March 17, 2005

Complete Release in PDF Format

#21 Missouri Hosts Final Home Meet
#21 Mizzou hosts its final home meet this week welcoming Air Force and Southeast Missouri State on Sunday, March 20 at 2:00 p.m. Highlighting the competition, the Tigers bid farewell to seniors Alisha Robinson and Rachael Dombart as they make their final Hearnes Center appearence.

The following week, Mizzou jumps into post season competition facing three top-10 programs at the 2005 Big 12 Championship. Hosted in the Lloyd Noble Center by the University of Oklahoma on Saturday, March 26th the Tigers take on #3 Nebraska, #9 Oklahoma and #10 Iowa State.

Big 12 Championship Draw
Vault -- Oklahoma
Uneven Bars -- Iowa State
Balance Beam -- Nebraska
Floor Exercise -- Missouri

Scouting SEMO
The Redhawks are currently ranked 40th nationally owning a 192.650 Regional Qualifying Score. Ranked in the country's top 50 on each apparatus as well, Southeast Missouri State is tabbed 37th on beam (48.325), 41st on floor (48.670), 42nd on vault (48.270) and 48th on bars (48.005).

In the South Central Region, SEMO ranks ninth on beam and floor, 10th on vault, 11th on bars. Averaging a 191.707 team total, the Redhawks rank ninth overall.

Facing the Tigers earlier in the season, Mizzou bested SEMO 195.350-190.200. The victory boosts the Tigers to lead the MU-SEMO series to 16-6.

Scouting Air Force
Coming in as the 58th ranked team in the nation, Air Force owns a 189.780 Regional Qualifying Score. The Falcons rank 56th on floor (48.260), 58th on vault (47.665), 59th on beam (47.415) and 64th on bars (46.615).

This marks the first regular season meeting between Mizzou and Air Force. Facing the Falcons in postseason at the 2002 NCAA North Central Regional, the Tigers bested Air Force 195.000-193.775.

Live Scoring
To access live scoring Missouri home meets, log onto the official website of the Mizzou Tigers at www.mutigers.com.

Advance to the gymnastics main page and select Schedule/Results from the menu at the top of the screen. Scroll down to the desired event and click the live scoring link.

Tiger Rankings
Following its fifth road meet of the season, Mizzou climbed 11 spots in the national rankings to come in as the 21st finest team in the country. Adding a 196.050 to the Tigers' Regional Qualifying score, Mizzou now owns a solid 194.790.

Ranked among the nation's finest on each apparatus as well, the Tigers are tabbed 18th on vault (48.890) and floor (49.005), 26th on beam (48.605) and 28th on bars (48.550).

In the South Central Region, Mizzou ranks sixth overall ranking third on vault, fourth on floor, sixth on beam and eighth on bars.

Looking to break into the national top 20, the Tigers have two remaining opportunities to boost their RQS before NCAA Regional seeding.

RQS Rankings
Regional Qualifying scores are calculated using a team's top three away and top three home scores. Of the six totals, the high is dropped and the five remaining scores are then averaged to find an RQS total.

Arkansas Recap
#32 Mizzou overpowered #15 Arkansas topping the Gymbacks 196.050-195.575. The score is the Tigers' highest road total of the season and Mizzou's second-highest season mark. The victory brings Mizzou to 11-8 on the year and boosts the Tigers' series record over Arkansas to 3-1.

Kicking off the meet in grand fashion, the Tigers rallied a 48.800 team total on the uneven bars. The feat marks Mizzou's finest road performance on the event and third highest season total.

Moving onto vault, the Tigers' signature event, Mizzou scored a 49.275 seeing some of its finest marks of the season including a 9.950 from Alisha Robinson. Seeing similar performances, Mizzou scored its highest road score of the year on floor rallying a 49.075 including four routines scoring a 9.8 or above.

Finishing the meet on beam, the Tigers scored a 48.900 recording their highest road score and second highest beam total of the year. Lauren Schwartzman won the event title scoring a 9.925 to tie Mizzou's fifth-highest all-time score.

Tiger Honors
This season, the Tiger gymnastics squad has received unprecedented acclaim for their work outside of the arena, including the recognition of five gymnasts as Lathrop & Gage Student Athlete of the Week honoring a student-athlete's pursuit toward academic excellence.

Highlighting for the Tigers, Julie Abaray, Rachael Dombart, Jodie Heinicka, Amanda Pezzullo and Lauren Schwartzman have each been selected during the winter semester.

Regional Note
Gearing up for the 2005 NCAA Championship, the Tigers have the potential to compete at any one of the six regional sites depending upon final rankings posted on Monday, March 28th.

2005 Regional Sites
Central -- Alabama
North Central -- Utah
Northeast -- New Hampshire
South Central -- Nebraska
Southeast -- Florida
West -- Washington