Tigers Place Second at 28th Annual Cat Classic

Friday, February 29

Columbia, Mo.

6:30PM

University of Missouri

195.275

196.200

Michigan

Senior Julie Abaray earned an exhibition on beam in her final Cat Classic after speding all fo 2008 recovering from a knee injury.

2/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics

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Feb. 29, 2008

Complete Results | Brownfield Gallery | Ludeke Gallery

Columbia, Mo. - The No. 14 Tiger Gymnastics squad posted a 195.275 as the beat both No. 22 Ohio State and Cal-Berkeley, but could not catch up with No. 4 Michigan at the 28th annual Cat Classic. The Tigers placed second on the night while junior all-arounder Adrianne Perry (Columbia, Mo.) won her third consecutive all-around title, registering a 39.300, just ahead of Michigan's Sarah Curtis who tallied a 39.275. Perry managed to take home the title despite not winning any other event, showing her consistency on the night. Ohio State finished third with a 193.725 while Cal finished last with a 191.000.

With the second place finish, the Tigers move to 7-3 on the season, with all three of their losses coming to top-15 teams, and two to top six-teams.

2,851 fans packed the Hearnes Center for the 28th installment of one of the finest Gymnastics meets in the nation. The Tigers posted a 48.975 on vault, their highest score on any event of the evening. Perry finished second on the event. Sophomore Sarah Shire (Columbia, Mo.) finished fourth on the event with a 9.825.

Both Michigan and Missouri posted bug scores on their first event, turning the meet into a two team race. The Wolverines led the Tigers 49.050-48.975 after the first rotation. Junior Alicia Hatcher (Blue Springs, Mo.) tallied a team high 9.875 on bars, helping Mizzou earn a 48.900, their third best score of the season. Sophomore Liz Straatmann (Washington, Mo.) had one of her best performance on bars as well, putting up a 9.825, the second highest of her career. Straatmann seems to love performing in front of the home town fans, as she has eclipsed 9.800 in all but one home meet this season. Perry finished with a 9.750 while Shire posted a 9.725.

Trailing by just .300 heading into beam, the Tigers took with them a realistic shot of topping the No. 4 team in the country heading to the balance beam. The Tigers, who have been one of the top beam teams in the nation so far in 2008, struggled to find their rhythm, putting up a 48.525. Both Shire and Perry finished with a 9.850 and Hatcher finished with a 9.750. Their score on beam was not good enough to help them keep pace with Michigan, as the Wolverines separated themselves by scoring a 49.050 on bars.

One of the high points of the meet for everyone in attendance was seeing senior Julie Abaray (Cincinnati, Ohio) perform in front of the home town fans for the first time all season. After spending the entire 2008 season rehabbing a knee injury, Abaray earned an exhibition spot on beam.

Despite the rocky performance on beam, the Tigers managed to put together a solid floor score of 48.875. Shire and Perry, again, led the team as each of them posted a 9.825.

The Tigers will continue the 2008 season as the head to the University of Illinois next Friday. The meet will begin a 7:00 p.m. Stay tuned to www.mutigers.com for all the latest on Mizzou Gymnastics.