March 20, 2000

COLUMBIA, MO -- The Missouri Tigers gymnastics team was invited today to participate as the fifth-seed in the NCAA Region 3 Gymnastics Championships. It's the first time since 1994 that MU has advanced as a team to regional competition. Several MU individuals have competed at the regional level in the interim, including current Tiger senior Shannon Brown who advanced as an all-arounder each of the last two years.

The meet will be contested at 7 p.m. (Central time), April 1, at the University of Arizona's McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz.

Other teams in the field will be No. 5 Nebraska, No. 8 Louisiana State, No. 16 Arizona State, No. 31 Arizona and No. 35 Illinois-Chicago. Missouri is ranked 34th in the country entering post-season competition.

The top two teams in Tucson will advance to the NCAA Championships, April 13-15, in Boise, Idaho.

Missouri's order of competition will be floor exercise, vault, uneven bars and balance beam.