University of Missouri
Big 12 Championship
Shire wins Big 12 Title, Tigers Finish Third
3/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
March 27, 2010
Complete Results
LINCOLN, Neb. – It started off slow for the No. 14 Missouri Tigers but the team was able to close the Big 12 Championship with two strong events to take third (195.900) behind No. 2 Oklahoma (197.175), No. 12 Nebraska (196.625) and finish ahead of No. 16 Iowa State (194.850). Senior All-American Sarah Shire (Columbia, Mo.) won her second-straight Big 12 All-Around Championship with a 39.500.
The Tigers started the championship meet on bars with freshman Lauren Swankoski (Chadds Ford, Pa.) leading the team off with a 9.675. Senior Danielle Guider (Nutley, N.J.) and sophomore Allie Heizelman (Cypress, Texas) went second and third with a 9.725 and a 9.600, respectively. Senior Becky Scholle (Chesterfield, Mo.) stuck her dismount on a great bars set to earn a 9.775. Shire closed out the rotation with a 9.875 to give the Tigers a 48.650 total on bars. After the first rotation, Nebraska stood in first (49.175), Oklahoma in second (49.100), Missouri (48.650) in third and Iowa State in fourth (48.575).
Missouri moved to beam for the second rotation where senior Brooke Boehmer (Overland Park, Kan.) started the team off with a 9.725. Freshman Tori Howard (Chesterfield, Mo.) went next and scored a new career-high 9.750 that was followed by a 9.675 from Guider. Next up was junior Alex Gold (Plano, Texas) who tied her career-high 9.775. Sophomore Mary Burke (Inverness, Ill.) rebounded from a fall on bars with a 9.750. Shire performed a beautiful routine to earn a 9.850. The team posted a 48.850 total on beam.
At the halfway point, the standings remained the same with Nebraska in first (98.575), Oklahoma in second (98.500), Missouri in third (97.500) and Iowa State in fourth (97.400).
The third rotation saw the Missouri Tigers on floor as Gold led the team off with a 9.775. Next was Guider who earned a 9.825, then Swankoski and Burke followed each with a 9.850. Shire ended the rotation with a 9.875 to give the Tigers a 49.175 on the floor. After three rotations, Oklahoma had taken the lead with a 147.950. Nebraska sat in second (147.625), Missouri in third (146.675) and Iowa State in fourth (146.125).
The fourth and final rotation moved the Tigers to vault, their best event. Scholle started off with a 9.775, which was followed by a career-high tying 9.850 from Swankoski. Guider went 9.725, while Burke posted a 9.825. Next up was Gold who broke her season high with a 9.875. Shire closed it out for the rotation and the meet for the team with high vault that received a 9.900. The Tigers tied their season-high 49.225 on vault to finish strong for the championship and give Missouri a total 195.900.
Shire's win in the all-around (39.500) makes her the third gymnast in conference history to win the title twice. Guider finished third in the all-around with a 38.950. Shire took top honors on vault with seven others and finished second on bars. She now holds ten all-around titles on the season and 23 for her career.
At the end of the meet, post-season awards were handed out and Shire earned herself her second-straight Big 12 Gymnast of the Year award. Making her the second gymnast in Big 12 Conference history to achieve the feat.
The Tigers next meet will be at home in the Hearnes Center on April 10 at 6 p.m. Missouri will serve as one of the hosts for the NCAA Regional Championships when six teams in six different regionals will compete for the chance to move on to nationals. The Tigers will find out Monday, March 29 who will join them for the regional competition.
Players Mentioned
