Feb. 19, 2003

On the docket...
No. 23 ranked Mizzou gymnastics rounds out a two-week road stint traveling to Norman, Okla. Missouri faces the No. 13 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in a match-up scheduled for Fri, Feb. 21 at 7:00 p.m., in the Lloyd Noble Center.

Missouri welcomes its next home venue on Sun., March 2 when the Tigers host the Ninth Annual Corvette Cup in the Hearnes Center. Mizzou brings Eastern Michigan, Southeast Missouri State and Texas Woman's University to the arena to compete in the four-team event that is coupled with a classic Corvette show. The meet begins at 2:00 p.m., while the car show beings at 10:00 a.m.

Tickets to the Corvette Cup are available by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or in the Hearnes Center ticket office.

Corvette Cup Itinerary
Joining a love for classic cars and Tiger tumbling, the Ninth Annual Corvette Cup is an event to inspire any adventure enthusiast. Opening the venue spectators can get a glimpse of some of the contest entries when the Corvette participants lead a road tour on Sat., March 1 at 1:30 p.m. Drivers will leave from the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse.

Spectators wanting to get a bird's-eye-view of their favorite road warriors can then attend the car show on Sunday beginning at 10:00 a.m. Festivities include door prizes, raffle drawings and an auction. At 1:30 p.m., the venue moves into the Hearnes Center arena where the Missouri Tigers host the 2003 Corvette Cup quad-meet. Following the competition, trophies will be awarded to top competitors in both the gymnastics meet and the car show along with a donation presentation to the Dream Factory.

Former Missouri Governor Roger B. Wilson serves as the Corvette Cup Grand Marshall and will be on hand to present awards.

Tickets to the Corvette Cup are good for both the car show and gymnastics meet.

Marking up Mizzou
Continuing to pounce the competition, the Tigers finished third at the Auburn Invitational last week scoring a 194.900. Although Mizzou fell just behind Arkansas's 194.975, several Tigers put up big scores for Missouri keeping the Tigers ranked in the nation's top-25.

The meet follows the Tigers' star-studded victory taking the 23rd Annual Cat Classic title. Missouri also set three meet records including the all-time vault and balance beam scores. Mizzou posted a 49.150 collective on both events to set the records and topped the evening scoring a 195.875 to post the highest team score in the meet's prestigious history.

On its way to the championship podium, Mizzou knocked off two ranked opponents in No. 10 Arizona and No. 20 Brigham Young. The Tigers also set a new precedent scoring the second-highest program score in the history of the Missouri program.

Eying Oklahoma
No. 13 ranked Oklahoma extended its home winning streak to eight straight meets defeating No. 17 Iowa, 196.600-194.725. The victory prolongs the Sooners' unbeaten home-streak under Head Coach Steve Nuno spanning two seasons. In addition, OU's marks against Iowa were its second highest of the year.

Traci Aoki set three career-highs against the Hawkeyes winning the all-around with a 39.500. The feat is her 11th career best recorded in the last five meets. Also boosting Oklahoma, Allison Landis scored a 9.925 uneven bars routine and Melissa Smith record back-to-back 9.850 marks on the bars and balance beam.

Oklahoma is 5-6 on the year with an 0-2 Big 12 Conference record, falling to No. 5 ranked Nebraska twice during the season.

Highlighting Mizzous Last Outing
? The Tigers posted the programs eighth highest team score in program history recording a 194.900.

? Mizzou's 48.925 vault beam total is the program's fourth highest on the apparatus.

? Missouri scored a 49.050 on the floor exercise to tie the 10th-highest team score in MU history.

Tigers in the Rankings
Owning a 6-5 season record and a No. 23 ranking, the Tigers continue to top the nation on all four apparatus. Bringing their season average to 194.487 after six meets, the Tigers are currently ranked 23rd in the nation with a season high score of 196.475. Missouri is ranked 20th in the country on the balance beam with a 48.500 average. The Tigers are 24th on the floor exercise (48.850) and 26th on vault (48.637) and uneven bars (48.500).

