Feb. 2, 2000
Coming off of the best road performance in school history, the Missouri Tigers (2-5) return to the event where last year they gave the best home performance in the program's history. On Friday and Saturday, the Tigers play host to the 20th annual State Farm Insurance Cat Classic. Competition each night begins at 7 p.m. On Friday, the team and all-around championships will be decided. On Saturday, the top eight performers from each event on Friday will compete for individual titles. The Northern Illinois Huskies (3-5), Pittsburgh Panthers (2-1) and Southeast Missouri State Otahkians (1-4) will provide the opposition. This is the eighth year in which State Farm Insurance has the been the event's corporate sponsor. Tickets are available at the MU Athletic Ticket Office, or by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or 884-PAWS (in Columbia). Two-night, reserved-seat tickets cost $8.00, while single-session reserved seats cost $6.00 apiece. General admission tickets for each night are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children. On Saturday, Missouri scored 194.325 at No. 7 Nebraska, which represented the highest road score in school history. Last year, Mizzou used its highest score ever - 194.825 - to win the Cat Classic championship.
Cat Classic History
This has been a most unique event since its inception - both for its use of teams with "cat" nicknames, and because it mirrors the format of the NCAA Championships during the regular season. But, for the second time in three years, there will be some "stray cats" in the house this week. Scheduling conflicts continue to affect MU's ability to attract teams from the SEC and Pac-10 Conferences who have been frequent Cat Classic participants in the past. So, it will be the Tigers of Ol' Mizzou and the Panthers of Pittsburgh doing battle against the Northern Illinois Huskies and the Southeast Missouri State Otahkians. In 1998, Iowa State's Cyclones became the first non-cat team to compete in the Cat Classic.
More History
Pittsburgh was in the field for the very first Cat Classic in 1981, when the Panthers placed fourth in a six-team field. This is Pitt's 11th appearance in the Cat Classic. Penn State made 17 visits to Columbia for this event, and took home nine team championships, most recently in 1998. Arizona competed in the Cat Classic 16 times and won seven team championships. Missouri has won the other three crowns - in 1990, '94 and '99.
Tigers Set Cat Classic Records Last Year
Missouri set a pair of Cat Classic records in winning last year's event with the Tigers' meet score of 194.825, and on the balance beam with a total of 48.675. TEAM RECORDS Team Score - 194.825, Missouri, 1999 Vault - 48.675, BYU, 1999 Bars - 49.175, Arizona, 1996 Beam - 48.675, Missouri, 1999 Floor - 49.075, Auburn, 1999
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS All-Around - 39.3, Jenny Hansen, Kentucky, 1995 Vault - 10.0, Jenny Hansen, Kentucky, 1994 Bars - 9.95, Heidi Hornbeek, Arizona, 1997 Beam - 9.9, Becky Erwin, Auburn, 1994 Floor - 9.925, Jenny Hansen, Kentucky, 1994, Heidi Hornbeek, Arizona, 1997
Series Records
Missouri leads the series with all three of this week's opponents: 7-1 over Northern Illinois, 9-2 over Pittsburgh, and 9-6 over SE Missouri State. Mizzou will face SEMO again in two weeks, hosting the Otahkians for a dual meet on Sun., Feb. 20, at 3 p.m. Pittsburgh has defeated the Tigers in the last two matchups - at Pittsburgh in 1998, and at the Cat Classic that same year.
About The Opponents
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (3-5) - The Huskies are coached by St. Louis native Mark Sontag, who was an assistant coach the last several years at SE Missouri State. NIU 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.
PITTSBURGH (2-1) - The Panthers had a big road victory on Saturday, beating then 13th-ranked New Hampshire (which competed in last year's Cat Classic), 192.275-192.15. Coach Debbie Yohman's team is led by the senior trio of Danielle "Freddie" Alba, Samantha Salyers and Lisa Fronhofer. Alba, who has placed three times in individual events at the Cat Classic, was injured, though, in Saturday's meet at New Hampshire and her availability for this weekend is uncertain. Salyers tied for the uneven bars championship at the Cat Classic in 1998. She's currently ranked 17th in the nation in that event with an average score of 9.866. Fronhofer is tied for 46th nationally on the floor with an average mark of 9.808. Freshman Natalie Sulpher is tied for 24th in the nation on beam with an average score of 9.8.
SE MISSOURI STATE (1-4) - The Otahkians, under first-year coach Patty Stotzheim, are coming off of a 192.6-190.825 home loss to the Illinois State Redbirds. They had event winners, though, in Stephanie Furman on vault (9.8) and Malia Roberts on uneven bars (9.825). Jessica Bagwill placed third in the all-around (38.45). Roberts won the Juliet Award, presented to the all-around champion, at the 1999 Shakespeare's Festival, at Hearnes Center.
MU Coach Rob Drass
First-year Tigers head coach Rob Drass has a record of 2-5 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. She competed in the Cat Classic during her competitive days as a Wildcat. Mizzou's other assistant coach is Eric Geren, in his third year with the Tigers.
