March 9, 2006

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - In the second to last regular season meet of the season, the No. 12 Missouri Tigers travel to Iowa City, Iowa to square off against Big Ten Conference opponent and No. 34 Iowa on Saturday, March 11 at 7 p.m in the University of Iowa Field House. With only three meets left before NCAA Regional pairings are announced, an impressive road score for the Tigers can greatly improve the squad's Regional seed.

Next Friday, the Tigers return home to conclude the regular season with a rematch of SEMO on Senior Night at 7 p.m. in the Hearnes Center. During the meet, Missouri will honor the this year's three seniors, Jodie Heinicka, Lauren Schwartzman and Sarah Zigler, for their contributions to the gymnastics program and the university as a whole.

Mizzou tops Centenary at home...
The No. 9 Missouri gymnastics team scored a 195.575 against Centenary to best the Ladies, who notched a 187.525, on Friday night at the Hearnes Center. Five different Tigers led Missouri to event titles, with seniors Jodie Heincka, Lauren Schwartzman and Sarah Zigler taking the vault, beam and bars titles, respectively, while junior Whitney Crater won floor and freshman Adrianne Perry nabbed the all-around with a 39.250.

Heinicka won the vault with a caree-high 9.900 while Schwartzman set a new season-high with a 9.850 to finish second as the Tigers posted a season-high 49.125 on the event. Missouri swept the top six bars spots as Zigler tied her career-high 9.875 to win the title and freshman Alicia Hatcher scored a 9.850 to tie her personal best.

On beam, Schwartzman posted a 9.925 to nab her seventh beam title of the season while Perry finished second with a career-high tying 9.875. Heinicka also tied her career-high on the event with a 9.775. Crater took home her third floor title of the season after notching a 9.850 while Perry scored a 9.825 to finish second.

Mizzou grabs three more wins at SEMO...
Competing in its second meet in three days, the No. 9 Missouri gymnastics team took first place at the Southeast Missouri State's Outback Invitational with a 195.550 on Sunday afternoon in Cape Girardeau, Mo. SEMO finished in second with a 191.975, Centenary claimed third with a 188.775 and in fourth place was Ball State with a 187.325.

For the second-straight meet, the Tigers nabbed the team, all-around and all four event titles. Crater led four Tigers who posted at least a 9.800 on vault with a 9.850 to take the event title. On bars, Hatcher won her first career event title as the freshman tied Heinicka with a 9.825 to claim top honors. The title was the eighth of the season for Heinicka on the event.

With a 9.900, Schwartzman took home yet another beam title, followed by Perry who recorded a 9.825 to finish second and junior Amanda Pezzullo who finished third with a 9.800. For the second meet in a row, the floor exercise was a rough spot for the Tigers. Yet Crater and Perry tied for the event title after both recorded a 9.775 on the event.

Tigers still among nation's elite...
The Tigers slipped three spots to No. 12 in this week's GymInfo National Top 25 Poll but can still end the season ranked in the top 10. Mizzou is a mere tenth of a point behind No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 UCLA and No. 11 Nebraska. On individual events, the Tigers rank first on beam, 9th on bars, 14th on vault and 17th on floor nationally.

The nation's beam team...
Despite not recording a 49 on beam against Centenary or at SEMO this past weekend, the Tigers surged ahead of No. 1 Georgia as the nation's best beam team this week. Missouri holds an RQS of 49.085 on the event while the Gym Dogs sit at 49.080. Three Tigers rank in the top 30 individually on the event.

Schwartzman ranks as nation's best...
For the second time this season and the fourth of her career, senior Lauren Schwartzman ranks as the nation's top beam worker with an RQS of 9.920 this week. Thanks to a 9.925 against Centenary on March 3 and a 9.900 at SEMO on March 5, Schwartzman pulled ahead of Utah's Ashley Postell to nab the top spot. She also lead the nation on the event on Feb. 20 and twice in 2004.

Terrific Tigers...
In addition to Schwartzman's ranking, other Tigers find themselves ranked among the nation's best. Heinicka is tied for fourth on bars, tied for 53rd on vault and tied for 85th on floor. Perry ranks as the country's 16th best all-around performer as well as ranking tied for 16th on the beam. Crater is tied for 29th on vault and 35th on floor, Pezzullo is 30th in the nation on beam Zigler is tied for 32nd on bars and Hatcher is 40th on the bars.

