March 12, 2010
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 14 Missouri Tigers (10-2) have had two great weeks of performances with a season-high 196.875 at home and a 196.200 on the road and are looking to continue the trend Saturday at No. 13 Illinois (8-7). Missouri will compete in its final road meet of the regular season at the Illini's Gym Jam that is set to begin at 2 p.m.
The long-time rival schools sit right next to one another in the current rankings and will compete in what should be one of the most exciting meets of the season.
“We are two teams inside the top-15 and it's going to be a very hot contest,” Missouri Head Coach Rob Drass said. “Whoever hits the most routines and sticks the most landings is going to win this meet. It's our last big test before the Big 12 Championship and I think it will be a good tune up for that. We look forward to a great meet from Illinois and for a great challenge ahead of us this weekend.”
Although the Illini hold the higher spot in the rankings, it's the Tigers who currently have the higher season average with a 195.414 to Illinois' 195.078. Saturday will mark the 25th meeting between the two teams who both rank in the top-20 on all four events.
Illinois is coming off a win last weekend against Ohio State 196.300-194.700, while Missouri posted its highest away-meet score of the season, 196.200, at SEMO Sunday. No matter the opponent, Drass and the entire Tiger gymnastics team is hoping to post another high score Saturday.
“It doesn't matter who the opponent is,” Drass said. “It just matters that we go out and we continue to improve and iron out the smaller, finer details and increase our consistency. Whether it's sticking dismounts, hitting handstands, not wobbling on beam or landing passes, we just try to increase our competencies on the four events and as we do that the scores should go up.”
As Missouri competes against the women of Illinois gymnastics, the third-ranked Illinois men's gymnastics team will compete at the same time on the floor against No. 4 Michigan. Gym Jam has shaped up to be a busy and entertaining meet for all fans.
The Tigers will be back in action in the Hearnes Center next Sunday, March 21, when they will say goodbye to the four seniors who have made an unforgettable impact on the Missouri gymnastics program. Seniors Brooke Boehmer, Danielle Guider, Becky Scholle and Sarah Shire will compete for the last time in regular-season meet as Missouri gymnasts, along with the rest of the team, against Centenary College of Louisiana. The Senior Day meet is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Stay tuned to mutigers.com for news and results from Champaign, Ill., this weekend.
News and Notes
Scouting No. 13 Illinois (8-7)
The Illini may have started the season off slow but have picked up steam by posting a 196.175 or more in the past three weeks. Illinois is ranked No. 13 in the country heading into this weekend's contest and is tied for eighth on beam. The team also ranks in the 10th spot on bars and floor. Juniors Allison Buckley and Melissa Fernandez is the team's one-two punch as they rank 16th and 17th in the all-around, respectively. Fernandez finished seventh on the beam at nationals last year and is Illinois' first ever first-team All-American on beam. She is tied for 14th nationally on the event and has earned a high of 9.925 this season. Senior Sarah Schmidt is the Illini's floor star as she is tied with Missouri's Shire (among others) at No. 8 on the event. She recently matched the school-record 9.950 against Michigan that she set last year at the Big 10 Championships. Missouri leads the all-time series 16-8 against Illinois and has won the last five straight.
Big 12 announces rotations for championship
The Big 12 Conference announced the rotations for the 2010 Big 12 Championship earlier this week. Iowa State will begin on vault, Missouri on bars, Oklahoma on beam and Nebraska on floor. The teams will rotate in Olympic order from there. Missouri will end the 2010 Championship on vault, which is currently the team's best event.
Tigers move up to No. 14
The Missouri Tigers made a significant jump in the rankings this week by moving from No. 18 to No. 14. After scoring a road-high 196.200 at SEMO last Sunday the Tigers now have a RQS of 195.745 heading into this weekend's contest at No. 13 Illinois. Missouri is ranked 16th on vault, tied for 18th on bars, 13th on beam and 16th on floor. Missouri averages its best score on vault (49.011) but has their highest ranking on beam.
Burke and Shire rank in top-25
Senior Sarah Shire and sophomore Mary Burke are currently two of the top-25 all-around gymnasts in the country. Shire is ranked second while Burke is currently 25th. Shire is also ranked in the top-25 on all four events with her highest rankings at tie for third on beam and a tie for eighth on floor. Shire's high of 39.725 is the highest all-around score posted this season. Burke also ranks in the top-50 on beam and on bars (the event on which she holds the highest average on the team with a 9.750).
No. 2 Shire named Gymnast of the Week, again
The Big 12 Conference named senior All-American Sarah Shire (Columbia, Mo.) the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for the third straight week on March 8. It is the sixth time this season the honor has gone to Shire. She now has 13 Gymnast of the Week awards to her name. Shire won her seventh all-around (39.675) title of the season while helping Missouri to its highest away meet score (196.200) of the season in a win over Southeast Missouri and Alaska. The senior also won the vault (9.925), bars (9.875), beam (9.925) and floor (9.950) titles, making it a sweep of all the individual titles. Her score on vault matched her season high and she now has 20 career all-around titles. Shire is currently ranked second nationally in the all-around and ranks in the top-25 on all four events, including a tie for third on beam and a tie for eighth on floor. Her career-high and school-record 39.725 in the all-around is the highest all-around score by any gymnast this season.