Jan. 25, 2001
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For Immediate Release
Missouri (1-1) vs. Nebraska (3-1, 1-0 Big 12)
Meet #3--Jan. 28, 2001--Columbia, Mo.
Start Time: 2:00 p.m.
Rankings: Nebraska is currently ranked ninth while Mizzou is currently at No. 47 on the GymInfo Woman's National Rankings
(Rankings are figured by highest score thus far in the season)
Series: Nebraska leads, 23-3 all-time.
Coaches:
Missouri: Rob Drass (Penn State `90) 9-11 at MU (2nd season), 9-11 overall (2nd season). Drass is 0-2 vs Nebraska.
Nebraska: Dan Kendig (Kentucky `79) 123-26 at NU (8th season) 236-139 overall 17th season)
Tigers Take on No. 9 Huskers on Sunday
The University of Missouri gymnastics team will welcome the Nebraska Cornhuskers to the Hearnes Center on Sunday for the Boone County National Bank Tiger-Husker Showdown. Missouri is coming off of its first win of the season last Sunday over Southeast Missouri State, 191.150-187.850. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 47 according to GymInfo season scoring poll. Mizzou showed signs of their potential against SEMO recording season-high scores on all four apparatus.
Coach Rob Drass was pleased with the way the Tigers performed last weekend but there is still room for improvement in the upcoming weeks.
"We were definitely more comfortable in our routines last weekend," Drass said " We have got a tough stretch ahead of us facing five ranked teams in the next three meets, but this also gives us a chance to compete at a high level and display and reach our potential."
A Look at the Huskers
The ninth-ranked Huskers are in the midst of a three-meet conference swing entering Sunday's match-up with the Tigers. NU is sporting a 3-1 record after knocking off defending Big 12 champion Iowa State. Seven different Huskers are ranked in the nation's Top 25 nationally this week, including four on floor, are three on uneven bars. As a team, NU is ranked in the top 15 nationally on all four events, including third on floor and fourth on balance beam.
Nebraska leads the all-time series, 23-3 over the Tigers. The last time MU defeated the Huskers was in 1995, when Mizzou grabbed a 188.150-187.500 win in Columbia.
Head Coach Rob Drass
Now in his second year at the helm of the University of Missouri gymnastics program, Rob Drass looks to continue the upward trend he has set in motion during his time here .
Winning a second consecutive Cat Classic championship and returning as a team to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 1994 made Drass' first season as the University of Missouri's gymnastics coach a successful one. The program effectively transitioned from its first 20 years under the direction of the program's creator, Jake Jacobson.
Under Drass' tutelage, the Tigers broke 16 school records, accumulated 22 individual titles, and had three Academic All-Big 12 selections in the historic 2000 campaign. Mizzou's average meet score and Regional Qualifying Score were the highest in school history. The Tigers finished the year at 8-10.
Old Faces in New Places
An old saying once said that "a teacher's merit can be judged by the success of his or her pupils." Missouri Coach Rob Drass was a pupil of Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig for six years prior to taking the head job at Missouri and hopes to prove his teacher's merit. Drass was the primary floor exercise coach and worked closely with coach Kendig in coaching uneven bars. Drass said that his experience at Nebraska helped him develop much of his coaching philosophy he uses today.
"Dan is a great coach," Drass said. "He taught me a lot about communication, motivation, and just a lot about gymnastics in general. We both offered a lot to the program and he showed me a lot of positive things I can use to make this program successful."
Drass is 0-2 in his career against his mentor, and he said he would love to snap that streak immediately.
"Nothing would be more sweet than to eventually beat him," Drass said. "We have a great amount of respect for each other, but we both like to compete."
A Look at the Last Meet (1/21/00)
Tiger Gymnasts Take Missouri Cup,br>
The University of Missouri gymnastics team gave substance to the old adage that there truly is `no place like home.' After struggling in their first meet at Ball State, the Tigers recorded an outstanding performance on Sunday defeating Southeast Missouri State, 191.150-187.850 in the Hearnes Center. Freshmen Lindsay Davis and Andrea Nervig gave Tiger fans a glimpse of what's to come in the future as they finished first and second respectively in the all-around competition with scores of 38.775 and 38.725.
