Jan. 28, 2000
The 20th annual Cat Classic, sponsored by State Farm Insurance, will have a new look in 2000. For the second time in its history, Mizzou's signature event will feature some "stray cats" battling it out with two veteran felines.
The Northern Illinois Huskies and the Southeast Missouri State Otahkians will join in competition with the home-standing -- and defending champion -- Missouri Tigers, and the Pittsburgh Panthers.
The Cat Classic has had a stray cat once before -- in 1998 -- when the Iowa State Cyclones joined the fray. And the look may be more common in the future.
Changes in the scheduling policies in the Southeastern and Pacific 10 Conferences have necessitated the change. "Cat" schools like the Arizona Wildcats, Auburn Tigers, Kentucky Wildcats and LSU Tigers are no longer available because of their conference schedules. But new coach Rob Drass has indicated that he will still make every effort to fill the field each year with as many cat schools as possible.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS is coached by St. Louis native Mark Sontage, in his first season with the Huskies. The last two years, he was the top assistant coach under former Mizzou gymnast and assistant coach Kris Buchheister at Southeast Missouri State.
He's no stranger to competition at Hearnes Center, where SEMO won the 1999 Shakespeare's Gymnastics X-Treme, and ironically he'll be on the other side of the apparatus this weekend from many of the women he recruited and coached at Southeast.
Northern Illinois was 8-13 a year ago and includes nine freshmen on its 2000 roster. The Huskies have relied on the skills of four all-arounders to bolster their performance through the early part of the 2000 season -- juniors Reyna Gilbert and Asli Ozmeral and freshmen Anna Gardina and Laura Hale.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE, which will be here at Hearnes again on Feb. 20 for a 3 p.m. dual meet against the Tigers, is coached by Patty Stotzheim, in her first season. She previously coached at Hamline University.
The Otahkians return a familiar face in senior Malia Roberts, who won the all-around title here at the Shakespeare's Festival a year ago, and who along with Mizzou's Shannon Brown has been a frequent qualifier to the NCAA Regionals as an individual all-arounder.
Roberts is coming off of an Achilles tendon injury, though, that sidelined her late last season and she's competed on only the uneven bars and balance beam so far this season.
PITTSBURGH is back for its 11th trip to the Cat Classic. The Panthers are led by the senior trio of Freddie Alba, Lisa Fronhofer and Samantha Salyers. Alba placed in two events here in 1997 and one in `98. Salyers, among the nation's top-10 on bars so far in 2000, tied for the Cat Classic uneven bars title in `98, and Fronhofer is currently ranked among the nation's top 30 gymnasts on floor exercise.
Coached by Debbie Yohman, now in her 17th year as a collegiate head coach, the Panthers advanced to the NCAA Regionals last year, and are the highest ranked team in this year's Cat Classic field.
MISSOURI won its third Cat Classic championship last year, setting school and meet records along the way with its 194.825 team score. The Tigers will be out to become the first school to repeat as Cat Classic champs since Arizona won in 1996 and `97.
Senior Shannon Brown is also the defending meet champion on the balance beam, an event in which she set a school record of 9.925 in tying for the Big 12 Conference championship last year.
The brainchild of former Coach Jake Jacobson, the Cat Classic utilizes the theme of feline mascots. Jacobson sold the theme to the Ralston-Purina Company in 1980, and the first Cat Classic was held in February of 1981. This is the eighth season that State Farm Insurance has sponsored the meet.
From the beginning, the nation's best teams have competed in the Classic's truly unique atmosphere. U.S. gymnastics stars Julianne McNamara, Kathy Johnson, Mary Lou Retton, Kelly Garrison-Steves and Shannon Miller have been celebrity hosts.
Four times in its history (1985, `86, `87 and `92) the Cat Classic has drawn more than 10,000 fans to Hearnes Center.
