 6
12 11 10 9 8 7
13 14 15 16 17 18
Joining the three seeded teams in each Regional will be the top three unseeded teams from that region. The top two teams from each Regional will then qualify for Nationals. Based solely on this week's rankings, Missouri would be in a Regional with No. 6 Utah and No. 7 Nebraska. Because none of the three seeded teams are hosting this season, the Tigers would most likely travel to West Virginia for the Southeast Regional. The NCAA Committee will announce the Regional pairings on Monday, March 27 at 1 p.m. CDT.
2007 NCAA Regional Sites
Region Host
Central Alabama
North Central Denver
Northeast Michigan
South Central Arizona
Southeast West Virginia
West Cal-Berkeley
Tigers sign two gymnasts for 2008 season
On Nov. 8, 2006, Head Coach Rob Drass announced the signing of Alex Gold and Lisa LaPerriere to national letters of intent to compete for the Tigers in 2008.
A former international elite, Gold is a three-time Junior Olympics National qualifier. She finished fourth in the all-around and vault and fifth on bars and floor at the 2006 Level 10 Regionals and came in sixth on vault in 2005. Gold qualified as an international elite after finishing first on vault and second in the all-around at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy Classic in 2003. Gold, who hails from Plano, Texas, is coached by Larry McDonough at Plano Unlimited Sports Academy.
Coached by Lori Koch at Olympia Gymnastics Academy, LaPerriere finished 10th on floor at the 2006 Level 10 National Championships. She is a two-time National Tops team member and a five-time Level 10 Regional qualifier. In addition, LaPerriere was the 2003 Michigan state vault and bars champion at Level 10 and was the Level 9 national vault champion in 2000. The Macomb, Mich., native also was the 2000 United States Association of Independent Gymnastics Clubs national all-around and beam champion.
Scouting No. 7 Nebraska
Nebraska enters the meet ranked seventh in the nation and on the heels of a season high 197.125 against Kentucky on March 23. The Huskers are led by junior Emily Parsons, who is the nation's top ranked floor competitor and ranks second on vault and tied for third on beam. She is the reigning Big 12 vault and beam champion.
All-time series: Nebraska leads 60-7
Last meeting: 2007: Nebraska 196.800, Missouri 195.000 (Jan. 26)
Scouting No. 10 Oklahoma
A consistent top 10 team throughout the season, Oklahoma ranks 10th this week in the GymInfo poll. The Sooners especially excel on beam, where the team is ranked third nationally on the event. Senior Brittney Koncak-Schumann, who won last year's all-around title at the Big 12 Championship, is tied for 10th nationally in the all-around, ranks seventh on beam, 11th on bars and tied for 16th on vault.
All-time series: Oklahoma leads 41-11-1
Last meeting: 2007: Oklahoma 196.125, Missouri 193.825 (Jan. 19)
Scouting No. 15 Iowa State
After a late season lull, the Cyclones posted a season high 196.700 against Denver and Iowa on March 23 to improve two spots to 15th in this week's rankings. As a team, Iowa State excels on bars and is ranked 10th in the country on the event. Senior Janet Anson, the 2006 Big 12 Gymnast of the Year, is the fifth ranked all-arouner in the nation and is tied for sixth on floor and 16th on beam.
All-time series: Missouri leads 41-37
Last meeting: 2007: Iowa State 195.725, Missouri 195.025 (Feb. 2)
Tiger Tidbits
Julie Abaray
Claimed eight event titles in her junior season, including three on bars, four on beam and one on floor ... scored a career-high 9.900 on floor at Michigan to tie for second place ... won beam against Iowa with a 9.900 ... picked up the bars and beam titles at the Cat Classic team competition, highlighted by a personal best 9.925 on beam... won the Cat Classic individual event bars title ... set personal marks on bars (9.850), beam (9.850) and floor (9.875) to take the event titles against Centenary ... tied for the beam crown against Illinois with a 9.800 ... ranked 43rd on beam, tied for 79th on bars and tied for 84th on floor nationally.
Nikki Bowman
Tied her career-high with a 9.750 on beam against Michigan ... stepped into the floor lineup and scored a 9.675 against Iowa ... tied her career-high with a 9.750 on vault against Nebraska ... led off the beam lineup with a 9.750 at Oklahoma ... recorded a 9.700 on vault against Illinois, Pittsburgh and the Cat Classic.