Tigers Post Highest Road Score At Nebraska
First-year Missouri gymnastics coach Rob Drass, a former assistant coach at Nebraska, said it all last week - his Tigers needed to put a complete meet together. Apparently they listened to his message. Led by senior Shannon Brown, Mizzou posted its highest road score in school history in a close 195.7-to-194.325 loss at No. 7 Nebraska (8-3). "I'm just ecstatic," Drass said. "It was a complete team effort. I'm just thrilled with our performance. This should be a huge confidence boost for this team. To come in here and hang with one of the best team's in the country should show us that there are brighter days ahead, that this is the type of performance we can expect every time out." Brown set a career high with a 39.15 score in the all-around and established her season bests in the vault (9.65), uneven bars (9.85) and floor exercise (9.85). She scored 9.8 on the balance beam to tie for fourth place. She also tied for fourth on floor and tied for second on bars. Her all-around score was the second best in school history, and just off the record score of 39.175 set by Amanda Peterson at last year's Cat Classic. The Tigers also benefited from the best meet of senior Katie Cole's career. She set career bests of 9.825 on both vault and floor. Cole placed second in the vault and tied for sixth on the floor. Freshmen played a big part in the Missouri performance. Jacqueline Coatsworth scored 9.8 on both bars and beam, tying for fourth place on beam and placing sixth on bars. Laura Anson scored a season-best 9.825 on bars and tied for fourth place. Missouri posted its best score of the season in every event - vault (48.425), bars (48.25), beam (48.8) and floor (48.85). The Tigers team score of 194.325 was the third highest score in school history. Their previous best on the road was a score of 193.775 at Iowa in 1997. Nebraska was led by freshman A.J. Lamb who won the all-around with a score of 39.425. She also took titles on bars (9.875), beam (9.9) and floor (9.925). Cornhusker All-American Heather Brink won the vault (9.925).
Brown Contines To Roll
Senior Shannon Brown, who's been an all-around qualifer to the NCAA Regional championships each of the last two years, is probably the favorite to win "The Jake" this weekend as the Cat Classic all-around winner. She's the highest ranked all-arounder in the field, currently standing 64th in the country and 10th in Region 3, and she's coming off the best all-around performance of her career - 39.15 at Nebraska, where she placed second and beat Cornhusker All-American Heather Brink. She'll also be out to defend the Classic balance beam title. Mizzou has had an individual champion in the Cat Classic in three of the last four years. Brown, though, was the first Tiger to win the beam at the Cat Classic since 1984.
Akers Ranked 14th On Beam
After tying her career high of 9.875 on Saturday, senior Alison Akers has jumped to 14th in the nation - and second in Region 3 - on balance beam, averaging 9.825 on the event. Her lowest beam score of the season has been 9.75. Akers also scored 9.875 in winning the Mizzou Gymnastics X-Treme, Jan. 16. That mark, which she has reached five times, is tied for the second-best mark in school history. The last two weeks, Akers has gone 9.7-9.625 on vault, 9.75-9.875 on beam, and 9.7-9.7 on floor.
Freshmen Continue To Impress
Rob Drass has gradually worked six freshmen into the Missouri lineup with good results. At Central Michigan, rookies Alina Hamm and Laura Anson paced the Tigers with a pair of 9.725s on vault, and Anson came back at Nebraska and popped a 9.825 on bars. Jacqueline Coatsworth, who just joined the team this semester after graduating from high school in December, was a part of the regular lineup on two events for the first time at Nebraska, and she responded with scores of 9.8 on both bars and beam. Other freshmen who are competing for the Tigers are Leah Gremaud, who set a Mizzou freshman beam record with a 9.85 against Iowa State, and Terri Baker, and Columbia native Laura Forbes. Forbes made her debut with a 9.525 on floor at Nebraska.
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. Mizzou's score on Saturday, though, is the highest road score posted by any Region 3 team this season, except for Nebraska.
Missouri Records Set in 2000
TEAM RECORDS Highest Road Score - 194.325, at Nebraska, Jan. 29 Highest Score at Nebraska - 194.325, Jan. 29
CLASS RECORDS Balance Beam by a Freshman - 9.85, Leah Gremaud, Jan. 9, Iowa State
Tigers Will Travel Next Weekend
Missouri will travel to Columbus, Ohio, next weekend for an evening matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes. The meet begins at 6 p.m., Central time. The Tigers are back in action at the Hearnes Center on Feb. 20 against SE Missouri State, and Feb. 26 against Oklahoma.