In the South Central Region, Missouri ranks fifth overall with fifth-place standings on the vault and floor exercise. The Tigers are ranked sixth in the region on the uneven bars and balance beam.

Schwartzman Stands Out
Continuing as one of Mizzou's most consistent contributor's, freshman Lauren Schwartzman delivered another fine performance at the Auburn Invitational scoring a 9.850 to lead the team on the floor exercise. She also posted a 9.625 on the vault to help the Tigers.

The meet comes on the heels of Schwartzman's dynamic performance at the 23rd Annual State Farm Cat Classic. Winning four event titles and setting two school records to earn Big 12 Gymnast of the Week honors, the freshman helped lead the Tigers to the championship podium taking wins over two ranked teams, Arizona and BYU.

During the first night of team competition, Schwartzman scored a 9.925 on the balance beam, which was a personal-best and tied the MU all-time and freshman records. The score also tied the Cat Classic record. On floor exercise, Schwartzman again won top honors with a 9.850. The two scores advanced her to the individual championships on Saturday. Schwartzman put up back-to-back 9.900 routines on beam and floor to take the Cat Classic individual beam title and tie for top floor honors.

Coming out in her inaugural season as one of Mizzou's most consistent competitors, is giving Mizzou fans a glimpse of the ever-increasing ability of the Tiger program. In five meets this season, including four against top-20 opponents, Schwartzman has finished in the top third in all of her events. She has rounded out a six-meet stint with seven individual event titles, including a Cat Classic record.

Schwartzman is already seeing recognition in the rankings. The freshman owns an impressive 9.837 average on the floor exercise to rank 14th in the South Central Region. She is also ranked 28th in the region with a 9.969 beam average and 43rd on the vault (9.650),

Robinson Revs Up
After sitting out Mizzou's first meet of the season due to a foot injury, All-American Alisha Robinson is back on track posting up the same event winning marks that led to her 2003 Big 12 Freshman of the Year recognition. At the Auburn Invitational, Robinson won the vault scoring a 9.900 and rewrote the Missouri sophomore records on the apparatus. She also scored a 9.825 to boost the Tigers on the floor exercise.

Appearing in her first quad-event meet of the year, Robinson scored a solid 39.175 to finish third in the all-around. Robinson opened the meet scoring a 9.850 on the vault to tie the sophomore record on the apparatus and finish second. Moving onto the uneven bars, she handily won the event recording a 9.900 to once again tie the sophomore high. Rounding out her meet, Robinson scored a 9.750 on the balance beam and a 9.675 in her first floor routine of the year.

Making a quick recovery from her injury, Robinson's came out showing her standard strength helping the Tigers best Illinois State. Robinson opened the meet scoring a 9.850 on the vault to tie for second overall on the apparatus. She then scored a 9.750 on the bars and hit a 9.825 to finish third on the balance beam for Mizzou.

After two all-around performances, Robinson jumped into the rankings as the 30th all-around competitor in the South Central Region averaging a 38.450. She tops the charts on the vault as the region's 10th-finest competitor averaging a 9.844. She is also ranked 29th on floor with a 9.750 average.

Davis Decimates Mizzou's Record Books
Junior Lindsay Davis can't be held down, even after taking a nasty fall on the vault during the Cat Classic that resulted in stitches. Despite some pre-meet jitters, the veteran pulled through for the Tigers scoring strong marks for Missouri at the Auburn Invitational. Davis opened the meet with a strong 9.775 floor routine. After her first tentative meet back, she is once again on track to vie for an all-around position against Oklahoma where she hopes to exhibit some of the fire fanned during her 2003 Cat Classic performance.

Davis put up big scores to help the Tigers claim the 2003 Cat Classic title. Taking second in the all-around competition, Davis posted a 39.225. She opened the meet scoring a 9.825 on vault, earned a 9.800 mark on bars and scored a 9.850 on the balance beam before rounding out the meet scoring a 9.750 on the floor exercise. The junior advanced to the Cat Classic individual finals in her first three events, but was cut short in the competition after taking a fall from the vault.