Tigers enter the home stretch...
Missouri only has three more meets to boost its RQS and receive a favorable seed at the NCAA Regionals. Including this weekend, the Tigers have two regular season meets left followed by the Big 12 Championships on March 25. Mizzou's score from Big 12's will count as an away score for the team's RQS.

Tigers excell in the gym and classroom...
The Mizzou gymnastics team earned a perfect 1000 in the NCAA's Athletic Progress Rate, released last week, which marks the second-straight year the squad recorded a perfect score. At the time of the APR release, only two gymnastics teams earned a perfect score and ranked in the top-10: Missouri and Iowa State.

Looking ahead to Regionals...
A total of 36 teams will qualify for six different NCAA Regionals, with Arkansas (South Central), Georgia (Southeast), Iowa State (North Central), LSU (Central), Michigan (Northeast) and Stanford (West) serving as hosts. The top 18 teams will be seeded as shown:

Region 1: No. 1, No. 12, No. 13
Region 2: No. 2, No. 11, No. 14
Region 3: No. 3, No. 10, No. 15
Region 4: No. 4, No. 9, No. 16
Region 5: No. 5, No. 8, No. 17
Region 6: No. 6, No. 7, No. 18

Joining the three seeded teams in each Regional will be the top three unseeded teams from that region. The top two teams from each Regional will then qualify for Nationals. Based solely on this week's rankings, Missouri would travel to the Southeast Regional in Athens, Ga. to face No. 1 Georgia, No. 13 Auburn and the Southeast region's top three non-seeded teams. The NCAA will announce the official Regional pairings on Monday, March 27.

About Iowa...
The No. 34 Hawkeyes come into the meet against Missouri currently out of contention for an NCAA Regional. Iowa sits sixth in the three team race for a bid for the North Central Region and has a lot of ground to make up. The Hawkeyes scored a season-high 194.274 at Texas Woman's two weeks ago and have an RQS of 192.575. Senior Kortny Williamson has team season-highs on vault (9.900) and beam (9.900) while senior Liz Grajewski has a season-high of 38.925 in the AA.
Mizzou vs. Iowa: 20-3

Tiger Tidbits

Julie Abaray
Competed on bars against Centenary and SEMO and posted a 9.750 at SEMO's Outback Invitational ... in the bars lineup for the second-straight week at the Cat Classic and scored a career-high 9.775 ... qualified for the Cat Classic individual event finals on bars and finsihed in sixth place ... was in an event lineup for the first time in 2006 against Oklahoma after recovering from an ankle sprain that sidelined her for the start of the season... recorded a 9.725 on bars against the Sooners.

Nicole Bowman
Was in the floor lineup against Centenary and SEMO this past weekend ... competed on floor for the Tigers against Oklahoma and scored a 9.575 ... led off the floor lineup against Nebraska and scored a career-high 9.725 ... improved her career-best on bars with a 9.650 against Arkansas, a mark she set at the Super Six Challenge ... had a then-personal best 9.500 on floor against Arkansas.

Whitney Crater
Ranked tied for 29th on vault and 35th on floor in the nation ... picked up three event titles over the weekend with both vault and floor at SEMO and the floor title against Centenary ... won her first Cat Classic individual event title on floor with a 9.875 and finished second on vault ... In the Cat Classic team competion, recorded a 9.850 on vault ... won her second-consecutive vault title with a 9.875 against Oklahoma while tying for second on floor with a 9.875 ... won the vault and floor titles with a 9.875 and 9.850, respectively against Illinois ...the 9.875 on vault was a season high ... recorded a 9.825 on floor and a 9.775 on vault against Iowa State to finish in tied for fourth and fifth, respectively ... tied for fifth on floor at Nebraska with a 9.825 ... recorded a 9.850 on vault and floor against Centenary and Air Force for second and third place finishes, respectively ... finished tied for first on floor with a 9.825 and recorded a 9.800 on vault to tie for fourth place against Arkansas.

Alicia Hatcher
Tied for 49th on bars and 99th on beam nationally ... won her first career event title after with a 9.825 on bars at SEMO to tie Heinicka ... tied her career-high on bars against Centenary with a 9.850 ... earned top-four finishes on bars, beam and floor at the Cat Classic individual event finals ... at the Cat Classic team finals, recorded a 9.825 on beam to tie for third place and a 9.800 on bars for fourth ... recorded a 9.825 on beam against Oklahoma to tie for fifth place ... recorded a 9.800 on beam to tie for fourth place against Illinois ... scored a career-high 9.850 on bars to finish in fourth place against Iowa State ... also set a career-high on floor with a 9.750 and posted a 9.775 on beam ... placed fourth on beam with a career-high 9.850 while also recording a 9.800 on bars and 9.725 on floor at Nebraska ... recorded a 9.825 on bars against at Centenary to finish second ... finished in fifth place on bars with a 9.725 against Arkansas.

