Tigers Head East With Momentum
2/10/2000 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Feb. 10, 2000
Having just won their second consecutive Cat Classic championship, the Missouri Tigers (5-5) travel to Columbus, Ohio, this weekend to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes (6-5). Saturday's meet begins at 6 p.m. (Central time) at OSU's St. John Arena. Ohio State has won 10 straight times at home, and over the weekend beat Illinois, 192.6-191.325 First-place winners for the Buckeyes were junior Lindsey Vagedes in the all-around (38.775) and floor (9.9), sophomore Mary Beth Doerr on bars (9.825), sophomore Jill Tucker on vault (9.9) and senior Elizabeth Jensen on beam (9.8).
Series Record
Ohio State leads the series, 4-0, and last faced the Tigers in 1997, when the Buckeyes won Mizzou's Shakespeare's Festival. Missouri hasn't been to Ohio State since 1985.
Tigers Win Second Straight Cat Classic
The Missouri Tigers , led by all-around champion Shannon Brown, took the lead in the second rotation, Friday night, and never looked back in winning their second straight State Farm Insurance Cat Classic with a score of 193.8. The Tigers (5-5) edged the Pittsburgh Panthers (4-2), who scored 192.775. The Southeast Missouri State Otahkians (2-6) and Northern Illinois Huskies (3-8) rounded out the field with scores of 190.075 and 188.475, respectively. For the Tigers, it marked the first time they had won back-to-back Classics in the event's 20-year history, and made them the first team to win consecutive titles since Arizona in 1996-97. Mizzou's team score was the fourth highest in Cat Classic history. In the second rotation, Missouri scored a season-high 48.35 on uneven bars to move past Pittsburgh. The Tigers then scored 48.5 on balance beam and a season-high 48.9 on floor to hold off the Panthers. "It feels good to be back to .500," first-year MU Coach Rob Drass said. "We hit routines and when you hit, you score. We've averaged just over 194 the last two weeks, and if we keep scoring like that, we'll qualify for the NCAA Regionals." Brown won the all-around with a score of 39.025. It was the second straight week that she had cracked the 39 barrier, and earned her "The Jake" award. The all-around prize is named for former MU gymnastics coach Jake Jacobson, who founded the Cat Classic in 1981. After starting with a 9.45 on vault, Brown finished strong, scoring 9.8 on bars, 9.875 on beam, and tying the Missouri record on floor - 9.9. Pittsburgh's Pamela Lieberman tied the Cat Classic on balance beam, scoring 9.9. On Missouri's closing event - floor exercise - the Tigers got career-high performances from Brown, Alison Akers (9.85) and Leah Gremaud (9.75).
Brown, Cole Combine For Three Individual Titles
The Missouri Tigers completed their most dominating performance in the 20-year history of the State Farm Insurance Cat Classic by winning three of the four individual championships that were contested Saturday night at Hearnes Center. Senior Shannon Brown, who paced the Tigers to the team title on Friday night by winning the all-around, placed first on Saturday in the uneven parallel bars and on the floor exercise with respective scores of 9.85 and 9.875. She narrowly missed winning on balance beam. Her score of 9.75 was second to the 9.8 posted by Southeast Missouri State's Kathy Smith. Brown became the most decorated Missouri gymnast in Cat Classic history. With three event crowns this year and the beam title a year ago, her four Cat Classic championships eclipsed the three won in 1990 by Kim Leslie. Senior Katie Cole added Mizzou's other individual crown, winning the vault with a score of 9.8. It was the first event championship of her career. The Tigers' four individual championships also topped their 1990 performance when Leslie won the vault, bars and all-around. Mizzou took home plenty of other hardware, too. Freshmen Alina Hamm (9.575) and Laura Anson (9.55) and senior Alison Akers placed 4-5-6 on vault. Junior Ann Gietler (9.675) was fifth on bars. Cole finished sixth on beam (9.5). Akers, senior Meggen Smiley and freshman Leah Gremaud were third, fourth and sixth on floor. "It was a great meet," first-year coach Rob Drass said. "We almost got a sweep. The girls really went out and did a great job."
MU Coach Rob Drass
First-year Tigers head coach Rob Drass has a record of 5-5 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. 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)
Brown Leads The Way
Senior Shannon Brown, who's been an all-around qualifer to the NCAA Regional championships each of the last two years, had one of the best Cat Classic's ever experienced by a Missouri Tiger. She won the all-around (39.025), uneven bars (9.85) and floor exercise (9.875) titles, becoming just the eighth athlete in Classic history to win three disciplines in the same year. She was second on the beam. With the balance beam title she won in 1999, Brown's four individual crowns in the Cat Classic are the most of any Tiger gymnast. She ranks 9th in Region 3 in the all-around, with an average score of 38.635, and 33rd nationally on floor (9.835) which is fourth best in the region.
Cole On A Roll
Katie Cole continues to have a break-out senior season. Always a consistent vault performer, she's taken her performances to a new level in 2000. She won the Cat Classic vault title (9.8) for the first individual event championship she's enjoyed during her Mizzou career. She was the top qualifier in the vault on Friday night, scoring 9.75. Cole has recorded three career highs the last two weeks - 9.825 on vault at Nebraska, 9.8 on beam the first night of the Cat Classic, and 9.825 on floor at Nebraska.