Davis' successful Cat Classic appearance came on the heels of the junior's record-setting evening helping Missouri's 196.475 trampling of Illinois State. Mizzou's only four-event competitor decimated the competition recording two career-high marks on her way to scoring Missouri's second-highest all-around score in program history. Davis opened her meet scoring a career-high 9.875 vault. She went on to post a 9.850 to tie for top honors on the uneven bars, set another career-mark on the beam scoring a 9.850 and rounded out her evening scoring a 9.850 on the floor exercise. Tallying a 39.425 all-around total, Davis' mark bests her previous career-high by more than a point and also establishes a new Missouri junior record.

Davis' star-studded performance was foreshadowed by glimpses of greatness earlier in the season. The junior scored a 9.900 on the uneven bars to tie Mizzou's junior record on the event and set a new personal career high against No. 4 ranked Nebraska

This week, Davis is ranked 17th in the South Central Region averaging a 38.755 all-around score. Davis is also individually ranked 24th on the floor exercise (9.767), 29th on beam (9.665), 37th on vault (9.665), and 47th on bars (9.600).

Bridges on a Roll
Coming in as one of Missouri's most consistent athletes, junior Rachel Bridges once again rocked the vault at the Auburn Invitational to tie for second-place honors. Scoring a 9.825, owns four of six vaults on the year scoring above a 9.8, including two 9.850 career-high performances. She also put up solid marks on the balance beam and floor exercise for the Tigers scoring two 9.750 routines.

Preceding her last meet, Bridges also earned top honors on the vault advancing to the Cat Classic individual competition with a second-place 9.825 finish. She followed up taking third in the finals scoring another 9.850.

The feat comes on the heels of two-career-high vaults on the year when she scored a 9.850 to finish second on the apparatus against Illinois State and took the dual-meet title against then No. 18 ranked Pittsburgh, In addition, Bridges' 9.850 also ties the fifth-highest vault score in Mizzou history.

Overall, Bridges is ranked 27th on vault in the South Central Region with a 9.696 average. She also tops the region as the 16th-finest balance beam competitor with a solid 9.758 beam average.

Nervig Sets the Bar
Bolstering the Tigers to their first Big 12 victory in six years and a follow-up 196.475 record setting meet against Illinois State, junior Andrea Nervig once again added weight to the Missouri lineup scoring a 9.800 on the floor exercise at the Auburn Invitational. Opening the meet on the floor, the athlete was sidelined from her two other standard events after twisting her ankle. Updating her injury report, Nervig has put forth a quality week of rehabilitation and training and looks to bolster the Tigers as a three-event competitor against Oklahoma this weekend.

Her performance comes on the heels of her electrifying showing against then No. 4 ranked Nebraska. Nervig scored a 9.825 on the uneven bars and helped the Tigers record their eighth-highest team floor score in program history nailing a 9.875 routine for the second straight meet. Topping the charts against Pittsburgh, Nervig won both the uneven bars and floor exercise titles. She scored a 9.875 to tie for first on floor and posted a 9.850 to top the competitors on bars. She also scored a 9.650 on the vault for Mizzou.

Prior to her pouncing of the Panthers, Nervig won the uneven bars competition scoring a 9.875 against the ISU Cyclones. She also put up a 9.725 on the floor and a 9.575 on vault to boost the Tigers over Iowa State. Nervig's 9.875 bar score also ties as Missouri's 11th-highest all-time mark on the apparatus.

Nervig is currently ranked 15th in the South Central Region on the uneven bars. She tops the charts averaging a 9.740 on the year. She is also tied for 25th on the floor with a 9.767 average.

Dombart Drives Forward
Sophomore Rachael Dombart continues to earn her keep as a bi-event specialist after one of the finest meets of her career. In her second Cat Classic competition, Dombart scored a 9.825 and tied for third-place overall on the uneven bars. She went on to again tie for third-place honors on the balance beam scoring a 9.875. Both marks advanced the sophomore to the individual championship meet where she put up another 9.875 to finish second on beam behind Tiger teammate Lauren Schwartzman.

