April 6, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
2005 NCAA South Central Regionals
#19 Mizzou advances to its fourth consecutive NCAA Championship competing in the 2005 South Central Regional on Saturday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m. Hosted by the University of Nebraska, the Tigers face #6 Nebraska, #8 Michigan, #18 Arizona, #29 Arizona State and #33 Illinois.
South Central Regional Draw
Vault -- Arizona State
Bye -- Missouri
Bars -- Nebraska
Beam -- Michigan
Bye -- Illinois
Floor -- Arizona
NCAA Championship Advancement
The top two teams from each regional site advance to the NCAA Championship in Auburn, Ala. In addition to the twelve contending teams, the top two all-around competitors and individual event winners also earn berth to the championship round.
Mizzou Regional History Attending the 2005 South Central Regional, the Tigers advance to their fourth consecutive NCAA postseason competition as a team.
#19 Mizzou jumps into NCAA postseason competition ranked in the national top-20 for the second consecutive year. Mizzou advanced to the Northeast Regional last season ranked 16th and finished fifth scoring a 194.400.
2005 marks the 18th time the Tigers have advanced to national postseason competition. Mizzou has only advanced to the championship final as a team once during the 1981 season where the Tigers finished 16th.
Four Mizzou Tigers have claimed Regional Championship titles including Gayle Andersen, Maria Christensen, Sherry Towle and Alisha Robinson who won the all-around title in 2002 and the vault title in 2003.
All-Arounder Alisha Robinson advanced to the NCAA Championship final as an individual contender in 2002 and 2003. She finished seventh on vault in 2002 to become Mizzou's second All-American in program history.
In its 26-year history, Missouri has seen five Tigers qualify as national championship competitors. In addition to Robinson, Kellie Copeland, All-American Julie Dorn, Lisa Hyberger and Maria Christensen each represented Mizzou on the national stage.
Live Scoring
To access live scoring of the 2005 South Central Regional, log onto the official website of the Nebraska Cornhuskers at www.huskers.com.
Tiger Tidbits
After a rocky start under the new NCAA scoring guidelines, Mizzou found its groove recording the team's highest scores during the last six regular meets of the season.
Utilizing their last opportunity to break into the national top 20, the Tigers scored a 194.875 to finish fourth at the 2005 Big 12 Championship.
The Tigers round out the season with a 13-8 record including wins over three ranked opponents including Arkansas, New Hampshire and Illinois.
Having a standout meet against the Illini, the Tigers recorded the program's all-time highest beam total scoring a 49.325. Mizzou also scored a 49.250 on floor to record the 12th-highest program mark.
Mizzou scored a 196.225 season high team total against Illinois. The mark is Missouri's 11th-highest team score in program history.
Then ranked 32nd, Missouri overpowered #15 Arkansas 196.050-195.575 in Fayetteville to pick up their second series victory over the Gymbacks.
Pairing success in the competitive arena with the fight against breast cancer, the Mizzou Tigers first annual Pink Out kicked off the 2005 Missouri home gymnastics season on a high note. In addition to seeing the Tigers best Centenary 191.275-188.225 to take their season record to 2-4, Mizzou helped raise over $1,600 toward breast cancer awareness and research efforts at Ellis Fischel Cancer Hospital.
Joining with various student organizations at Missouri, the Mizzou gymnastics team participated in the Adopt-a-Gymnast program aimed to increase excitement and awareness of women's sports at Missouri. Bolstering the cheering section, adoptive "families" attended all Mizzou home meets and created decorative signs to inspire their gymnast's performance.
Rising to the call for another season, the Tigers recorded impressive attendance figures during the 2005 Mizzou Cat Classic. Hosted by Callaway Bank, the meet saw 4,500 fans cheer the Black & Gold to its third consecutive Cat Classic victory. Continuing the legacy, the Missouri Cat Classic has shined as the Big 12 Conference's highest single meet attendance figure for over a decade.
Scoring a 9.950 on vault against Illinois, senior Alisha Robinson tied her own Mizzou event record.
Performing 9.950 floor routines this season, Alisha Robinson and Lauren Schwartzman tied Missouri's third-highest floor score.
Mizzou won its third consecutive Cat Classic title scoring a 195.250 besting Towson, Illinois State and New Hampshire.
Alisha Robinson picked up three Cat Classic individual event titles winning the vault, bars and floor. The senior has won six Cat Classic titles in her career.
Junior Lauren Schwartzman won her third consecutive Cat Classic beam title scoring a 9.875. She also scored 9.925 to finish second on floor.
Senior Alisha Robinson earned Big 12 Gymnast of the Week honors twice during the 2005 regular season. She leads the Tigers with six career Gymnast of the Week accolades.
Earning Big 12 Conference academic recognition, three Tigers were named first team academic all-conference including: Lauren Schwartzman, Jodie Heinicka and Amanda Pezzullo.
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.