MEET INFO AT A GLANCEDate: February 4-5, 2000 Year Started: 1981 1999 Champion: Missouri Tigers (194.825) 1999 `Jake' Award Winner: Sarah Wentworth, Auburn (39.225)
1999 Field Northern Illinois Huskies ("stray cats") Head Coach: Mark Sontag Top All-Arounder: 1999 Final Ranking: 50th Cat Classic Appearance: 1st
Missouri Tigers Head Coach: Rob Drass Top All-Arounder: Shannon Brown 1999 Final Ranking: 33rd Cat Classic Appearance: 20th
Pittsburgh Panthers Head Coach: Debbie Yohman Top All-Arounder: Danielle "Freddie" Alba 1999 Final Ranking: 31st Cat Classic Appearance: 11th
Southeast Missouri State Otahkians ("stray cats") Head Coach: Top All-Arounder: Malia Roberts 1999 Final Ranking: 37th Cat Classic Appearance: 1st
Cat Classic RecordsTeam Records
ALL-TIME SCORES 1. MISSOURI TIGERS 194.825 1999 2. Arizona Wildcats 194.275 1996 3. Brigham Young Cougars 194.225 1999 4. New Hampshire Wildcats 193.300 1999 5. Arizona Wildcats 193.000 1997 6. Penn State Lady Lions 192.650 1998 7. Auburn Tigers 192.025 1999 8. Penn State Lady Lions 191.900 1993 9. Arizona Wildcats 191.700 1993 10. Arizona Wildcats 191.600 1992
VAULT 1. Brigham Young Cougars 48.675 1999 2. Kentucky Wildcats 48.350 1995 3. Penn State Lady Lions 48.325 1997 4. Penn State Lady Lions 48.300 1995 5. Auburn Tigers 48.250 1996 MISSOURI TIGERS 48.250 1999
UNEVEN BARS 1. Arizona Wildcats 49.175 1996 2. Arizona Wildcats 49.075 1997 3. New Hampshire Wildcats 48.925 1999 4. MISSOURI TIGERS 48.850 1999 5. Brigham Young Cougars 48.800 1999
BALANCE BEAM 1. MISSOURI TIGERS 48.675 1999 2. Arizona Wildcats 48.325 1996 3. MISSOURI TIGERS 48.100 1996 4. New Hampshire Wildcats 48.050 1999 5. MISSOURI TIGERS 48.025 1995
FLOOR EXERCISE 1. Auburn Tigers 49.075 1999 2. MISSOURI TIGERS 49.050 1999 3. Brigham Young Cougars 49.000 1999 4. Penn State Lady Lions 48.875 1998 5. MISSOURI TIGERS 48.675 1997 New Hampshire Wildcats 48.675 1999
Individual Records
ALL-AROUND ["The Jake"] 1. Jenny Hansen Kentucky 39.300 1995 2. Sarah Wentworth Auburn 39.225 1999 3. Amanda Peterson Missouri 39.175 1999 Jenny Hansen Kentucky 39.000 1994 Stacy Fowlkes Arizona 39.000 1993
VAULT 1. Jenny Hansen Kentucky 10.000 1994 2. Jenny Hansen Kentucky 9.925 1995 3. Allison Barber Penn State 9.900 1993 Heidi Hornbeek Arizona 9.900 1997 5. Kiernan Andrews Arizona 9.875 1997 Kelly Parkinson BYU 9.875 1999
UNEVEN BARS 1. Heidi Hornbeek Arizona 9.950 1997 Leah Jacobs BYU 9.950 1999 3. Maureen Kealey Arizona 9.925 1996 Heidi Hornbeek Arizona 9.925 1996 5. Becky Bowers Arizona 9.900 1994, `96, `97 Kim Leslie Missouri 9.900 1990 Heidi Hornbeek Arizona 9.900 1997 Shannon Brown Missouri 9.900 1999 Sarah Wentworth Auburn 9.900 1999 Cara Lepper New Hampshire 9.900 1999
BALANCE BEAM 1. Becky Erwin Auburn 9.900 1994 Nancy Milberger Arizona 9.900 1997 3. Tracy Kerner Penn State 9.875 1995 Nancy Milberger Arizona 9.875 1997 5. Nancy Milberger Arizona 9.850 1996 Heidi Hornbeek Arizona 9.850 1997
FLOOR EXERCISE 1. Jenny Hansen Kentucky 9.925 1994 Heidi Hornbeek Arizona 9.925 1997 3. Charise Schrupp Missouri 9.900 1998 Amanda Peterson Missouri 9.900 1999 Sarah Wentworth Auburn 9.900 1999