Jodie Heinicka
Tied for second nationally on bars, 62nd on beam and 68nd on vault ... set a career-high and team season-high on vault with a 9.900 to take the event title against Centenary ... tied Hatcher with a 9.925 at SEMO to earn her eighth bar title of the sesaon ... earned the Cat Classic vault title with a 9.800 and finished second on bars with a 9.800 ... at the team finals, tied for first on bars with a 9.875 ... won her sixth-straight bars title of the season against Oklahoma with a 9.850 ... tied for third on vault with a 9.825 and recorded a career-high 9.775 on beam ... won the bars title with a 9.850 against Illinois, also finished second on vault with a 9.850 ... scored a 9.925 on bars for the fourth-straight week to claim first place honors against Iowa State ... finish tied for second on for the second straight week against Iowa State with career-high tying 9.850 ... has won bars titles in six of seven meets this season after tying for fifth at the Super Six Challenge ... against Arkansas on Jan. 13, became the first Tiger to perform a full-twisting double-layout dismount on bars.

Ashley Khederian
Has sat out the past four meets due to an injury ... earned a 9.700 on floor and a 9.625 on bars against Illinois. ... competed on bars and floor against Iowa State and posted a 9.725 on floor ... scored a 9.800 on floor at Centenary for a season-high ... 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.

Katie Kluga
Tied for 55th in the nation on beam ... scored a 9.750 at SEMO to finish fourth on beam ... earned fifth place on beam at the Cat Classic individual event finals ... was in the bars and beam lineup at the Cat Classic team finals and against Oklahoma ... was in the bars and beam lineup against Illinois and earned a 9.700 on beam ... competed on bars and beam against Iowa State and posted a 9.725 on beam ... set a career-high on beam with a 9.775 at Nebraska ... recorded a 9.750 on both bars and beam at Centenary, which earned her a third place finish on bars ... tied Lauren Schwartzman with a team-high 9.700 on beam to help the Tigers place third on the event at the Super Six Challenge ... is tied for 19th on bars and 32nd on beam in the region.

Adrianne Perry
Ranks 15th nationally in the all-around, tied for 21st on floor, 33rd on beam, tied for 58th on bars and 69th on vault ... claimed all-around titls against Centenary and SEMO and tied Crater for the floor title at SEMO ... won the Cat Classic all-around title with a career-high tying 39.300 and finished second on beam .... tied for first on floor at the Cat Classic team finals ... finished second in the all-around with a 39.125 against Oklahoma ... won her third all-around title of the season with a 39.000 at Illinois, also finished second on bars ... against Iowa State, finished tied for third on beam with a 9.825 ... set an all-around personal best for the third straight week with a 39.300 at Nebraska to finish in second place ... recorded a career-high 9.875 on beam and 9.850 on bars to go along with a 9.825 on floor and 9.750 on vault ... tied for first on beam and tied for fifth on floor and vault at Nebraska ... won the all-around title at Centenary while finishing first on vault and second on floor ... won the all-around with a 39.025 against Arkansas in the first all-around competition of her collegiate career ... has a balance beam move named after her called "The Perry."

Amanda Pezzullo
Ranks 30th on beam and 99th on vault in the nation... finished third on beam and vault against both Centenary and SEMO ... won her first Cat Classic individual title after scoring a 9.825 on beam ... finished tied for third on beam at the Cat Classic team finals ... recorded a 9.825 on beam to finish tied for fifth against Oklahoma ... recorded a 9.800 on beam to tie for fourth at Illinois ... competed in the vault, beam and floor lineups against Iowa State and posted a 9.725, 9.700 and 9.675, respectively ... tied for fifth on vault with a 9.750 against Nebraska ... recorded a 9.775 on beam and a 9.700 on floor ... set a career-high with a 9.900 on beam against Centenary and Air Force to tie for second place ... also recorded a 9.700 on floor ... had an impressive meet against Arkansas after recording a 9.825 on vault to finish tied for second place.

