March 29, 2008
Norman, Okla. - The No. 18 Missouri Gymnastics team tied its highest finish ever at the Big 12 Championships as they took home third place wit ha 195.225. No. 9 Oklahoma took home the title with a 195.875 while Iowa State finished second with a 195.775 with Nebraska placing fourth with a 194.975. Junior Adrianne Perry (Columbia, Mo.) won the Big 12 title in the all-around as she tallied a 39.375. With the title, Perry becomes the first Tiger in program history to win the Big 12 title in the all-around and becomes the fourth Tiger to earn the title of "Big 12 Champion." Perry also earned that title on floor as well, finishing with a 9.900.
After the meet, the 2008 Big 12 accolades were announced. Sophomore Sarah Shire (Columbia, Mo.) collected the trophy for Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, the third Tiger to earn the award. Teammate Adrianne Perry took home the honor in 2006 while Alisha Robinson received the award in 2002.
Several Tigers also took home All-Big 12 Championship Team honors. Perry and Alicia Hatcher (Blue Springs, Mo.) each earned a spot on the bars team for the second consecutive season. Shire and Perry each earned a spot on the beam team while Perry finished first on floor.
The Tigers, just like their last quad-meet, opened the Championship on floor. The Tigers got things started by tallying a 48.975. Sophomore Danielle Guider (Nutley, N.J.), who had been in the lead-off spot on floor all season, was moved down to the third spot where she responded with a 9.750, tying her second highest score of the season. Senior Ashley Khederian (Carlisle, Mass.) followed that by posting a solid 9.775. The real fire works came in the final two routines as Shire and Perry both posted huge scores to round out the floor rotation. Shire tallied a 9.850 while Perry hit 9.900, giving her two consecutive meets with a 9.900 or better.
The Tigers 48.975 was their third highest score of the season and best since Feb. 22 when the Tigers squared off against Oklahoma. The Tigers were in second place after floor, trailing only Nebraska, who posted a 49.100 on vault.
In the second rotation, the Tigers found themselves on the vault. Guider, back in the lead off spot, tallied a 9.750 to start things on vault. After a seven-week hiatus from the vault lineup, freshman Lisa LaPerriere (Macomb, Mich.) returned with a bang, nailing a 9.775, her career best. Following her, the Tigers turned in another big score from a fellow freshman as Alex Gold (Plano, Texas) tallied a 9.800, helping the Tigers stay on the track. Shire closed the event by posting a 9.825, the highest of any Tiger. The Tigers posted a 48.950 on vault, giving them their second highest score after two rotations all season, a 97.925.
Heading to bars, the Tigers achilles heel all season, they carried a .275 lead over Iowa State. The No. 9 Sooners, the favorite coming into the event, put themselves back in contention after a sub-par bars score as they posted a 49.275 on beam, ranking them third overall. Nebraska posted a 97.075 through the first two rotations, placing them fourth.
Hatcher along with Perry, Liz Straatmann (Washington, Mo.) and Becky Scholle (Chesterfield, Mo.) tallied a 48.875 on bars, the highest bars score through three rotations. Hatcher tallied a team-high 9.875, while Perry stayed in the hunt for the all-around title as she hit 9.850. Straatmann and Scholle added a 9.725 and 9.750, respectively.
The Tigers took a .100 lead over Iowa State into the final rotation, the balance beam. The Tigers were up by .200 over the Sooners, who were in third place. Brooke Boehmer (Overland Park, Kan.) was first up on the beam. She tallied a 9.725 to keep the Tigers on pace. Boehmer is still one of only two Tigers to not fall on beam all season. The other, Hatcher, posted a 9.700 on the event. Both Shire and Perry closed beam with a 9.850, but it was not enough to overcome two low scores on beam.
The NCAA Regional Selection will be announced on Monday, March 31. Once the regional selections are announced the Tigers will head to their respective regional in hopes of qualifying for NCAA Nationals. Stay tuned to www.mutigers.com for the latest on the selection and all the current news relating to Mizzou Gymnastics.