Feb. 15, 2007
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - In the midst of the three-meet homestand, the No. 20 Missouri gymnastics team will square off against Centenary on Friday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Hearnes Center.
Mizzou All-Access will stream a live feed of the meet to online for subscribers and live results will also be available. Both features can be found at mutigers.com.
Mizzou in the rankings
Missouri dropped one spot to 20th in this week's GymInfo Top 25 with an average score of 194.212. All four Big 12 programs are ranked in the poll, with Nebraska (195.625) sixth, Oklahoma (195.540) eighth and Iowa State (195.450) 10th. Nex week rankings will switch to Regional Qualifying Score (RQS).
An RQS is calculated by taking the six highest scores of the season, of which at least three must be from an away meet. The highest overall score is dropped and the remaining five scores are averaged to get the RQS.
On individual events, the Tigers rank 17th on floor, 19th on vault, 23rd on bars and 26th on beam.
Beauty and the Beast a success
The Tigers joined together with the Mizzou wrestling squad on Feb. 9 as the two teams hosted the first annual Beauty and the Beast event in front of 6,197 fans at the Hearnes Center. Both squads picked up wins as the gymnasts recorded a 194.775-192.700 win over SEMO while the wrestlers claimed a 36-13 victory of Northern Iowa.
Sophomore Adrianne Perry nabbed the all-around crown with a personal best 39.500 and junior Ashley Khederian finished second with a 38.825 in her first all-around competition in two seasons.
Perry also claimed the vault, beam and floor titles with scores of 9.950, 9.850 and 9.875, respectively. Her vault total also set a new career high and was the third-higest score in Mizzou history.
Freshman Becky Scholle won her first career event title when she posted a personal high 9.850 on bars.
Tigers takes Big 12 honor, finally
Sophomore Adrianne Perry was named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week on Feb. 12, which marks the first time since 2005 that a Mizzou gymnast has received the honor. Perry earned the award after posting a career-high 39.500 in the all-around against SEMO on Friday. The score is the highest such total by a Big 12 gymnast this season and ties the fifth-best score in Tiger history.
Better bars
After struggling on the event in their first few meets, the bars have been the Tigers' best event the past two weeks. The turnaround started when Mizzou recorded a 48.950 at Iowa State, highlighted by 9.800s or higher from four different gymnasts. Missouri followed up that performance with a 49.025, the squad's season high on any event, against SEMO last weekend.
Scholle takes flight
Against SEMO on Friday, Feb. 9, freshman Becky Scholle won her first career event title when she scored a 9.850 on bars, which set a personal best. The Chesterfield, Mo., native has come on on bars of late, with a 9.750 on Jan. 26, 9.800 on Feb. 2 and her 9.850 against SEMO. The the bars crown, she joins sophomore Adrianne Perry and junior Julie Abaray as the only Tigers to take titles so far this season.
Perry has company
For the first time in her collegiate career, sophomore Adrianne Perry had a teammate in the all-around competition against SEMO on Feb. 9. Junior Ashley Khederian was in all-four event lineups for the first time since 2005 and finished second in the all-around with a 38.825 against the Redhawks.
Khederian, who had competed on vault, bars and floor the previous five meets, was inserted into the beam lineup and didn't disappoint with a 9.625. Hindered by injuries as a sophomore in 2006, Khederian competed as an all-arounder nine times in 2005 and posted a career-high 39.175 against Illinois.
Talk about improvement
After falling on vault in the first meet of the season, sophomore Adrianne Perry has reeled off a four straight fantastic vaults. She notched 9.825s against Illinois (1/12) and Iowa State (2/2), a 9.875 at Oklahoma (1/19) a 9.925 against Nebraska (1/26) and a career-high 9.950 against SEMO. Although her season average on the event is a 9.742, her average the past five weeks is a 9.886.
What a difference a year makes
Junior Julie Abaray and Senior Amanda Pezzullo are two big reasons for the Tigers' success on floor this year. Last season, Abaray suffered a severe ankle sprain, which limited her to competing on floor in only four meets, with a season-high score of 9.775. Pezzullo competed on the event all of 2006 but her high score of 9.750 was due in part to her early lineup order.
This year, Abaray is healthy and Pezzullo has moved up in the lineup, which is reflected in their scores. Pezzullo has an event average of 9.810 including a season-high 9.850 against SEMO and Abaray's average is a 9.737, with a career-high 9.850 against Nebraska on Jan. 26.
Tigers ranked nationally...
Now in the middle of the season, three Tigers are ranked among the nation's top competitors on various events. Sophomore Adrianne Perry is 30th in the all-around, tied for 67th on bars and 72nd on floor. Additionally, senior Amanda Pezzullo ranks 40th on floor and junior Ashley Khederian is tied for 61st in the all-around.
...and regionally
In addition to their national rankings, fourTigers are ranked in the top-30 in the South Central Region. Perry is third in the all-around, ninth on bars, 12th on floor, 25th on beam and 26th on vault. Pezzullo clocks in at sixth on floor, 16th on vault and 22nd on beam. Khederian is 12th in the all-around and 24th on bars while classmate Julie Abaray is 18th on bars and 20th on floor.
Tigers awarded for work in the classroom
For their efforts in the classroom, 11 Tigers were named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll for posting a grade-point-average of 3.0 or higher during the previous semester, the league office announced this week.
Seniors Ali Gilmore and Amanda Pezzullo, juniors Julie Abaray, Nikki Bowman, Katie Kluga and Lisa Puccio, sophomore Alicia Hatcher and freshmen Brooke Boehmer, Nicole Lovegreen, Becky Scholle and Liz Straatmann were all named to the list. Scholle was recognized for posting a 4.0 GPA.