Akers Ranked 15th On Beam
Senior Alison Akers ranks 14th in the nation - and second in Region 3 - on balance beam, averaging 9.815 in the event. She scored 9.775 on the first night of the Cat Classic, but missed for the first time on Saturday - a fall relegating her to a score of 9.0. However, Saturday night's individual scores do not count towards the national rankings. Akers has tied her career-high of 9.875 on beam twice this season, and has now reached that mark five times in her career. She had two strong floor exercise performances over the weekend, scoring 9.85 and 9.8. Alison's mother, Carol, sang the national anthem prior to Saturday's individual championships at the Cat Classic.
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 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'll undergo surgery sometime in the next several weeks.
MU BESTS IN 2000THIS WEEK IN THE BIG 12 Thurs., F. 10 Iowa at Iowa State Fri., Feb. 11 Nebraska at Kentucky (with Illinois and James Madison) Sat., Feb. 12 MU at Ohio State Oklahoma at TX Woman's (with LSU and Ill.-Chicago) Tues., Feb. 15 Iowa State at NebraskaVAULT 9.825 Katie Cole (Nebraska) 9.8 Katie Cole (Cat Classic) 9.75 Katie Cole (Cat Classic) 9.725 Laura Anson (C. Michigan) 9.725 Alina Hamm (C. Michigan) 9.7 Alison Akers (C. Michigan) 9.675 Katie Cole (C. Michigan) 9.675 Laura Anson (Nebraska) 9.65 Shannon Brown (Nebraska) 9.65 Alina Hamm (Nebraska) 9.65 Laura Anson (Cat Classic) Team 48.425 (Nebraska)
BARS 9.85 Shannon Brown (Nebraska) 9.85 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic) 9.825 Laura Anson (Nebraska) 9.825 Jacqueline Coatsworth (Cat Classic) 9.8 Jacqueline Coatsworth (Nebraska) 9.8 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic) 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) 9.7 Chandra Harlow (Cat Classic) 9.7 Ann Gietler (Cat Classic) Team 48.35 (Cat Classic)
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 Jacqueline Coatsworth (Nebraska) 9.8 Katie Cole (Nebraska) 9.775 Alison Akers (Cat Classic) 9.75 Alison Akers (C. Michigan) 9.75 Meggen Smiley (Nebraska) 9.75 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic) Team 48.8 (Nebraska)
FLOOR 9.9 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic) 9.875 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic) 9.85 Shannon Brown (Nebraska) 9.85 Alison Akers (Cat Classic) 9.825 Shannon Brown (Iowa State) 9.825 Shannon Brown (X-Treme) 9.825 Katie Cole (Nebraska) 9.8 Alison Akers (Cat Classic) 9.775 Shannon Brown (C. Michigan) 9.75 Alison Akers (Gym X-Treme) 9.75 Meggen Smiley (Nebraska) 9.75 Meggen Smiley (Cat Classic) 9.75 Leah Gremaud (Cat Classic) 9.725 Katie Cole (Gym X-Treme) 9.725 Leah Gremaud (Nebraska) 9.725 Meggen Smiley (Cat Classic) Team 48.9 (Cat Classic)
ALL-AROUND 39.15 Shannon Brown (Nebraska) 39.025 Shannon Brown (Cat Classic) 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 LEADERS BY AVERAGE SCORE Vault - Katie Cole, 9.7 Bars - Shannon Brown, 9.633 Beam - Shannon Brown, 9.7 Floor - Shannon Brown, 9.842 All-Around - Shannon Brown, 38.635
NATIONAL RANKINGS
FEB. 8 - BY AVERAGE SCORE
RANK/TEAM REG. SCORE 1. Alabama 4 196.283 2. Georgia 6 196.197 3. Michigan 5 196.155 4. Utah 2 196.085 5. UCLA 1 195.98 6. LSU 4 194.98 7. Nebraska 3 194.865 8. Iowa State 2 194.3625 9. Penn State 5 194.35 10. Stanford 1 194.081 11. Denver 2 193.945 12. W. Virginia 6 193.906 13. Maryland 6 193.746 14. BYU 2 193.706 15. Washington 1 193.5625 16. Arizona St. 3 193.535 17. Minnesota 2 193.5 18. N Hampshire 5 193.475 19. N. C. State 6 193.418 20. Oklahoma 3 193.406 21. Ball State 4 193.22 22. Florida 6 193.09 23. CS-Fullerton1 193.04 24. Arizona 3 193.025 25. Towson 6 192.995 27. Ohio State 4 192.76 37. MISSOURI 3 191.82
MISSOURI IN NATIONAL RANKINGS Vault 32nd, 48.03 Uneven Bars 39th, 47.805 Beam 33rd, 47.835 Floor T-38th, 48.15 Total 37th, 191.82Alison Akers Beam 15th, 9.815
Shannon Brown Beam 89th, 9.69 Floor 33rd, 9.835 All-Around 62nd, 38.635
Chandra Harlow Uneven Bars 91st, 9.695
