March 1, 2000

The Missouri Tigers (6-7) wrap up a three-meet homestand and their six-meet home schedule on Sunday when they host the sixth-annual Corvette Cup. The competition begins at Hearnes Center at 2 p.m. The opposition will be the Ball State Cardinals (12-2) and the Iowa Hawkeyes (1-7).

Series Record

Missouri trails the series with Ball State, 3-2, and leads Iowa, 15-3. Ball State is making its first appearance in the Corvette Cup while Iowa was in the field in 1997 and '98.

Last Year

Missouri won the Corvette Cup team title for the second time (the Tigers also won in '95), posting a score of 193.925 to beat Texas Woman's (193.05) and Central Michigan (190.3). The Tigers claimed three individual titles. Jessica Haag won the vault, while Shannon Brown took the bars and Alison Akers tied for first place on the balance beam.

Corvette Cup History

The Corvette Cup combines a classic automobile show with the gymnastics competition. It is a co-production of the Mid-Missouri Corvette Club and the University of Missouri. The meet began in 1995 and has steadily grown over the past six years. More than 260 Corvettes are registered for the automotive portion of the program. On Saturday, the cars will stage a afternoon "road tour" along the back roads of Mid-Missouri, and will set up their display in the Hearnes Center fieldhouse. On Sunday, the cars may be viewed beginning at 12 p.m., prior to the gymnastics competition.

Missouri Records Set in 2000

TEAM RECORDS

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

Highest Score at Nebraska - 194.325, Jan. 29

Highest Uneven Bars Score - 49.175, vs. SE Missouri State, Feb. 20

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)

MU Coach Rob Drass

First-year Tigers head coach Rob Drass has a record of 6-7 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.

Season's 2nd-Highest Score Not Enough To Beat No. 10 Oklahoma

The Missouri Tigers' gymnastics team didn't count a fall for the first time this season and recorded its second highest team score of the 2000 season, Saturday night at Hearnes Center. But Mizzou's score of 193.9 wasn't enough to beat the No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners who won the meet with a total of 195.0. Oklahoma senior Amber McCracken won the all-around with a score of 39.35, and also placed first on the vault (9.85), uneven parallel bars (9.85), and floor exercise (9.925). Sooners Leticia Ishii and Ginger Russell were second and third in the all-around (39.1 and 38.95, respectively). Missouri won the balance beam competition, 48.725-48.475, and had three gymnasts tie for first place with scores of 9.775 - seniors Shannon Brown and Meggen Smiley and freshman Alina Hamm. Oklahoma's Russell also scored 9.775. Brown took fourth in the all-around (38.575) and was second in the floor exercise (9.875). Smiley was fifth in the all-around with her best score of the season (38.525). Missouri's score of 193.9 was the fifth highest in school history and should aid the Tigers' bid for a berth in the NCAA Region 3 Championships in April. Oklahoma improved to 10-1 while MU slipped to 6-7.

Tigers Are Making A Late-Season Push For NCAAs

Missouri improved its Regional Qualifying Score to 192.21 on Saturday, and is now locked in a three-team race for a berth in the NCAA Region 3 Championships which will be contested April 1 in Tucson, Ariz. The RQS formula has changed slightly in 2000. The score is calculated by using a team's six highest scores, at least 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. At least six teams will qualify from Mizzou's Region 3. But if the current national rankings hold, seven teams would advance since Nebraska, Oklahoma and Arizona State currently stand 5-9-12 nationally. The Tigers are in a virtual dead head with Illinois State (192.66) and Illinois (192.535). Missouri, though, has a tremendous chance to boost its RQS in the coming weeks. Here are the scores Missouri is currently counting:

HOME		 AWAY
193.9 vs. Oklahoma		194.325 vs. Nebraska (discard, highest score)
193.8, Cat Classic		190.5, Central Michigan
193.525 vs. SE Missouri		189.325, Ohio State

With one home meet remaining, and three on the road, the Tigers could greatly boost their RQS by scoring high enough to replace their scores at Central Michigan and Ohio State. In four of Mizzou's last five meets, the Tigers have scored 193.525 or better. Scoring like that the rest of the way would seeming assure MU a spot in the Regional.