MU BESTS IN 2000VAULT 9.825 Katie Cole (Nebraska) 9.725 Laura Anson (C. Michigan) 9.725 Alina Hamm (C. Michigan) 9.7 Alison Akers (C. Michigan) 9.675 Katie Cole (C. Michigan) 9.675 Laura Anson (Nebraska) 9.65 Shannon Brown (Nebraska) 9.65 Alina Hamm (Nebraska) Team 48.425 (Nebraska)
BARS 9.85 Shannon Brown (Nebraska) 9.825 Laura Anson (Nebraska) 9.8 Jacqueline Coatsworth (Nebraska) 9.775 Shannon Brown (C. Michigan) 9.75 Chandra Harlow (Iowa State) 9.725 Alina Hamm (Gym X-Treme) 9.7 Chandra Harlow (C. Michigan) Team 48.25 (Nebraska)
BEAM 9.875 Alison Akers (Gym X-Treme) 9.875 Alison Akers (Nebraska) 9.85 Leah Gremaud (Iowa State) 9.85 Shannon Brown (X-Treme) 9.8 Alison Akers (Iowa State) 9.8 Shannon Brown (Nebraska) 9.8 Jacqueline Coatsworth (Nebraska) 9.75 Alison Akers (C. Michigan) 9.75 Meggen Smiley (Nebraska) Team 48.8 (Nebraska)
FLOOR 9.85 Shannon Brown (Nebraska) 9.825 Shannon Brown (Iowa State) 9.825 Shannon Brown (X-Treme) 9.825 Katie Cole (Nebraska) 9.775 Shannon Brown (C. Michigan) 9.75 Alison Akers (Gym X-Treme) 9.75 Meggen Smiley (Nebraska) 9.725 Katie Cole (Gym X-Treme) 9.725 Leah Gremaud (Nebraska) 9.7 Meggen Smiley (Iowa State) 9.7 Alison Akers (C. Michigan) 9.7 Alison Akers (Nebraska) Team 48.85 (Nebraska)
ALL-AROUND 39.15 Shannon Brown (Nebraska) 38.75 Shannon Brown (C. Michigan) 38.5 Shannon Brown (X-Treme) 37.975 Meggen Smiley (Nebraska) 37.75 Shannon Brown (Iowa State) Team 194.325 (Nebraska)
MU CAT CLASSIC CHAMPIONS 1983 Gayle Anderson (all-around) 1984 Sherry Towle (beam) Val Erickson (all-around) 1985 Patti McCormick (vault) 1986 Patti McCormick (vault) Mary Houghton (vault) 1988 Julie Dorn (floor) 1989 Julie Dorn (vault) 1990 Kim Leslie (all-around, vault, bars) 1991 Jennifer Sand (floor) 1992 Jennifer Sand (floor) 1996 Charise Schrupp (floor) 1998 Charise Schrupp (floor) 1999 SHANNON BROWN (beam)
MU LEADERS BY AVERAGE SCORE Vault - Katie Cole, 9.6625 Bars - Chandra Harlow, 9.6937 Beam - Alison Akers, 9.825 Floor - Shannon Brown, 9.8187 All-Around - Shannon Brown, 38.5375
NATIONAL RANKINGS FEB. 1 - BY AVERAGE SCORE RANK/TEAM REG. SCORE 1. Alabama 4 196.29 2. Michigan 5 196.087 3. Georgia 6 195.975 4. Utah 2 195.683 5. UCLA 1 195.525 6. Nebraska 3 194.731 7. LSU 4 194.643 8. Penn State 5 194.35 9. Stanford 1 194.2 10. Iowa State 2 193.866 11. Denver 2 193.787 12. Minnesota 2 193.362 13. Washington 1 193.362 14. N. C. State 6 193.237 15. Oklahoma 3 193.175 16. N Hampshire 5 193.118 17. W. Virginia 6 193.116 18. Arizona St. 3 193.093 19. Ball State 4 193.043 20. BYU 2 193.008 21. Florida 6 192.943 22. Towson 6 192.925 23. Maryland 6 192.92 24. CS-Fullerton1 192.875 25. Auburn 4 192.862 31. Pittsburgh 5 192.008 37. MISSOURI 3 191.325 52. SE Missouri 3 187.912 57. N. Illinois 3 186.887
THIS WEEK IN THE BIG 12 Fri., Feb. 4 MU hosts Cat Classic Minnesota at Iowa State Nebraska at Oklahoma Sat., Feb. 5 MU hosts Cat Classic
MISSOURI IN NATIONAL RANKINGS Vault 30th, 48.025 Uneven Bars 38th, 47.668 Beam 37th, 47.668 Floor 40th, 47.962 Total 37th, 191.325
Alison Akers Beam 14th, 9.825
Shannon Brown Floor T-35th, 9.818 All-Around 64th, 38.537
Jacqueline Coatsworth Beam T-24th, 9.8
TEAMS IN THE CAT CLASSIC
SCHOOL YEARS W-L Penn State 1981-82-83-84-85-86- 58-10 87-88-89-92-93-94-95- 96-97-98 Arizona 1982-83-84-85-86-87- 52-16 88-89-90-91-92-93-94- 95-96-97 Missouri 1981-82-83-84-85-86- 46-33 87-88-89-90-91-92-93- 94-95-96-97-98-99-00 LSU 1981-82-83-84-85-89 17-12 Auburn 1987-88-91-92-93-94- 13-23 95-96-99 BYU 1981-82-84-89-90- 7-23 91-99 Kentucky 83-85-86-87-90-91-94-95 7-29 Pittsburgh 1981-82-83-86-88-90- 6-36 92-95-97-98-00 Iowa State 1998 2-1 New Hampshire 1985-93-99 1-11 Memphis 1984 0-5 Montana State 1981 0-5 Vermont 1994 0-5