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Tigers seek NCAA Championships berth
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Gymnastics Ready for NCAA West Regional
Tigers vie for NCAA Championships berth
April 11, 2007
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 18 Mizzou gymnastics team travels to Berkeley, Calif., for the NCAA West Regional on April 14 at 6 p.m. PDT in the program's sixth consecutive NCAA postseason appearance. The Tigers are the third seed in the regional with top-seed and No. 6 Nebraska, No. 7 Utah, Washington, Sacramento State and host California. The top two finishers qualify for the NCAA Championships hosted by Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, April 26-28.
Live scoring will be available at www.CalBears.com.
| Rot. |
Vault |
Bye |
Bars |
Beam |
Bye |
Floor |
| 1 |
Utah |
California |
Nebraska |
Wash. |
Missouri |
Sac. State |
| 2 |
Sac. State |
Utah |
California |
Nebraska |
Wash. |
Missouri |
| 3 |
Missouri |
Sac. State |
Utah |
California |
Nebraska |
Wash. |
| 4 |
Wash. |
Missouri |
Sac. State |
Utah |
California |
Nebraska |
| 5 |
Nebraska |
Wash. |
Missouri |
Sac. State |
Utah |
California |
| 6 |
California |
Nebraska |
Wash. |
Missouri |
Sac. State |
Utah |
Mizzou in the rankings
Missouri held steady at 18th for the fifth 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.
Tigers finish third at Big 12 Championship
The No. 18 Missouri gymnastics team finished in third place with a 194.450 at the 2007 Big 12 Championship on Saturday night at Mizzou's Hearnes Center. No. 7 Nebraska won its eighth Big 12 title with a 196.475, No. 10 Oklahoma scored a 195.325 for second and No. 15 Iowa State had a 193.975 to claim fourth place. Sophomore Adrianne Perry earned All-Big 12 honors in the all-around, vault and bars and classmate Alicia Hatcher was a conference honoree on bars.
The third place finish matches Mizzou's best finish since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1996. The Tigers also finished third in 2003 and 2004.
Heading into the final rotation Missouri stood just half a tenth behind second place Oklahoma and poised to jump ahead of the Sooners. The Tigers failed to capitalize on their position with falls in the first two routines on floor and settled for third place.
Two Tigers claim conference accolates
Sophomores Adrianne Perry and Alicia Hatcher represented the Tigers at the league level as the duo claimed All-Big 12 honors at the Big 12 Championships on March 31. Perry earned three conference honors as she tied for second on vault (9.900), fourth in the all-around (39.450) and tied for fourth on bars (9.850) while Hatcher was a All-Big 12 bars performer as she also tied for fourth on the event (9.850). Perry and Hatcher's bars selections mark the first time a Mizzou gymnast earned All-Big 12 honors on the event. The top four finishers on each event and in the all-around are awarded All-Big 12 distinction.
Mizzou bests Big 12 opponent for first time since 2004
With a third-place showing the the 2007 Big 12 Championship, Missouri came out on top of a Big 12 foe for the first time since 2004 and ended an 0-20 draught that spanned 15 meets. The Tigers had finished fourth at the 2005 and 2006 Big 12 Championships and went winless in conference action in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Mizzou's last win over a Big 12 school was in the 2004 Big 12 Championship when the Tigers finished third and defeated fourth-place Nebraska.
Mizzou at Regionals
Last season Mizzou traveled to Athens, Ga., for the 2006 NCAA Southeast Regional as the third-seed against No. 1 Georgia, No. 12 Nebraska, West Virginia, North Carolina and North Carolina State. The Tigers finished third at the meet for the second straight year to miss their first NCAA Championships berth.
Missouri posted its highest Regional score in program history with a 195.325 and then-freshman Adrianne Perry qualified for the NCAA Championships as an all-around competitor.
2007 marks Mizzou's 20th regional appearance (18 NCAA, two AIAW) in the program's 29 year history. The tigers failed to qualify in 1987, 1989, 1995-99 and 2001. Missouri's lone national championship appearance came in 1981, when the team finished the season 16th. The Tigers have never qualified for the NCAA Championships in the current 12-team format.
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 10th in the all-around (39.430 RQS), 14th on vault (9.895), 30th on beam (9.865), 33rd on floor (9.875) and 55th on bars (9.840). Not yet halfway through her career, Perry now holds five of the top 15 all-around scores in program history. All five totals have come this season, with four occuring during Mizzou's past five meets.
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 13 meets and entered the floor lineup against SEMO on Feb. 9. In the past four 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 Event Specialist of the Week honors for the first time in her career.
What a turnaround
In Missouri's March 3 meet against Pittsburgh and Central Michigan, the Tigers trailed host Pittsburgh heading into the third rotation, 97.600-97.350. After seemingly low scores on floor and vault, Mizzou broke out on bars to post a 49.250, which tied the fourth-best event total in school history. The event was highligthed by 9.875s from senior Ali Gilmore and sophomores Alicia Hatcher and Adrianne Perry, who all tied for the event title. Mizzou closed out the meet with a 49.150 on beam to mark the first time all season the squad did not suffer a fall on the event.
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.
No growing pains for Guider
In only 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).
A beaming success
After nearly two months of competition the Tigers finally put together a successful beam lineup at the Cat Classic on Feb. 23. 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 48.963 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 10th in the all-around, tied for 14th on vault, tied for 30th on beam, 33rd on floor and 55th on bars. Junior Julie Abaray is tied for 52nd on beam, for 89th on bars and 93rd on bars; senior Whitney Crater is tied for 65th on vault; sophomore Alicia Hatcher is tied for 68th on bars; senior Amanda Pezzullo is tied for 73rd on beam and 77th on floor and freshman Becky Scholle is tied for 86th 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 the region's top-ranked all-around competitor and is second on vault, seventh on beam and floor and tied for 12th on bars; Crater is tied for 11th on vault; Abaray is tied for 13th on beam and 18th on bars and floor; Hatcher is 14th on bars and 29th on beam; Pezzullo is tied for 15th on floor, 18th on beam and 23rd on vault; Scholle is 17th on bars and freshman Danielle Guider is tied for 23rd on floor.
Beauty and the Beast a success
The Mizzou gymnastics squad teamed up with the Tiger wrestling team on Friday, Feb. 9 as the two programs hosted the first ever Beauty and the Beast event at the Hearnes Center. A crowd of 6,197 fans were in attendance to watch the gymnasts record a 194.775-192.700 win over SEMO and wrestling claim a 36-16 victory of Northern Iowa.
Seven Tigers earn academic honors
Seven Tigers earned a spot on the Academic All-Big 12 teams announced by the league office on on Tuesday, March 20. 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.
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.
