March 26, 2001
Columbia, Mo.-- Three members of the University of Missouri gymnastics team have qualified for NCAA Regional Competition, it was announced on Monday. Sophomore Alina Hamm and freshman Lindsay Davis qualified for all-around competition while sophomore Leah Gremaud will compete on beam. The competition will take place on Saturday April 7th in Lincoln, NE with each Tiger competitor rotating with their assigned team. Team qualifiers in the region include host school Nebraska, Washington, Penn State, Oklahoma, Arizona and Illinois State. Hamm will rotate with Oklahoma, Davis with Penn State and Gremaud with Illinois State.
After returning to Regional competition last season for the first time in six years, Mizzou was unable to accumulate an adequate regional qualifying score to jump into the running in the tough South Central Region. Missouri head coach Rob Drass said that while it would have been nice for the entire team to qualify, but he is excited about the opportunity Davis, Hamm and Gremaud have to move on to the NCAA National Competition.
"We are very pleased to have three qualifiers going to Lincoln," Drass said. "They all have a good shot at doing well and I think it will be a quality experience for Alina, Leah and Lindsay to compete at a very high level."
Hamm has been the Tigers highest scoring all-arounder all season. She set the school and sophomore all-around record on Jan. 28 against Nebraska with her 39.225 effort and has won three individual titles this season. Hamm has recorded 26 top-five performances and has set career-highs on vault (9.775), bars (9.875), beam (9.800), floor (9.875), and all-around (39.225).
Consistency has been Davis' key to success. The Derby, Kan. native has recorded the highest all-around average score (38.502) and has recorded three individual titles. Davis has set the freshman MU freshman all-around record three times with the mark currently set at 38.975 recorded on Mar. 11 at Oklahoma and has also slated 26 top-five performances.
Gremaud has been the Tigers spectacular on beam all-season with four championships and seven top two finishes on the four-inch wide apparatus. Gremaud tied the MU school record earlier this season on beam with her 9.925 performance at the 21st Annual Cat Classic on Feb. 2. Gremaud has recorded scores of 9.900 or higher four times this season and has the second highest beam average on the Mizzou squad (9.562).
The Tigers will compete in this order and will rotate with the following teams:
Lindsay Davis Alina Hamm Leah Gremaud Penn State) (Oklahoma) (Illinois State) 1.Beam 1. Bye 1. Bye 2. Bye 2. Floor 2. Bye 3. Floor 3. Vault 3. Bye 4. Vault 4. Bye 4. Bye 5. Bye 5. Bars 5. Beam 6. Bars 6. Beam 6. Bye