Feb. 6, 2009
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 13 Missouri Tigers were looking to wow their second home crowd of the year and take their sixth win of 2009 against the S.E. Missouri Redhawks on Friday. The squad certainly did not disappoint, taking the win, 195.750-193.400.
The Tigers posted their highest team score yet this season, 195.750, while also putting up season high scores on the vault. Junior Sarah Shire (Columbia, Mo.) won her fourth all-around title of the season, notching a 39.400, and taking three of the four event titles. The overall score was a new season high for the standout all-arounder, and ties for the 11th overall spot on the all-time list. She also broke her career high on vault and tied her beam high on the way to the title.
Missouri also swept the all-around podium. Senior Adrianne Perry (Columbia, Mo.) took second with a 39.300, while freshman Mary Burke (Inverness, Ill.) placed third with a 39.175, a season high.
The Tigers got things going in a big way in the first rotation, posting a 49.250 on vault, their highest single event score of the season. The score is also the seventh-best in Tiger gymnastics history. Burke got the team going with a 9.850 - a season high for the freshman. Then junior Becky Scholle (Chesterfield, Mo.) and sophomore Alex Gold (Plano, Texas) anchored the middle of the event with strong showings; Scholle posted a 9.775, a season high, while Gold notched a 9.825. Perry followed with a 9.850, while junior Sarah Shire (Columbia, Mo.) topped her career high on the event for the second time this season - her 9.950 score brought some of the loudest cheers of the night. The performance ties for the third all-time best vault score for the program.
Ahead by just over a full point, the Tigers headed to the uneven bars, where they kept up their big showing and put up a team score of 48.775, their second highest season total on the event.
Scholle led off the squad in the second rotation, posting a 9.725, another season high for the junior. Next up was freshman Allie Heizelman (Cypress, Texas), who improved her score for the fourth week in a row, this time scoring a 9.750. The Tigers` last three closed the door with their big performances. Shire put up a team-high 9.850 on the event. Perry followed with a 9.750, while Burke finished up, scoring a 9.700.
Missouri was now ahead by just over two full points and went into the third rotation looking to improve their beam scores from the previous week.
Burke led off the event for the second week in a row and got the team to a good start with a 9.775. Junior beam specialist Brooke Boehmer (Overland Park, Kan.) followed last week's showing with another strong performance, this time notching a 9.775. Perry followed with a 9.825, while Shire's performance garnered a 9.925 -- matching her career high for the second time this season.
Eyeing a record-breaking night, Missouri headed to the final rotation: the floor exercise. Gold put the Tigers on the right foot, scoring a 9.725. Senior Alicia Hatcher (Blue Springs, Mo.) matched that performance with a 9.725 of her own, followed by Danielle Guider's (Nutley, N.J.) 9.775 - a new season high for the junior. Burke brought a 9.850, another season high, while Perry led the Tigers with her typically sparkling performance and a 9.875.
Missouri is now 25-8 all time against SEMO. The Tigers will be at home again next weekend, this time facing No. 14 Illinois in the third annual "Beauty and the Beast" meet. The Mizzou gymnasts will compete alongside the Missouri wrestling team, who will battle Central Michigan. Gymnastics gets going at 6:30 p.m., while wrestling starts at 7 p.m. Doors open at 5.p.m.
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