In front of 785 Tigers fans, Mizzou jumped out to a great start slating a 47.750 on vault including a career-high 9.725 from sophomore Alina Hamm, who took third-place in the event.
Next, the Tigers went to the uneven bars. Mizzou struggled mightily on bars at Ball State recording three falls and a score of 44.950. So much for the struggles as the Tigers swept the top five spots in the competition and recorded a season-high score of 49.050. Nervig and Hamm tied for top honors on bars with scores of 9.875, a career-high for both. Senior Ann Gietler finished third and also put up a career-high mark of 9.850.
After a solid performance on beam, the Tigers put the Otahkians away with their 48.375-mark on floor. Hamm picked up her second first-place finish of the day with a career-high mark of 9.775 and a routine that brought a rousing cheer from the Tiger faithful. Nervig and Gietler also grabbed positions in the top four on floor with scores of 9.725 and 9.700 respectively.
Tigers Set To Host Cat Classic Next Friday and Saturday
In keeping with the 20 years of excellence, the 2001 State Farm Insurance Cat Classic will feature four outstanding teams competing for the coveted Classic trophy. Also, for only the third time in its history, Mizzou's signature event will feature some "stray cats" battling it out with two veteran felines.
The traditional participants in the event--host and defending champion Missouri Tigers, and the No. 20 BYU Cougars, will welcome two first-time participants into the Cat Classic fray, the No. 6 Illinois State Redbirds and the No. 16 Bowling Green Falcons.
Tigers Looking to "Vault" into Top 25
Scoring in gymnastics can be somewhat ambiguous (I learned that word going to school in Nebraska, go figure) and at times, hard to understand. In this edition of Missouri Gymnastics Notes, we take a look at the mystery that is THE SCORING OF A VAULT ROUTINE.
The vaulting event requires speed, quickness and explosive power. Each gymnast performs one vault, which is new to this seasons competition. Vaults have assigned maximum difficulty values. Deductions are taken from the start value for technical errors in the pre-flight (approach), the block (rise from the horse), post-flight (height and distance from the horse) and landing.
The Tigers are currently averaging 47.15 on vault and have a solid line up capable of throwing up big numbers at any time.
Records and Tigers and Bars...Oh My!
Mizzou had a huge meet on the uneven parallel bars last weekend. The Tigers put up the third highest bars score in school history (49.050). MU missed the all-time bars record (49.175) that was set last season by just .125 points. All six Tiger gymnasts set individual career highs as well on Sunday including sophomore Alina Hamm who broke the MU school sophomore bars record with her mark of 9.875. Members of the Mizzou bars squad and marks from last weekend are: Freshman Lindsay Davis (9.700), sophomore Leah Gremaud (9.750), sophomore Shannon Brett (9.100), Freshman Andrea Nervig (9.875), and senior Ann Gietler (9.850).
The Young and the Restless
No, sorry soap opera fans, no drama or bad acting...just good gymnastics. The Tigers are a very young squad in 2001. The roster features seven freshman, seven sophomores, and one senior.
Talented freshmen Lindsay Davis and Andrea Nervig and veteran sophomore (?) Alina Hamm are developing into three quality all-arounders for Mizzou. Davis' Missouri Cup-winning all-around mark of 38.775 is just .075 points off of the MU freshman all-around mark set by Kim Leslie in 1992.
Hamm had a nice meet but just missed putting up a monster all-around score due to a fall on beam. She picked up a first-place finish on floor and tied with Nervig for the top spot on bars.
Floor Music...You Name It...We're Using It
The 2001 Tigers have a new choreographer as first-year assistant coach Kira Atkinson assumes the controls. Tiger floor routines will feature everything from the Beastie Boys to music from the soundtrack of "The Last of the Mohicans." Here is a run down of some of the artists the Tigers will feature on floor this season.
Laura Forbes: Mark Anthony's "I Need To Know"
Ann Gietler: DMX's "Party Up"
Andrea Nervig: The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony"
Alina Hamm: Beastie Boys' "Slow Ride"
Laura Anson: Lenny Kravitz' "American Woman"
Lindsay Davis: Rusted Root Medley
(Sorry, No Neal Diamond)