Tigers ... Quickly

? This season, Missouri gymnasts have won 16 individual event championships. The list is topped by senior Shannon Brown who has won eight times. Meggen Smiley and Katie Cole have each won twice, while Alison Akers, Leah Gremaud, Alina Hamm and Chandra Harlow had won once each.

? 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.

? Freshman Terri Baker has been lost for the rest of the season with a knee injury. During Thursday evening's 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 underwent surgery last week, and Mizzou will pursue an injury hardship season for Baker. If granted, she would retain freshman status next season.

Tigers Travel To Iowa State On Tuesday

Regardless of the results of Sunday's Corvette Cup, the Tigers won't have long to thing about it. They make a quick turnaround, competing on Tuesday at No. 13 Iowa State, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State beat Missouri, 193.15-189.125, in the opening meet of the season - January 9 in Columbia. It will be the first of two March trips to Ames for the Tigers. Iowa State is hosting the Big 12 Conference Championships on March 18. The Tigers will close the regular season on March 12, competing against Texas Woman's University and No. 22 Utah State, in Denton, Texas.

MU BESTS IN 2000

VAULT

9.825 Katie Cole (Nebraska)
9.8 Katie Cole (Cat Classic)
9.775 Katie Cole (SE Missouri State)
9.75 Katie Cole (Cat Classic)
9.725 Laura Anson (C. Michigan)
9.725 Alina Hamm (C. Michigan)
9.7 Alison Akers (C. Michigan)
9.7 Katie Cole (Oklahoma)
9.7 Alina Hamm (Oklahoma)
Team 48.425 (Nebraska)


BARS

9.875 Shannon Brown (SE Missouri)
9.875 Chandra Harlow (SE Missouri)
9.85 Shannon Brown (Nebraska)
9.85 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic)
9.85 Laura Anson (SEMO)
9.825 Laura Anson (Nebraska)
9.825 Jacq. Coatsworth (Cat Cla.)
9.825 Jacq. Coatsworth (SE Missouri)
9.7 Jacq. Coatsworth (Nebraska)
9.8 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic)
Team 49.175 (SE Missouri State)


BEAM

9.875 Alison Akers (Gym X-Treme)
9.875 Alison Akers (Nebraska)
9.875 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic)
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 Jacq. Coatsworth (Nebraska)
9.8 Katie Cole (Nebraska)
9.775 Alison Akers (Cat Classic)
9.775 Alison Akers (SEMO)
9.775 Meggen Smiley (SE Missouri)
9.775 Meggen Smiley (Oklahoma)
9.775 Shannon Brown (Oklahoma)
9.775 Alina Hamm (Oklahoma)
Team 48.8 (Nebraska)


FLOOR

9.9 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic)
9.875 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic)
9.875 Shannon Brown (Oklahoma)
9.85 Shannon Brown (Nebraska)
9.85 Shannon Brown (SE Missouri)
9.85 Alison Akers (Cat Classic)
9.825 Shannon Brown (Iowa State)
9.825 Shannon Brown (X-Treme)
9.825 Katie Cole (Nebraska)
9.825 Katie Cole (SE Missouri State)
9.825 Alison Akers (Oklahoma)
9.8 Alison Akers (Cat Classic)
Team 48.95 (SE Missouri State)


ALL-AROUND

39.15 Shannon Brown (Nebraska)
39.025	Shannon Brown (Cat Classic)
38.825	Shannon Brown (SE Missouri)
38.75 Shannon Brown (C. Michigan)
38.575 Shannon Brown (Oklahoma)
38.525	Meggen Smiley (Oklahoma)
38.5 Shannon Brown (X-Treme)
Team	194.325 (Nebraska)