Lauren Schwartzman
Ranks first in the nation on beam ... also ranks tied for 43rd on floor and 95th on vault in the country ... claimed her seventh and eighth beam titles of the season against Centenary and SEMO ... recorded a season-high 9.850 on vault against Centenary to finish second on the event ... finished second on floor at the Cat Classic individual event finals ... took home top honors on beam and floor at the Cat Classic team finals ... scored a 9.950 on beam for the third time this season in the Cat Classic ... earned her fifth beam and seventh total title of the season with a 9.900 against Oklahoma ... tied for second on floor against the Sooners with a 9.875 ... finished second on beam and recorded a season-high 9.800 on vault to tie for third against Illinois ... scored a 9.950 on beam for the second time this season against Iowa State to claim first place ... also posted a 9.850 on floor to tie for first place ... marked the third-highest beam score in program history with a 9.950 at Centenary to match her own score set in 2004 ... also finished first on beam and floor after recording a 9.900 on the floor exercise ... won the beam title against Arkansas with a 9.850 on the event and tied Perry for third place on floor with a 9.800.

Sarah Zigler
Tied for 32nd on bars and 95th on vault in the nation ... recorded a 9.800 on vault against both Centenary and SEMO ... claimed her second-straight bars title against Centenary with a 9.875 ... won her first career Cat Classic individual title with a 9.850 on bars ... tied for first on bars with a 9.875 in the Cat Classic team finals ... finishd fifth on vault with a 9.800 against the Sooners ... had a solid meet against Illinois with a 9.775 on bars and a 9.700 on floor, also set a career-high on floor after scoring a 9.775 in exhibition ... tied for second on bars against Iowa State with a 9.875 ... the score marks the second week in a row Zigler tied her career-high ... recorded a 9.875 on bars with against Nebraska to tie for fifth place ... also recorded a 9.700 on vault ... finished third on vault against Centenary and Air Force after notching a 9.800 ... placed first on vault with a career-high 9.850 and finished third on bars with a 9.800 against Arkansas.

Mizzou in the National Rankings

GymInfo National Top 25
1. Georgia (196.965)
2. Florida (196.315)
3. Alabama (196.230)
4. Iowa State (196.225)
5. Oklahoma (196.210)
6. Utah (196.062)
7. LSU (195.955)
8. Stanford (195.905)
9. Michigan (195.865)
10. UCLA (195.850)
11. Nebraska (195.845)
12. Missouri (195.790)
13. Auburn (195.595)
14. Arizona State (195.565)
15. Arizona (195.280)
16. Penn State (195.130)
17. Oregon State (194.885)
18. Kentucky (194.780)
19. Denver (194.605)
20. Arkansas (194.350)
21. Minnesota (194.310)
22. BYU (193.945)
23. West Virginia (193.870)
24. Illinois-Champaign (193.770)
25. North Carolina (193.540)

Nation Event Rankings
Vault: 14th (48.950)
Bars: 9th (48.970)
Beam: 1st (49.085)
Floor: 17th (48.890)

Tigers in the National Rankings

Whitney Crater
VT: T29th
FX: T35th

Alicia Hatcher
UB: T40th

Jodie Heinicka
UB: T4th
VT: T53rd
BB: T85th

Katie Kluga
BB: T93rd

Adrianne Perry
AA: 16th
BB: T16th
FX: T37th
UB: T70th
VT: T87th

Amanda Pezzullo
BB: 30th
VT: 99th

Lauren Schwartzman
BB: 1st
FX: T43rd
VT: T95th

Sarah Zigler
UB: T32nd
VT: T95th

Mizzou in the South Central Region Rankings

1. Oklahoma (196.210)
2. Nebraska (195.845)
3. Missouri (195.790)
4. Arizona State (195.565)
5. Arizona (195.280)
6. Arkansas (194.350)
7. Illinois-Champaign (193.770)
8. Illinois-Chicago (192.455)
9. Northern Illinois (191.575)
10. SEMO (191.175)

Tigers in the South Central Region Rankings

Vault
8. Whitney Crater
9. Jodie Heinicka
T21. Adrianne Perry
T23. Lauren Schwartzman, Sarah Zigler
26. Amanda Pezzullo

Bars
1. Jodie Heinicka
10. Sarah Zigler
13. Alicia Hatcher
21. Adrianne Perry
T36. Katie Kluga

Beam
1. Lauren Schwartzman
6. Adrianne Perry
8. Amanda Pezzullo
23. Jodie Heinicka
T25. Katie Kluga
34. Alicia Hatcher

Floor
5. Whitney Crater
T7. Adrianne Perry
11. Lauren Schwartzman
28. Alicia Hatcher
34. Amanda Pezzullo

All-Around
5. Adrianne Perry