April 3, 2009
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Tigers enter postseason in Alabama ready to put everything on the line to secure a season-long goal: qualifying for National Championship competition in Lincoln, Neb., later this month.
To get there, Missouri will be looking to put up its biggest numbers of 2009 in their NCAA Regional meet tomorrow, hosted by the University of Alabama. In addition to the No. 3 Crimson Tide, the Tigers will also face No. 9 Oklahoma for the third time this year. The Sooners most recently took first place at the Big 12 Championships two weeks ago, their second in as many years. In two meets against Oklahoma this year, the Sooners have just gotten past the Tigers by a mere three-and-one-half tenths.
Missouri will also face Central Michigan, Maryland and New Hampshire in Saturday's meet. The Tigers need to finish in the top two to automatically qualify for national competition.
The meet begins at 6 p.m. CT. from Coleman Coliseum. Live scoring will be linked to mutigers.com. Live video and other information can be found on Alabama's Regional Central Web site on rolltide.com. Stay with mutigers.com for news and updates throughout the weekend.
Tigers finish third at Big 12; Shire takes three titles
It was a slow beginning but a near-brilliant ending for the Tigers, who ultimately finished in third place behind a team total of 195.925. Oklahoma took top honors for the third time in Big 12 history with a 196.125, and Nebraska placed second with a 196.075. Iowa State rounded out the competition by scoring a 195.775.
Junior Sarah Shire capped off a record-setting junior campaign by taking the Big 12 All-Around title and a share of the vault and beam title. It's Shire tenth all-around title of the year, a school record, and 20th event title. Her score was a 39.450.
Teammate and senior
Adrianne Perry took the floor title for the second year in a row with the night's best score, a 9.95 on a near-perfect routine, and finished in second place in the all-around with a 39.325.
Missouri started on bars with a 48.8, then put together a 48.875 on balance beam. The Tigers put up their biggest numbers on floor (49.125) and vault (49.150).
Shire is co-Big 12 Gymnast of the Year
Just after taking the Big 12 all-around, vault and beam titles, Shire was able to add another award to her reume: Co-Big 12 Gymnast of the Year. Nebraska junior Kylie Stone took the other half of the award.
The recognition was undoubtedly deserved after Shire put together one of the best campaigns in Tiger gymnastics history. Her ten all-around titles this season is a school record, and she was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Week six times in 2009, the most of any conference gymnast. Shire was also named Newcomer of the Year in 2008.
Burke, Shire and Perry grab spots on Championship team
While the Tiger team placed third, several Missouri individuals found themselves in the top spots of several events on the night. Freshman Mary Burke and junior Sarah Shire took spots on the vault team, and Shire also took a spot on the beam and floor team. Perry, the floor champion, was also named to the floor team. This is the third year in a row Perry has landed on the championship team, and the second for Shire.
Consistency the key at Big 12 Championship
Missouri only had one fall in their outing, and were not forced to count it. With that exception, no Tiger scored less than a 9.7 in any routine on the night, the fourth time this year Missouri has accomplished such a feat.
Rotations set for NCAA Regional
The Tigers will start the night on the floor and end on the beam this weekend, a rotation that Missouri saw earlier this year at Ohio State.
Alabama will also start on floor and end on beam, though they have a bye in the first rotation.Oklahoma will start the night on bars and proceed in Olympic order to finish on vault.
Both the Sooners and the Tigers will finish a bit earlier than some of the other competitors, as they both have a bye in the final rotation. The full rotation is available here.
A quick recap of the Tigers' trip to the 2008 Central Regional in 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.
Scouting the Regional competition...
No. 3 Alabama
The Crimson Tide are coming off their sixth SEC Championship just two weeks ago. The squad positively dominated, winning by almost four-tenths of a point behind their second-highest score of the year, a 197.300.
The Tide are led by junior all-arounders Morgan Dennis, Ricki Lebegern and Ashley Priess. Dennis finished second in the competition two weeks ago. She boasts a season and career high in the all-around of 39.725, with three event highs above 9.9, including a mark of 9.975 on the floor exercise.
As a team, Alabama has topped out at 197.350 this year, and is averaging 196.487 in 2009. They sit at second in the SEC, and rank in the Top 5 nationally on every single event.
Alabama is 13-5 on the season, and led by Head Coaches Sarah and David Patterson, who are both in their 31st year at the helm of the squad. This will be the 22nd meeting between the Tigers and the Tide; their last competition came at the Super Six Challenge in 2006, with Alabama taking first place behind a score of 194.250.
