No. 7 Tigers Return Home For Conference Test Against No. 9 Iowa State

GymnasticsFebruary 01, 2006

No. 7 Tigers Return Home For Conference Test Against No. 9 Iowa State

Feb. 2, 2006

Feb. 2, 2006

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri Tigers return to the comfy confines of the Hearnes Center after a two-week absence with a Big 12 Conference matchup against No. 9 Iowa State on Friday, Feb. 3 at 7:00 p.m. CT. Missouri is coming off a close 196.350-195.950 loss to Nebraska in Lincoln but the Tigers notched their highest score of the year and improve three spots in this week's national poll.

Iowa State moved up six spots in the poll to No. 9 after defeating Iowa 195.700-193.375 in Iowa City, Iowa. This weekend will mark the second time this season the Tigers and Cyclones square off, as both teams participated in the Super Six Challenge on Jan. 6. Iowa State fi nished third at the meet with a 194.050 while the Missouri placed sixth with a 192.700.

Mizzou can't halt Nebraska's streak...
Despite a season-high 195.950 against No. 12 Nebraska on Sunday, Jan. 29, the Tigers could not end the Huskers' 58-meet home unbeaten streak as Mizzou fell 196.350-195.950.

Freshman Adrianne Perry set a new personal best in the all-around with a 39.300 while scoring a 9.875 on beam, 9.850 on bars, 9.825 on floor and a 9.750 on vault. Also impressive for the Tigers was senior Jodie Heinicka, who recorded a 9.925 on bars for the third consecutive meet, good enough to give her a share of the event title. Heinicka also tied for second on vault with a 9.800. Other event winners for the Tigers were senior Lauren Schwartzman and Perry, who tied for first on the beam with a 9.875. Notching career-highs for Mizzou were senior Sarah Zigler on bars (9.875), sophomores Nikki Bowman on floor (9.725) and Katie Kluga on beam (9.775), freshman Alicia Hatcher of beam (9.850) and floor (9.725) and Perry on beam (9.875).

The Tigers were extremely solid on beam and bars at the meet, scoring a 49.150 and 49.125, respectively. Mizzou has now scored at least a 49.000 on three of four events this season. a feat which took six weeks in 2005.

Tigers move up in the rankings...
Thanks to an impressive 195.950 a Nebraska on Jan. 29, the Tigers earned their highest-ever ranking at No. 7 in this week's GymInfo Top 25 Poll. All four Big 12 Conference squads are ranked at least ninth, making it the top 10's best represented conference. Based on individual events, Mizzou is fourth nationally on beam, seventh on bars, tied for 14th on floor and 15th on vault.

About Iowa State...
After a week layoff, the Cyclones came away with a 195.700-193.375 win over in-state rival Iowa on Jan. 28. Against the Hawkeyes, Iowa State recorded a 49.350 on floor, which marks the second-highest floor score in the nation this season. On the season, Iowa State ranks in the top 15 nationwide in all events, including 10th on floor.

Individually, sophomore junior Janet Anson is the fifth best vaulter in the nation with a 9.875 average and is tied for 23rd in the all-around with a 38.925 mark. Fellow Katie Lasher has a 9.837 average on vault to tie for 22nd nationally.
Mizzou vs. Iowa State: 40-34

Mizzou balancing the beam...
Considered one of Mizzou's weaker events in the preseason, the beam team has proven just the opposite so far this season. The Tigers rank fourth nationally on the event with a 48.719 average, including scores of 49.175 and 49.150 the past two weeks.

Amazingly, only 2004 Big 12 beam champion Schwartzman and junior Amanda Pezzullo">Amanda Pezzullo">Amanda Pezzullo">Amanda Pezzullo were regular beam performers last season, as this year's lineup features four event newcomers. Additionally, former Junior National beam champion and 2005 lineup fixture Julie Abaray has yet to compete this season due to a sprained ankle.

Pink Out a success...
The meet against Arkansas marked the second annual Pink Out, a meet aimed to raise breast cancer support and awareness. In honor of the event, the Tigers donned pink and black leotards while most of the 2,897 fans in attendance wore pink as well. The 2006 Pink Out raised over $1,600 to support breast cancer research.

Individual Notes

Nicole Bowman
Led off the floor lineup against Nebraska and scored a career-high 9.725 ...improved her career-best on bars with a 9.650 against Arkansas, a mark she set at the Super Six Challenge ... had a then-personal best 9.500 on floor against Arkansas ... ranks tied for 47th in the region on floor.

Whitney Crater
Tied for fifth on floor at Nebraska with a 9.825 ... recorded a 9.850 on vault and floor against Centenary and Air Force for second and third place finishes, respectively ... finished tied for first on floor with a 9.825 and recorded a 9.800 on vault to tie for fourth place against Arkansas ... is tied for 30th in the South Central Region on vault with a 9.700 average.

Alicia Hatcher
Placed fourth on beam with a career-high 9.850 while also recording a 9.800 on bars and 9.725 on floor ... recorded a career-high 9.825 on bars against at Centenary to finish in second place ... finished in fifth place on bars with a 9.725 against Arkansas ... is ranked 12th in the South Central region and tied for 44th nationally with a 9.781 bars average.