Mizzou to host Big 12 Championship
For the first time since 2003, the Tigers will host the Big 12 Gymnastics Championship at the Hearnes Center on Saturday, March 31. The last time the meet was in Columbia, the Tigers finished third, which marked the first time since 1994 the squad finished better than fourth.
Tiger Tidbits
Julie Abaray
Tied for second on bars with a 9.825 against SEMO in setting a new personal best ... recorded a 9.800 on bars at Iowa State ... also notched a 9.800 on beam and 9.775 on floor against the Cyclones ... scored a career-high 9.850 on floor against Nebraska to tie for fourth and posted a 9.800 on beam ... notched a 9.775 on floor and a 9.700 on bars against Oklahoma and Central Michigan ... tied for first on beam against Illinois with a 9.800 ... scored a career high tying 9.800 on floor at the Cancun Classic to finish in fourth place ... ranks 18th on bars and 20th on floor in the South Central Region.
Nikki Bowman
Finished fifth on vault with a 9.750 against SEMO ... notched a 9.650 on floor against the Cyclones ... tied her career-high with a 9.750 on vault against Nebraska ... led off the beam lineup with a 9.750 at Oklahoma ... recorded a 9.700 on vault against Illinois on Jan. 12 ... posted a 9.675 on bars and 9.625s on beam and floor at the Cancun Classic.
Whitney Crater
Posted a 9.750 on vault for a fifth place finish against SEMO ... was in the floor lineup for the first time in 2007 against the Redhawks and scored a 9.625 ... recorded a 9.725 on vault at Iowa State ... had a 9.800 on vault against the Cornhuskers ... scored a 9.825 on vault to tie for second against Illinois ... in her first competition since suffering an Achilles tear in April, notched a 9.775 on vault at the Cancun Classic.
Alicia Gilmore
Scored a career-high 9.750 on bars against SEMO in only her second time in the event lineup this season.
Danielle Guider
Finished third on floor with a 9.800 and notched a personal best 9.725 on beam against SEMO ... scored a 9.775 on floor at Iowa State ... recorded a career-high 9.825 on floor at Oklahoma to tie for third place ... competed on both vault and floor in her collegiate debut and did not disappoint with a 9.700 on vault ... entered the beam lineup against Illinois and notched a 9.575.
Alicia Hatcher
Sat out the meet against SEMO due to a sprained ankle ... finished fourth on bars with a 9.825 at Iowa State ... tied for third on bars with a team season-high 9.825 against Nebraska ... scored a career-high 9.900 on beam to tie for third at Oklahoma ... also notched a 9.750 on floor against the Sooners ... finished second on beam against Illinois with a 9.700 ... recorded a 9.700 on floor at the Cancun Classic.
Ashley Khederian
Competed in the all-around for the first time since 2005 against SEMO and scored a 38.825 ... also scored 9.775s on bars and floor ... notched a season-high 9.725 on bars against the Cyclones ... also scored a 9.775 on vault ... posted a 9.700 on bars against the Huskers ... had a 9.775 on vault at Oklahoma to tie for fifth place ... also posted a 9.725 on floor ... scored a 9.725 on vault, 9.675 on bars and a 9.600 on floor against Illinois ... competed on three events at the Cancun Classic and notched a 9.775 on vault ... ranks tied for 61st nationally and 12th in the region in the all-around.
Katie Kluga
Led off beam against Nebraska and scored a 9.750 ... posted a career high 9.800 on beam at the Cancun Classic to tie for 10th place ... also notched a 9.675 on bars in Cancun.
Adrianne Perry
Took the all-around, vault, beam and floor titles against SEMO with scores of 39.500, 9.950, 9.850 and 9.875, respectively ... all-around and vault scores against the Redhawks set career-highs ... finished second on vault with a 9.825 and floor with a 9.850 and scored a 9.825 on beam and a 9.800 on bars at Iowa State ... set a then career-highs on vault with a 9.925 and floor with a 9.900 against Nebraska ... the vault score set a new sophomore record on the event ... also scored a 9.825 on bars against the Huskers ... tied for the vault title with a career-high tying 9.875 at Oklahoma ... picked up the all-around crown against Illinois with a 39.150 on the night ... also won the bars, beam and floor titles against the Illini with scores of 9.775, 9.800 and 9.750, respectively ... notched a 9.825 on vault against Illinois to tie for second .. at the Cancun Classic, recorded a 9.825 on beam to tie for fifth place .. ranks 30th in the all-around, tied for 67th on bars and 72nd on floor nationally.
Amanda Pezzullo
Finished second on vault and floor with scores of 9.800 and 9.850, respectively, against SEMO ... recorded a 9.825 on floor and a 9.800 on vault at Iowa State ... had a strong meet against Nebraska as she tied for second on beam with a 9.875 and posted a 9.825 on floor and 9.800 on vault ... recorded a 9.825 on floor to tie for third and posted a 9.800 on beam at Oklahoma ... in her first floor routine of the season, notched a 9.725 on floor to take second place ... scored a team meet high 9.875 on vault at the Cancun Classic to tie for second ... ranks 40th on floor nationally.
Becky Scholle Won her first career event title with a career-high 9.850 on bars against SEMO ... notched a 9.800 on bars at Iowa State ... scored a on bars against Nebraska ... in the vault lineup for the first time at Oklahoma, did not disappoint with a 9.725 ... tied Julie Abaray for second on bars with a 9.700 against the Fighting Illini ... was in the bars lineup in her first collegiate meet at the Cancun Classic.