No. 9 Oklahoma
The Sooners wrapped up the regular season by taking their third Big 12 title, their second in as many years. The 2009 season has been a big one for the squad -- they have only totaled two scores under the 196.000 mark. Oklahoma is the top team in the Big 12 for the season, as well, behind an RQS of 196.465. The squad averages a 196.214 in their meets this year; their season high of 197.175 came in just the second week of the season at Texas Women's.
They finish at 12-4 (5-1 Big 12). Oklahoma ranks first in the conference on vault, bars and beam, and is second on floor.
Junior Hollie Vise leads the Sooners on bars and beam. She is first in the conference on bars with an RQS of 9.87, and is third on beam behind a 9.89 RQS. Vise has been named Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week twice this year, and was picked for the All-Big 12 bars and beam teams this week. This is the third year at Oklahoma for Head Coach K.J. Kindler.
Before the conference championship, the Tigers last saw the Sooners at a quad meet in Norman, Okla. Mizzou placed second just behind OU after posting their third-highest score this year of 196.225.
No. 32 Central Michigan
Just behind Kent State for second place in the MAC, the 17-4 Chippewas are averaging 194.182 per meet. Most recently, CMU took second place at the MAC Championships with a score of 194.375. Junior Katie Simon took four individual titles, including the all-around crown, at the meet. The squad ranks first in the MAC on bars and beam, with RQS's of 48.855 and 48.530, respectively. CMU is coached by Jerry Reighard, who is in his 26th year at the helm of the squad. MU leads the series 4-1, with their last meeting being the Tigers' first-place showing at the Eagle Invitational last month, where the Chippewas tallied their season high of 195.675.
No. 35 Maryland
The 12-14 Terrapins are readying to finish up a season that saw a few memorable moments for the squad: their season high of 195.100 is the highest mark in the program's last four seasons. Their team score of 194.525 in the EAGL Championships two weeks ago to take sixth place is the highest since 2005. Thirty-one year Head Coach Bob Nelligan, this year's East Atlantic Gymnastics League Coach of the Year, will retire at the conclusion of the season. The Terrapins' top all-arounder is junior Brandi George, who is averaging a 38.908 on the year and ranks third in the conference. Another all-around threat is sophomore Abbey Adams, whose season high in competition is a 39.275. This will be the first meeting all-time between the Terrapins and the Tigers.
No. 35 New Hampshire
The Wildcats are coming off a fifth-place finish at the East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championships and a 15-8 season. They are tied with Maryland for fourth in the conference, and average 193.862 in meets this year. Their season high of 196.25 came in just the fourth meet of the year at North Carolina. This is the 27th time in the last 28 seasons that the Wildcats have qualified for Regionals, all under 30-year Head Coach Gail Goodspeed. The squad looks to all-arounder Helena Diodati, who has a season high total of 39.2 and averages a 38.525 per meet. This is the 15th meeting for Missouri and New Hampshire; the Tigers lead the series 10-4. Their last meeting came in 2005 at the Penn State Invitational -- the Tigers finished just behind the Wildcats with a score of 191.925 to take third.
Shire, Perry land on All-Big 12 teams
It's that time of year again, and the awards continue to roll in after a record-setting year for the Tigers. Junior Sarah Shire was named to the vault, bars and beam All-Big 12 teams to lead the conference. This is her second All-Big 12 selection; last year, she made the vault team. Senior Adrianne Perry was picked to the floor team, as she comes in at second in the conference with an RQS of 9.89 on the event. This is her third All-Big 12 selection, as she has made the vault team for the past two years. The top four Big 12 gymnasts with the highest regional qualifying score (RQS) in each event, excluding all-around, determine All-Conference honors.
Six Tigers named to Academic All-Big 12 teams
Missouri continues to lead the conference both in the gym and in the classroom. Seniors Adrianne Perry and Alicia Hatcher, juniors Brooke Boehmer and Becky Scholle, and sophomore Lauren Stephenson were named to the first team. In addition, sophomore Alex Gold was named to the second team. This is the third selection for Hatcher; she has been a first team pick in every year she has been eligible. This is also the second year for Perry, Boehmer and Scholle. First team members have recorded a 3.20 or better GPA, while the second team are those with a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA. To qualify student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or in the two previous semesters and have participated in 60 percent of her team's scheduled contests.
