Oct. 14, 2009

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The 2010 Missouri Gymnastics squad is looking to improve upon their great 2009 campaign in the upcoming season. Head coach Rob Drass, who is now entering his 11th season as the Missouri leader, has released the schedule for the upcoming 2009-2010 season. The annual Pink Out and Beauty and the Beast meets, as well as the South Central Regional, highlight the Tigers home schedule.

"We're excited to kick off the season," Drass said. "We will be competing against some quality teams this year. We're looking forward to our schedule preparing us for the Big 12 Championship, Regionals and hopefully the National Championships."

The season will begin on Friday, Dec. 11, with the annual Black and Gold inter-squad meet. After the New Year, the Tigers will host Ohio State on Jan. 8, in their season and home opener. This will be the first time since 2004 Missouri will start the season at home.

The Tigers will set out on their first road meet of the year to compete in the Lady Luck Invitational in Las Vegas on Jan. 15. There they will face three talented squads in LSU, Kentucky and Arizona State.

Missouri returns home on Jan. 22, for the "Pink Out" meet and their first conference test against Iowa State. This is the sixth year for the "Pink Out" and all fans are encouraged to wear pink, as a portion of the admissions proceeds will be donated to the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center for breast cancer research. The Tigers continue conference competition on Jan. 30, as they travel to Nebraska.

The fourth annual Beauty and the Beast meet, where the gymnastics and wrestling teams compete side-by-side in the Hearnes Center, will take place on Feb. 6. They will compete against New Hampshire as the wrestling team duals against Oklahoma.

Next up for the Tigers will be Centenary College when they will travel to Shreveport, La., on Feb. 12.

Missouri will then host two home meets in consecutive weeks. On Feb. 19, the team will compete in their last regular-season conference match-up against Oklahoma, then face the Illinois State Redbirds on Feb. 26.

The Big 12 Championship will be hosted by Nebraska on March 27. Missouri will look to take their first conference title as they square off against Iowa State, Oklahoma and Nebraska, all for the second time of the season.

The NCAA South Central Regional will take place on April 10, in the Hearnes Center. After Regionals, the Tigers hope to move on to the National Championships in Gainesville, Fla., on April 22-24.

All home meets will be held in the Hearnes Center. Ticket information and sales are available through the Missouri Athletic Ticket Office by calling (573) 884-PAWS or 1-800-CAT-PAWS.