Jan. 18, 2006

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 11 Missouri women's gymanstics team travels to Shreveport, La. for a meet against Air Force and host Centenary on Friday, Jan. 20 at 7:00 p.m. CT. The Tigers, who are a combined 10-0 versus their opponents, enter the meet with a 1-5 record while Air Force and Centenary are 0-2 and 0-3, respectively. Missouri looks to keep up its string of solid performance after defeating No. 17 Arkansas 195.100-192.225 on Jan. 13.

The Tigers next face off against No. 6 Nebraska on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2:00 p.m. in Lincoln, Neb.

Tigers withstand Friday the 13th Curse...
On Friday, Jan. 13, Missouri opened their home schedule on a high note when the Tigers defeated No. 17 Arkansas 195.100-192.225 in front of 2,897 fans. In her fi rst meet as an all-around competitor, freshman Adrianne Perry snagged the allaround title with a 39.025. Senior Jodie Heinicka became the first gymnast is Mizzou histry to perform a full-twisting double-layout dismount on bars to earn a 9.925 and first place on the event. The score tied the sixth-highest bars score in program history. Senior Sarah Zigler won the vault after recording a 9.850 on the first routine of the night, senior Lauren Schwartzman placed first on the balance beam with a 9.850 and junior Whitney Crater">Whitney Crater">Whitney Crater">Whitney Crater tied a Arkansas Gym'Back for first place on floor with a 9.825.

Pink Out a success...
The meet against Arkansas marked the second annual Pink Out, a meet aimed to raise breast cancer support and awareness. In honor of the event, the Tigers donned pink and black leotards while most of the 2,897 fans in attendance wore pink as well. The 2006 Pink Out raised almost $1,600 to support breast cancer research.

Tigers move up in the rankings...
Thanks to an impressive 195.100 against Arkansas, Mizzou is now tied with LSU for No. 11 in this week's GymInfo Top 25 poll. This marks the highest ranking for the Tigers since they were ranked No. 10 in 2004.

About Centenary...
The Ladies opened the season with a fourth-place finish at Texas Woman's University of Sunday, Jan. 15. Centenary finished behind LSU (194.050) and Utah State (192.875), TWU (190.475) with a 188.125. Senior Sarah Ball led the Ladies with a 37.625 in the all-around.
Mizzou vs. Centenary: 8-0

About Air Force...
Featuring just three juniors and seniors and seven freshmen and sophomores, the Falcons are a young squad that should improve as the season wears on. Air Force kicked off their 2006 campaign with two meets against Alaska-Anchorage on Friday, Jan. 13 and Sunday, Jan. 15. On Friday, the Falcons fell 186.625-175.025 as Senior Lauren Robison led the Falcons with a 9.725 on bars to take fi rst place and recorded a 37.850 in the all-around. On Sunday, Alaska-Anchorage beat Air Force 187.250-154.825. Mizzou vs. Air Force: 2-0

2006 Missouri GymInfo National Rankings
Event Rank Avg.
Vault 14th 48.688
Bars 12th 48.750
Beam 10th(t) 48.275
Floor 18th 48.188
Team 11th 193.900

2006 Missouri South Central Region Rankings*
Event Rank Avg.
Vault 3rd 48.688
Bars 5th 48.750
Beam 3rd 48.275
Floor 4th 48.188
Team 2nd 193.900

Tigers in the National Rankings
Jodie Heinicka 6th UB
Katie Kluga 37th BB
Adrianne Perry 10th(t) AA, 39th(t) V
Lauren Schwartzman 20th(t)

Tigers in the South Central Region Rankings
Vault, Athlete High
10t. Whitney Crater 9.800
17t. Sarah Zigler 9.850
18. Amanda Pezzullo 9.825
19t. Jodie Heinicka 9.775
39t. Lauren Schwartzman 9.600

Bars, Athlete High
1. Jodie Heinicka 9.925
22t. Alicia Hatcher 9.775
24t. Adrianne Perry 9.725
29t. Ashley Khederian 9.700
38t. Nicole Bowman 9.650

Beam, Athlete High
6t. Lauren Schwartzman 9.850
14t. Katie Kluga 9.700
16t. Jodie Heinicka 9.725
28t. Amanda Pezzullo 9.650
39t. Adrianne Perry 9.700

Floor, Athlete High
11t. Adrianne Perry 9.800
Lauren Schwartzman 9.800
29t. Amanda Pezzullo 9.725
37t. Nicole Bowman 9.500

All-Around, Athlete High
3. Adrianne Perry 39.025

*The South Central Region includes Arizona, Arizona State, Illinois, Illinois- Chicago, Illinois State, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma and Southeast Missouri State

Tiger Notes
Nicole Bowman • Improved her career-best on bars with a 9.650, a mark she set at the Super Six Challenge.

Whitney Crater
• Is tied for 10th in the South Central region on vault with a 9.775 average. • Finished tied for first on floor with a 9.825 and recorded a 9.800 on vault to tie for fourth place.

Alicia Hatcher
• Set a career-high on beam with a 9.725 against Arkansas to finish to place fifth.
• Recorded a 9.725 on bars to tie classmate Perry for fifth place. • Is tied for 22nd in the South Central region with a 9.750 bars average.

Jodie Heinicka
• Posted a 9.925 on bars against Arkansas, which tied the sixth highest bars score in program history. In her routine, Heinicka became the first Tiger gymnast to perform a full-twisting double-layout dismount.
• Ranks first on bars in the South Central region and sixth nationally.

Ashley Khederian
• In the bar lineup for the second-consecutive year at the Super Six Challenge, Khederian did not disappoint with a 9.700 on the event.
• Was a member of the vault, bars and beam lineup at the Super Six.

Katie Kluga
• Tied Lauren Schwartzman with a team-high 9.700 on beam to help the Tigers place third on the event at the Super Six.
• Ranks tied for 14th in the South Central region and 37th nationally on beam.

Adrianne Perry
• Won the all-around with a 39.025 against Arkansas in her first home meet and her first all-around competition of the season.
• Recorded career-highs on vault (9.800), fl oor (9.800) and beam (9.700) against Arkansas
• Ranks third in the South Central region and tied for 10th nationally in the all-around.

Amanda Pezzullo
• Had an impressive meet against Arkansas after recording a 9.825 on vault to finish tied for second place.
• Also recorded a 9.725 on floor and a 9.650 on beam against Arkansas.

Lauren Schwartzman
• Won the beam title against Arkansas with a 9.850 on the event.
• Tied Perry for third place on floor after recording a 9.800.
• Ranks tied for 20th nationally and sixth in the South Central region on beam with a 9.775 average.

Sarah Zigler
• Placed first on vault with a career-high 9.850.
• Also finished third on bars after notching a 9.800

GymInfo Top 25 (Jan. 16)
1. Georiga
2. Michigan
3. Utah
4. Alabama
5. Stanford
6. Nebraska
7. Penn State
8. Florida
9. Auburn
10. Iowa State
11. Missouri
- LSU
13. UCLA
14. Arizona
15. Kentucky
16. Oklahoma
17. Arizona State
18. Denver
19. Minnesota
20. North Carolina
21. Oregon State
22. Washington
23. Western Michigan
24. Arkansas
25. Michigan State