She followed up the meet helping the Tigers to a third-place finish at the Auburn Invitational after scoring a 9.725 on bars and a 9.750 on beam.

Dombart is ranked 18th in the South Central Region on the balance beam averaging a 9.754. She also tops in as the region's 34th-finest uneven bars contender averaging a 9.689.

Harping on Heinicka
Freshman Jodie Heinicka had a break out meet at the 2003 Cat Classic winning the individual bars championship with a 9.875 career-high. The mark came on the heels of a 9.800 showing during team competition and a seventh-place tie on the apparatus. In addition, Heinicka also earned top marks on the vault recording a 9.825 to tie for fifth.

Maintaining her rhythm at the Auburn Invitational, Heinicka scored a 9.825 to tie for second on the vault before putting up a duplicate 9.825 mark on the uneven bars.

Heinicka jump-started her collegiate career leading the Tigers with a 9.800 on vault against the Iowa State Cyclones in her inaugural meet to finished third on the event. Building upon her resume, she also scored a 9.700 on the apparatus against the top ranked Cornhuskers.

Making her way into the South Central Region rankings, Heinicka comes in as the area's 51st bars contender with a 9.562 average.

Hamm Makes it Happen
Rounding out her collegiate career in signature style, senior Alina Hamm has continued to ground Mizzou with consistency. Opening the season, she pulled out a 9.800 floor routine to finish second on the event and rally the Tigers against the Iowa State Cyclones and their first Big 12 Conference victory in six years.

She went on to improve her scores as a two-event participant against then No. 4 ranked Nebraska, Hamm scored a 9.725 on the vault and opened Missouri's floor lineup tying her career-high mark on the apparatus with a 9.825. Maintaining her steady strides at the Cat Classic, where she opened the meet scoring a 9.825 on the vault and setting a new career-mark, the senior tied for second overall in the competition and advanced to the individual championships on the event where she scored a 9.775 to tie for fifth.

In her last showing against Auburn, Hamm again held strong scoring a 9.800 on the floor exercise before throwing a solid 9.750 vault and 9.775 uneven bars routine. The meet brings Hamm to a 21st-place ranking in the South Central Region on the floor exercise with a 9.779 average. She is also ranked 28th on the vault averaging a 9.687.

Roets on the Rise
Proving herself as a valuable contributor to Missouri's depth, Katie Roets brought stability to Mizzou's faltering lineup against Auburn. After twisting her ankle in the Tigers' first event, junior Andrea Nervig was sidelined opening the way for Roets. Competing in three events, the freshman came on strong throwing a 9.575 on her first vault of the season. She then scored a 9.800 on the uneven bars and a 9.775 on the balance beam to post career-highs on both apparatus.

The performance reaffirmed the abilities Roets' displayed earlier in the year when she opened her career scoring a 9.775 on bars to help Mizzou best Iowa State. Helping the Tigers against Pittsburgh, Roets scored a 9.625 on bars. Keeping in tune with her previous notes, Roets scored a 9.675 on bars against Nebraska and put up a solid 9.625 helping the Tigers record their highest all-time beam score.

Overall, Roets is ranked 20th in the South Central Region on the uneven bars with a 9.719 average.

Getting the Low-Down on Owca
Junior Lauren Owca has served as a Missouri standard on the uneven bars this season providing the Tigers with valuable contributions. Competing in all five meets on the apparatus, Owca has posted three 9.7+ marks on the year.

Asraf on the Assist
Sophomore floor specialist Ashley Asraf continues to add stability in the Tiger lineup posting solid scores. In her first meet of the year against Iowa State, she pulled out a 9.775 floor routine to help the Tigers best the Cyclones.

Performing as a two-event competitor against Pittsburgh, Asraf redeemed her pervious score on the balance beam scoring a solid 9.725. Bolstered by her improvements, the sophomore recorded a 9.775 on the floor to help Mizzou post its 11th-highest all-time floor score.

Helping to better Missouri's floor mark against Illinois State, Asraf scored a 9.775 on event leading the Tigers to their eighth-highest team score in program history.