Jan. 29, 2010
COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 11 Missouri (5-0) will hit the road this weekend to take on Big 12 rival No. 9 Nebraska (4-0). The Tigers will be looking for its first regular-season win against the Cornhuskers since 1995. The match of current unbeatens will mark the first conference meet of the season for the Nebraska (0-0), while it will be the second for Missouri (1-0).
“I think it's always good to go to Nebraska,” Head Coach Rob Drass said. “They have a great history and great tradition. I think we stack up well with them and will hav
e a very close competition. It's going to come down to the last stuck routine and who outperforms the other group.” Both Missouri and Nebraska are coming off season-high performances. Nebraska scored a 196.025 against No. 17 Michigan last week, while Missouri scored a 196.400 over No. 14 Iowa State.
“Last week I thought it was good to be home again,” Drass said. “I thought we found a nice energy, we were confident and we were focused. We have yet to put together that meet where we feel good on every single event, but I know that's in the works and it's coming. To be able to put up a 196.400 and still feel like there is room for improvement is a good sign.”
The Tigers' meet against the Cyclones came down to the last rotation with Missouri leading 147.000-146.950. Missouri posted a 49.400 on floor with the help of career highs by five of the six competitors. Senior All-American Sarah Shire (Columbia, Mo.) set a new all-around career high (39.600) on her way to winning her first all-around title of the season, the 14th of her career. Sophomore Mary Burke (Inverness, Ill.) also broke her career high with a 39.375. She has now tied or set a new career high every week of the season.
Stay tuned to mutigers.com for all the news and updates from Nebraska this weekend.
News and Notes
Scouting No. 9 Nebraska (4-0)
The No. 9 ranked Cornhuskers have started the season off strong with wins over three current top 25 teams. Nebraska is averaging a team score of 195.642 and was ranked as high as No. 3 after the first week of competition. The team holds the No. 9 spots on vault and bars, No. 15 on beam and No. 7 on floor in the national rankings. Nebraska has seen impressive performances from several upperclassmen including junior Erin Davis who scored a perfect 10 on the vault two weeks ago and ranks fourth in the event. Junior Maria Scaffidi, the team's only current all-around competitor, is ranked ninth on floor and 21st in the all-around. Kylie Stone, the reigning Co-Big 12 Gymnast of the Year with Missouri's Shire, is the Cornhuskers only returning All-American, however, the senior has been limited to mostly vault and bars so far this season. The Tigers are looking for their first regular-season win against the Cornhuskers since 1995.
Shire wins second straight Big 12 award
The Big 12 conference named Sarah Shire the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for the second straight week. Shire has now won the weekly conference award nine times (tied for the second most in Big 12 Conference history). Shire helped Missouri (5-0) to a 196.400-196.000 win over Big 12 opponent No. 14 Iowa State last Friday, Jan. 22. She won the all-around (39.600), vault (9.875), beam (9.900) and floor titles (9.950), while tying for the bars (9.875) title. Her marks on floor and in the all-around set new career highs for the senior. The all-around title win marked the first of the season for Shire and the 14th of her career. Missouri gymnasts have swept the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week honor all three weeks of the current season. Mary Burke won the first week, while Shire has taken the last two.
Pinked Out
The Missouri gymnastics team sported a different color than usual last Friday. The Tigers traded in their black and gold for pink at the sixth annual Pink Out meet in support of breast cancer research and awareness. The meet against Iowa State, who also wore pink leotards, saw a crowd of 3,227, the second largest in Pink Out history. One dollar of every admission ticket sold for the event was donated to Columbia's Ellis Fischel Cancer Center.
Strong Beginnings
Missouri's team score of 196.400 against Iowa State is the 12th highest score in program history. But more impressively, it is the second highest score Missouri has posted this early in the season. On Jan. 25, 2004, the program earned a 196.500 against SEMO. The Tigers are continuing to put themselves in perfect position to make it to the National Championships for the first time since 1981.
A night to remember on floor
The Tigers floor rotation of a 49.400 against Iowa State was the most impressive on any event for the team so far this season. After the first two meets Missouri was averaging a 48.600 on the event with a high of 48.725 and a No. 20 ranking on the event. Now, the Tigers average a 48.867 on floor and have moved up to No. 13 nationally. The floor score from the meet included the setting of five new career highs from six of the competitors in the lineup, highlighted by Sarah Shire's 9.950. It is now the fourth highest floor score in Missouri history.
Shire named to Mizzou Athletics All-Decade Team
MUTigers.com announced its All-Decade Team on Jan. 27 featuring a performer of the decade for each sport. Sarah Shire was named the performer of the decade for gymnastics after her success in both the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Former Tiger All-Americans Adrianne Perry (2006-2009) and Alisha Robinson (2002-2005) received honorable mention selections for their impacts on the Missouri gymnastics program.
Tale as old as time
Next Friday, Feb. 6, will mark another annual meet for the Tigers, the Tigers of the gym and the mats. Started in 2007, the Beauty and the Beast meet features both the gymnastics team and the wrestling team simultaneously on the Hearnes Center floor. The gymnasts will compete against New Hampshire, while the wrestlers will take on Big 12 rival Oklahoma. In 2008, the meet saw a record crowd of 6,308 Tiger fans, the 12th largest crowd in Missouri gymnastics history. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children.