Feb. 16, 2000

The Missouri Tigers (5-6) will close out the home portion of their 2000 schedule over the next three weekends, and the string begins on Sunday when they host the Southeast Missouri State Otahkians (2-7). The meet at MU's Hearnes Center begins at 3 p.m. The Otahkians were here on Feb. 4-5 for the 20th annual Cat Classic, and placed third behind the champion Tigers and second-place Pittsburgh. SEMO's score of 190.075 was ahead of fourth-place Northern Illinois.

Series Record

Missouri leads the all-time series against the only other school in the state that competes in women's gymnastics, 10-6

MU Coach Rob Drass

First-year Tigers head coach Rob Drass has a record of 5-6 in 2000. He spent the last eight years as an assistant coach with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who have won the last six conference championships. He's a 1990 graduate of Penn State, where he was a NCAA qualifier on the men's gymnastics team from 1987-90. Also new to the MU coaching staff is Kansas City native Karen Tierney, who was a top gymnast at Arizona, and spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach there. Mizzou's other assistant coach is Eric Geren, in his third year with the Tigers.

Missouri Records Set in 2000

TEAM RECORDS

Highest Road Score - 194.325, at Nebraska, Jan. 29 Highest Score at Nebraska - 194.325, Jan. 29

INDIVIDUAL RECORDS

Floor Exercise - 9.9, Shannon Brown, Cat Classic, Feb. 4, Columbia (ties record)

CLASS RECORDS

Balance Beam by a Freshman - 9.85, Leah Gremaud, Jan. 9, Iowa State, Columbia Uneven Bars by a Senior - 9.85, Shannon Brown, at Nebraska, Jan. 29, Lincoln, and Shannon Brown, Cat Classic, Feb. 5, Columbia (ties record) Balance Beam by a Senior - 9.875, Alison Akers, three times, and Shannon Brown, Cat Classic, Feb. 4, Columbia Floor Exercise by a Senior - 9.9, Shannon Brown, Cat Classic, Feb. 4, Columbia (ties record)

Tigers Coming Off A Downer At Ohio State

The road was not kind to the Missouri Tigers gymnastics team on Saturday night. Getting off to a rocky start on their first rotation - the uneven bars - where their score of 46.225 was MU's lowest of the season, the Tigers were unable to catch the Ohio State Buckeyes in a 193.175-189.325 loss at St. John Arena.

"We had a rough time right off the bat," Missouri Coach Rob Drass said. "We dug ourselves too deep a hole. But we responded well and came back. Hopefully this meet will give us the motivation to get back into the gym this week and work hard so that we can make the next meet our best of the year." Mizzou had its best event of the evening in its final rotation, winning the balance beam competition with a score of 48.225. Tigers Meggen Smiley and Leah Gremaud tied for first place with scores of 9.725. Katie Cole and Shannon Brown added 9.625s.

The Time To Post Scores Is Now

With the 2000 gymnastics season now entering its seventh week, it's time for the Tigers to start posting scores, since the time is nearing when Regional Qualifying Scores (RQS) begin to come into focus. The RQS formula has changed slightly in 2000. The score is calculated by using a team's six highest scores, three of which must have been posted on the road. The top score is then thrown out and the remaining five scores are averaged to determine the RQS. Six teams will qualify from Mizzou's Region 3 and the Tigers currently rank fifth. That's by average score, though. The rankings won't reflect RQS tabulations until the last week of February.

Tigers ... Quickly

? The Missouri gymnastics team had a team grade point average of 3.017 for the Fall '99 semester, and seven Tigers had individual GPAs of 3.0 or better. Terri Baker, Ann Gietler, Leah Gremaud, and Meggen Smiley made the Dean's List . ? In the most recent NCAA report, the Missouri gymnastics team had a 100 percent graduation rate. ? In NCAA Region 3, Missouri ranks 5h, behind Nebraska, Arizona State, Oklahoma, and Arizona. ? Freshman Terri Baker has been lost for the rest of the season with a knee injury. During the Thursday evening practice session for the Cat Classic, Baker fell from the balance beam and in the process tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee. She'll undergo surgery sometime in the next several weeks. Missouri will pursue a hardship year of eligibility for the St. Louis native.