Ashley Khederian made a huge jump this week in the all-around, going from 54th to 18th in the nationAshley Khederian made a huge jump this week in the all-around, going from 54th to 18th in the nation
Gymnastics

Tiger Gymnastics Moves up to 13th in the Nation

Feb. 18, 2008

Columbia, Mo. - As the GymInfo rankings shifted from average team score to regional qualifying score this week, the Tigers found themselves as beneficiaries, jumping one spot in the national poll, ranking 13th. This is the Tigers second highest ranking of the season as they ranked 12th after the first weekend after toppling Bowling Green.

From here on out, the gymnastics rankings will be sorted by regional qualifying score (RQS). An RQS is based on the six highest scores that a team has, three of which must be on the road. In order to calculate the RQS, five of the top six scores are averaged, with the highest being dropped. From there, the average is the teams RQS. In the Tigers case this week, with only six scores to count, the Tigers season high of 195.800 against Centenary was dropped while the other five were averaged, coming up with a 194.880.

Several Tigers rank among the nations best as well. Senior Ashley Khederian (Carlisle, Mass.) made a huge jump in the polls, now ranking 18th in the all-around competition. Sarah Shire (Columbia, Mo.) ranks eighth in the nation on floor and 19th on vault. Junior Alicia Hatcher (Blue Springs, Mo.) represents the Tigers in the top 25 on both bars and beam, ranking 16th and 23rd, respectively.

Junior Adrianne Perry (Columbia, Mo.), coming off of her second all-around title of the season at SEMO, earned her highest ranking on floor, coming in at 18th. Perry also ranks 34th on bars.

As a team, the Tigers rank high on all four events. With Shire and Perry anchoring the floor and beam lineups, the Tigers have earned the 11th spot in both events. The tigers rank 14th on vault and 20th on bars.

The Tigers return to action this Friday, Feb. 22, in what is a pivotal Big 12 Conference showdown with Oklahoma. The Sooners will enter Friday's contest ranked sixth in the nation. Led by Kiara Redmond-Sturms, who ranks third in the all-around, the Sooners will give the Tigers all they can handled on Friday. Redmond-Sturms is one of only two gymnasts to post a 10.000 on any event this season as she did on vault last weekend.

The meet will begin promptly at 6:30 with doors opening at 5:30. Fans are encouraged to come early to support their Tigers in a meet that will likely determine the outcome of the Big 12 regular season title. The match will be televised as well in a tape delay on Fox Sports Net.