Jodie Heinicka
Scored a 9.925 on bars for the third-straight week to tie for first place honors at Nebraska ... has won bars titles in three of four meets this season. She tied for fifth at the Super Six Challenge ... against Arkansas on Jan. 13, became the first Tiger to perform a full-twisting double-layout dismount on bars ... ranks first on bars in the South Central Region and is fourth nationally ... also is 16th in the region and 57th nationally on beam.

Ashley Khederian
Scored a 9.800 on floor at Centenary for a new season-high ... in the bar lineup for the second-consecutive year at the Super Six Challenge, Khederian did not disappoint with a 9.700 on the event.

Katie Kluga
Set a career-high on beam with a 9.775 at Nebraska ... recorded a 9.750 on both bars and beam at Centenary, which earned her a third place finish on bars ... tied Lauren Schwartzman with a team-high 9.700 on beam to help the Tigers place third on the event at the Super Six Challenge ... is tied for 19th on bars and 33rd on beam in the region and tied for 87th nationally on bars.

Adrianne Perry
Improved her all-around personal best for the third straight week with a 39.300 at Nebraska to finish in second place ... recorded a career-high 9.875 on beam and 9.850 on bars to go along with a 9.825 on floor and 9.750 on vault ... tied for first on beam and tied for fifth on fl oor and vault at Nebraska ... set four then-career-highs against Centenary and Air Force, including all-around (39.150), vault (9.875), floor (9.875) and beam (9.850) ... for the second week in a row, won the all-around title at Centenary while finishing first on vault and second on floor ... won the all-around with a 39.025 against Arkansas in her first home meet and the first all-around competition of her collegiate career ... ranks second in the South Central region and tied for eighth nationally in the all-around ... also ranked third in the region and 34th nationally on floor, tied for seventh in the region and 40th nationally on vault, tied for 19th in the region and 76th nationally on beam and tied for 21st in the region and 92nd nationally on bars.

Amanda Pezzullo
Tied for fifth on vault with a 9.750 against Nebraska. Also recorded a 9.775 on beam and a 9.700 on floor ... set a career-high with a 9.900 on beam against Centenary and Air Force to tie for second place ... Also recorded a 9.700 on floor ... had an impressive meet against Arkansas after recording a 9.825 on vault to finish tied for second place ... recorded a 9.725 on floor and a 9.650 on beam against Arkansas ... ranks 13th on beam in the region and tied for 51st nationally.

Lauren Schwartzman
Marked the third-highest beam score in program history with a 9.950 at Centenary to match her own score set in 2004 ... also fi nished first on beam and floor after recording a 9.900 on the floor exercise ... won the beam title against Arkansas with a 9.850 on the event and tied Perry for third place on floor with a 9.800 ... tied for sixth nationally and is third in the South Central region on beam and is third in the region and tied for 30th nationally on floor.

Sarah Zigler
Tied her career-high on bars with a 9.875 against Nebraska to tie for fi fth place ... also recorded a 9.700 on vault ... finished third on vault against Centenary and Air Force after notching a 9.800 ... placed first on vault with a career-high 9.850 and finished third on bars with a 9.800 against Arkansas ... ranks tied for 20th on vault in the region.

Missouri in the Rankings...

GymInfo Top 25 (Jan. 30)
1. Georgia
2. Utah
3. Alabama
4. Michigan
5. Florida
6. Oklahoma
7. Missouri
8. Nebraska
9. Iowa State
10. Arizona
11. UCLA
12. Arizona State
13. Stanford
14. LSU
15. Penn State
16. Denver
17. Auburn
18. Kentucky
19. Oregon
20. Minnesota
21. Arkansas
22. Illinois-Chigaco
23. New Hampshire
24. Michigan State
25. North Carolina

Missouri In The National Rankings

Event/Rank/Avg.
Vault/14th(t)/48.706
Bars/7th/48.794
Beam/4th/48.719
Floor/15th/48.612
Team/7th/194.831

Missouri In the South Central Region Rankings

Event/Rank/Avg.
Vault/4th/48.700
Bars/3rd/48.683
Beam/2nd/48.575
Floor/4th/48.500 Team/2nd/194.458 Team/7th/194.831

Tigers In The National Rankings

Jodie Heinicka: 4th-UB; 57th-BB
Alicia Hatcher: 44th(t)-UB
Katie Kluga: 87th(t)-UB
Adrianne Perry: 8th(t)-AA; 34th(t)- FX; 40th(t)-VT; 76th(t)-BB; 92nd(t)-UB
Amanda Pezzullo: 51st(t)-BB
Lauren Schwartzman: 6th(t)-BB; 30th(t)-FX
Sarah Zigler: 87th(t)-VT

Tigers in the South Central Region Rankings

Vault
7t.Adrianne Perry
20t. Sarah Zigler
30t. Whitney Crater, Jodie Heinicka
43. Lauren Schwartzman

Bars
1. Jodie Heinicka
12. Alicia Hatcher
19t. Katie Kluga
21t. Adrianne Perry
39t. Ashley Khederian
48t. Sarah Zigler