Shire finds another place in the record books
Junior Sarah Shire has contributed some of the Tigers' top scores this season, many of which cracked the Top 15 all-time. But she now claims the title in at least one category: most all-around wins in a season.Her ten titles in one year is the most all-time for Mizzou Gymnastics. The previous record was eight, held by senior Adrianne Perry in her 2006 freshman campaign.
Tigers snag best winning percentage all-time
While scores rule the roost in the sport of gymnastics, it doesn't hurt to win a few meets. The Tigers have done more than that this year -- their winning percentage of .889 is the best in 30 years of Tiger gymnastics. The former title belongs, not surprisingly, to the 1994 squad with an .833 after a 15-3 regular season.
Sarah Shire is six-time Gymnast of the Week
The junior was named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week on March 18 by the conference office, the sixth time this year and fourth time in five weeks that Shire has claimed the honor. She now leads the Big 12 for most weekly awards garnered this season.
Shire's award comes after her ninth all-around crown of the year this past weekend at the Eagle Invitational in Ypsilanti, Mich. She took top honors by a score of 39.475, as well as the vault and bars title with a 9.825 and 9.9, respectively.
This is the third week in a row that Shire has stood as Gymnast of the Week -- she received the title two weeks after a career-high performance of 39.575 in her all-around win at the Cat Classic. She received the honor two weeks before after her performance at Beauty and the Beast, and was also Co-Big 12 Gymnast of the Week in January with Nebraska junior Kylie Stone. Shire won the award outright the week before. Senior Alicia Hatcher was also named Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week that week.
Shire has been one of the most dominating gymnasts in the conference this year. She has now won the top title in nine of ten meets this year, and has taken 18 individual event titles.
Burke puts it all together
Freshman Mary Burke has improved her all-around score with nearly every meet -- starting the season with a 38.275 against Iowa State and progressing to a season- and career-high 39.200 vs. Oregon State. The freshman placed third in the all-around in five of the Tigers' meets this year, and is clearly picking up the college competition quickly. She has posted season and career highs this year of 9.850 on the vault, bars and floor, while her beam season high stands at 9.825. In addition, she was named to the All-Big 12 Championship team after taking a share of the vault title with her score of 9.850.
Tigers push record books on vault
Missouri is ranked 11th nationally on the event with an RQS of 49.180, second highest in the Big 12. The Tigers have now cracked the 49.000 mark on the event seven times this year, including five meets in a row in the middle of the year. Mizzou's season high on the event came midway through the season when the Tigers posted a 49.250 against SEMO, the fifth highest score in program history and the highest since March 2007.
Missouri breaks out on bars
The Tiger squad added the uneven bars to their list of events where they've broken the 49.000 mark in the fourth week of the season -- but their best came just three weeks ago against Oregon State, when the Tigers hit a 49.150 to tie their season high set at Ohio State earlier this year. Leading the pack was junior Sarah Shire who tied her career and season high on the event with a 9.900 to take the title. Senior Alicia Hatcher and freshman Mary Burke paced the Tigers with a pair of 9.850's.
Tigers light up the floor
Choreographer Amy Smith and the Tiger squad have been working hard on floor routines, and it shows. Missouri is ranked No. 16 nationally on the floor with an RQS of 49.150. That's also good enough for third in the Big 12, just over one-tenth of a point behind first place Oklahoma. Contributing to that total in a big way have been senior Adrianne Perry and junior Sarah Shire. Perry is second in the Big 12 and 14th nationally (9.895 RQS) on the event, while Shire is ranked 29th (9.880 RQS) and sixth in the Big 12.
How to break records
It's been a year of big scores for the Tigers, as 12 career-best records have fallen this year. Junior Sarah Shire has set five new career highs in the all-around (39.575), and on vault (9.950), bars (9.900), beam (9.925) and floor (9.925. The seniors have gotten in on the act, too -- Adrianne Perry's 9.950 floor show at the Big 12 Championship won the title and set a career best. Alicia Hatcher set a personal best on floor (9.825) against Illinois one week after breaking it. Junior Brooke Boehmer set a new personal best on the balance beam against Illinois with her 9.875, while classmate Danielle Guider's 9.850 on the floor at the Cat Classic was a new personal best. Tiger sophomores have been bringing the heat, too -- Lauren Stephenson posted a new career high on beam (9.725), while Alex Gold shattered her career high on vault (now 9.925) at Oklahoma after breaking it with a 9.900 earlier this year.