Whitney Crater
Claimed her first event title of the season as she tied her career high with a 9.900 on vault at Arkansas ... also notched a 9.900 on vault against Iowa to finish in second ... finished second on vault and floor at the Cat Classic individual event finals ... was in the floor lineup for the first time in 2007 against SEMO and scored a 9.625 ... in her first competition since suffering an Achilles tear last April, notched a 9.775 on vault at the Cancun Classic ... ranks tied for 62nd on vault nationally.
Alicia Gilmore
Earned the first event title of her career with a personal best 9.875 at Pittsburgh ... after exhibitioning on bars the past three seasons, she finally broke the lineup in her sophomore campaign ... scored a then career high 9.750 on bars against SEMO in only her second time in any event lineup ... has notched 9.700s on bars the past three meets against Iowa, Michigan and Arkansas.
Danielle Guider
Won her first career event title with a 9.800 on floor against Iowa from the leadoff spot ... has scored a 9.800 on floor the past three meets ... notched a personal best 9.850 on vault at Michigan ... set a career mark on floor at Oklahoma with a 9.825 in only her second time in the lineup ... tied her best on floor against Centenary ... recorded a career high 9.800 on beam against Centenary and at Pittsburgh.
Alicia Hatcher
Earned her first event title of the season as she notched a personal best 9.875 on bars at Pittsburgh ... scored a career-high 9.900 on beam to tie for third at Oklahoma ... missed meets against SEMO and Centenary due to a sprained ankle ... finished second on bars with a 9.850 against Iowa ... tied for second on bars (9.800) and third on beam (9.750) in the Cat Classic individual event finals ... tied for third on bars with a then team season high 9.825 against Nebraska ... ranked tied for 85th on bars nationally.
Ashley Khederian
Notched a season high 9.850 on floor against Michigan and notched a 9.800 on the event at Arkansas... did not compete against Iowa due to a sore knee ... scored a personal best 9.800 on bars for the second meet in a row at the Cat Classic to tie for second ... posted a season high 9.800 on vault against Arkansas after scoring a 9.775 six times this season ... competed in the all-around for the first time since 2005 against SEMO and scored a 38.825.
Katie Kluga
Scored a career high 9.800 on beam at the Cancun Classic ... tied a personal best with a 9.750 at the Cat Classic ... helped the Tigers record a 49.150 on beam at Pittsburgh with a 9.775 ... led off beam against Nebraska and scored a 9.750.
Adrianne Perry
Claimed 26 titles this season, including seven in the all-around, vault and floor, three on bars and two on beam ... named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week on Feb. 13 and March 20 ... holds the Mizzou sophomore record on vault (9.950) and tied the mark in the all-around (39.550) ... set career-highs on floor and in the all-around with scores of 9.925 and 39.550, respectively, against Michigan to claim those as well as the vault title ... won the beam, floor and all-around crowns at Arkansas with a personal best 9.925 on beam ... posted a career best 9.950 on vault against SEMO and claimed the all-around, vault, beam and floor titles in the meet ... won consecutive bars titles against Pittsburgh and Iowa with a career high 9.875 ... won the Cat Classic individual event vault and floor crowns ... set a then career highs on vault with a 9.925 and floor with a 9.900 against Nebraska ... ranks 10th in the all-around, 12th on vault, tied for 26th on beam and floor and tied for 57th on bars nationally.
Amanda Pezzullo
Won the floor title with a 9.850 in the Cat Classic team competition ... named the Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week on March 20 ... tied her career high on floor at Michigan with a 9.875 ... finished second on vault and floor with scores of 9.800 and 9.850, respectively, against SEMO ... had a strong meet against Nebraska as she tied for second on beam with a 9.875 and posted a 9.825 on floor and 9.800 on vault ... recorded a 9.825 on floor to tie for third and posted a 9.800 on beam at Oklahoma ... scored a team meet high 9.875 on vault at the Cancun Classic to tie for second place ... ranked tied for 63rd on beam and 71st on floor nationally.
Becky Scholle
Won the first event title of her career after scoring a personal best 9.850 on bars against SEMO ... also notched a 9.850 on bars at Michigan to tie for second ... finished second on bars with a 9.825 against Centenary ... posted a 9.800 on bars at Pittsburgh ... in the vault lineup for the first time at Oklahoma, did not disappoint with a 9.725 ... ranked tied for 75th on bars nationally.
