January 11, 1999
A large group of juniors and seniors whove grown up in the University of Missouri gymnastics program will have to carry the load for the Tigers in 1999 as they face a rigorous schedule. The ultimate goal is to see the team return to the NCAA Regional scene for the first time since 1994.
"We need to get our team to regionals," 20th year head coach Jake Jacobson says. The road might be a little easier with the NCAA's new regional alignment. There are now six regions instead of five, to which six teams will qualify instead of seven. That is only a net gain of one team nationwide, but for the Tigers it is a more equitable situation. In the past, Missouri competed in the Central Region -- the nation's largest with 22 teams. Now, MU is in Region 3, with nine other teams. "The way I see it," Jacobson says, "is that there are three spots to shoot for. Arizona, Arizona State and Nebraska should advance most years. The rest of us are competing for the other three positions." Under the new format, MU would have qualified for regional action each of the last two years.
To get there, Jacobson and his staff of assistant coaches Jeff Conner and Eric Geren will lean upon the most-veteran Tigers.
"We have two real good classes -- our juniors and seniors -- who will have to lead the way," Jacobson predicts. "They will have to provide the bulk of our routines.
"We've got the ability to be good in all four events, but I'd have to say that we look the best going into the season on bars and beam."
The Tigers, with basically the same group of competitors, set the team beam record in 1997 in a dual meet at Iowa. Jacobson returns the same unit that last season tied the school bars record once and broke it twice.
Depth could be a concern. "We're not real deep," Jacobson says. "We've got about seven-or-eight in each event. And we're a team that does not really have a superstar."
But he does have a team with some very able competitors, headed by senior tri-captains Jessica Haag, Amanda Peterson, and Kelly McKinnie.
With Peterson ailing with a bad ankle for most of 1998, Haag stepped up her performance. She established career highs in every event and became the first Tiger to win all-conference honors in the Big 12 era. She tied for third place in the vault at last year's league meet, equalling her career high with a 9.825 score.
Peterson was MU's best all-arounder two years ago, but performed mostly on bars in '98. She capped off the season by scoring a 9.85 on bars at the Big 12 competition.
"Having her healthy should help us a lot," Jacobson said.
McKinnie, a former walkon, has been a very steady performer on the balance beam and bars. She's become a better gymnast each year at Mizzou.
There are standouts in the junior class, too. Shannon Brown qualified as an individual to last year's NCAA Central Regional and performed well there. Hopefully, the taste she got of the post-season will be beneficial to the rest of the MU team.
"She's a real good gymnast," Jacobson said. "She looks very solid."
At the regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Brown scored 38.45 to place second among the seven individual all-arounders and 10th overall. She set a MU regional record of 9.75 on beam and tied a school regional mark at 9.775 on bars. Like Haag, Brown posted career highs in all five categories last season.
The junior class also includes school balance beam record-holder Alison Akers, floor exercise star Meggen Smiley, uneven parallel bars whiz Chandra Harlow, and vault/beam specialist Katie Cole.
Akers has been troubled by a bum elbow that could affect her availability. If she's not ready to go, it would be a tremendous loss for the Tigers -- especially on the vault.
Smiley has been MU's highest scoring floor exercise performer for the last two years, and like Haag and Brown established career highs in every event in 1998. She'll see action in the all-around, too.
Harlow's best event is the uneven parallel bars where she's capable of putting up some big numbers with difficult routines.
Two sophomores and one freshman round out the Missouri roster. Ann Gietler joined the Tigers as a walkon last season, but quickly got herself into the MU lineup on floor exercise. She also competed some on bars and earned a scholarship for this year. The other second-year gymnast for Mizzou is Lindsay Hayes, a possible vaulter for 1999.
The lone newcomer is Shannon Brett, who Jacobson thinks can help the team as a vaulter and possible work herself into the all-around.
As usual, the Missouri schedule is a difficult one that includes 12 opponents that are either ranked or receiving votes in the Coaches Pre-Season Top-25. The home fans will get a big early dose of Mizzou gymnastics. After the Tigers open on the road at Michigan State, they will compete four straight weekends in Columbia. That stretch begins with the 9th annual Shakespeare's Festival, Jan. 17, and following dual meets against conference foes Iowa State (Jan. 22) and Nebraska (Jan. 29), closes with the 19th annual Cat Classic, Feb. 5-6.
Mizzou's other two home meets are the 5th annual Corvette Cup, March 7, and the Big 12 Conference Championships, March 27.
"Hosting the Big 12 meet will be an exciting event here on our campus," Jacobson says.