Feb. 10, 2004

The 24th annual Cat Classic will be remembered as the finest all-around performance in the 25-year history of the Missouri gymnastics program.

The 12th-ranked Tigers shattered the MU record for the highest team score (197.350) to win the event for the second straight year. No. 28 Brigham Young was second (196.125), No. 21 Penn State was third (195.575) and Kentucky was fourth (194.125).

"I can't remember feeling better," Missouri Coach Rob Drass said. "This is the team I see in practice. This is the team I know can come out every week.

"Everybody was a standout tonight."

Alisha Robinson (photo by Michael McNamara, Columbia Tribune)

Drass said scoring above a 197 is a testament to the ability of his team. The previous school record was a 196.700 in last year's Big 12 Championships.

"To break through that is really a shot in the arm and is confidence for our team," he said.

The team score was the biggest record broken on the night, but far from the only one.

The Tigers' weakest event has been the uneven bars, but that can no longer be said after they scored a school record 49.250. Missouri also finished with the second-best team scores in the vault (49.300) and balance beam (49.225).

Sophomore Jodie Heinicka, who has been working her way back after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament last season, was the highlight of the bar routines when she set a school record with a 9.95.

Jodie Heinicka (photo by Michael McNamara, Columbia Tribune)

Drass said he considered it the best routine of the entire competition and the closest to a 10 despite the scores.

"That was probably the best bar routine I've ever done in my entire life," Heinicka said. "It was a dream come true. ... It's just icing on the cake."

MU also broke the school record in the floor exercise in stunning fashion.

Junior Alisha Robinson amazed the crowd with a school-record 9.975, with one judge giving her a 10. If that wasn't exciting enough, Lauren "Bunny" Schwartzman matched Robinson, finishing the meet with an equally dazzling routine, and also received a 9.975, with the same judge giving her a 10.

Robinson, who had struggled with some new routines and a bit of self-doubt this season, doesn't have to worry about that any more. She won the all-around competition and broke her own school record with a 39.65.

"I felt good. I can't complain," Robinson said. "It was good getting back into it and giving myself a little bit of confidence. Hopefully I can take it over to tomorrow."

The top 10 performers in each event qualified for the individual competition tonight. MU showed its dominance with at least three gymnasts per event moving on.

Robinson qualified in all the events and Schwartzman qualified in every event but the bars - which she doesn't compete in. Rachel Davis will compete in the beam (9.80) and bars (9.85), Heinicka and Kelley Andersen (9.825) in the bars, Rachel Bridges (9.875) and Andrea Nervig (9.90) on the floor, Miranda Boeckman (9.825) and Rachael Dombart (9.80) in the beam and Amanda Pezzullo (9.875) in the vault.

"Alisha put it together, the bar team put it together tonight and the team totally came together," Drass said. "Those are three important things we need to have happen on a regular basis so that we can put up 197s."