University of Missouri
Centenary
No. 9 Missouri Eases Past Centenary 195.575-187.525
3/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
March 3, 2006
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 9 Missouri gymnastics team scored a 195.575 against Centenary to best the Ladies, who notched a 187.525, on Friday night at the Hearnes Center. Five different Tigers led Missouri (8-8, 0-3) to event titles, with seniors Jodie Heincka, Lauren Schwartzman and Sarah Zigler taking the vault, beam and bars titles, respectively, while junior Whitney Crater won floor and freshman Adrianne Perry nabbed the all-around with a 39.250.
"Overall, I thought we were pretty solid," said Missouri head coach Rob Drass. "In past years, I would be happy with this performance. I think we've just raised our expectation level a little higher. It was a good solid meet. It just wasn't one of our best and I know we can improve upon it this weekend."
The Tigers were on fire to start the meet as the squad recorded a season-high 49.125 on vault. Heinicka, who has already set or tied her vault career-high twice this season, posted a personal-best 9.900 to claim the event title. Schwartzman took home second place on the event with a season-high 9.850 while Zigler and junior Amanda Pezzullo both scored a 9.800 to tie Centenary's Meredith Smith for third.
Missouri continued to perform well on bars with a 49.000 on the event as the Tigers claimed the first six places in the event. Zigler scored a career-high 9.875 for the fourth time this season to take the title. With a 9.850, freshman Alicia Hatcher tied her career-high, which was good enough for second place on the event. Tying for third place were Heinicka and Perry, who scored 9.775 apiece, while sophomore Katie Kluga finished in fifth with a 9.725.
Coming into the meet tied with No. 1 Georgia as the nation's best beam team, Mizzou fought through the rotation to post a 48.800 on the event. Schwartzman, the country's second best beam worker, scored a 9.925 to win her seventh beam title of the season. Perry tied her career-high with a 9.875 to claim third place, Pezzullo notched a 9.850 for third and Heinicka tied her career-high with a 9.775 to take fourth.
Crater scored a 9.850 on floor in the last performance of the night to lead Missouri to a 48.650 on the event. Perry finished in second with a 9.825, Pezzullo took third with a 9.750 and Hatcher scored a 9.700, which was good enough for fourth place.
"Our first two events were as good as we've been going this year, we were on a pace for a 196.3 or 196.4," said Drass. "We really had some good performances through vault and bars. We were a little rough on beam, which can happen to any team on any given day. Beam is the great equalizer, we've just been very fortunate because our beam team is one of the best in the country. They're allowed to have an off night."
The Tigers next travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo. for the Outback Invitational against Ball State, Centenary and host SEMO on Sunday, March 5 at 1 p.m. Fans in Missouri can also watch the Tigers on television as three different television stations will air last weekend's Cat Classic individual event finals. Fox Sports Net will broadcast the meet tomorrow, March 4 at 12:30 p.m. and Monday, March 6 at 1 p.m. in Missouri. The feed will likely be blacked out in Columbia due to local airings on March 5. Columbia's KMIZ (ABC 17) will air the meet on Sunday, March 5 at 12 p.m. as a lead in to the men's basketball game. The meet will also air on KQFX at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 5.
Players Mentioned
