University of Missouri
Nebraska
No. 12 Mizzou Drops First Loss to No.13 Nebraska
1/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Jan. 23, 2009
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Tigers kept it close, but could not quite pull off the come-from-behind victory this week. Missouri fell to Big 12 rival Nebraska, 194.750-195.750.
But there were many bright spots for Missouri, including Adrianne Perry's (Columbia, Mo.) first all-around title of the season. The senior shared the title with Nebraska junior Kylie Stone after scoring a 39.350 on the night. Stone was this week's Co-Big 12 Gymnast of the Week along with Tigers' junior Sarah Shire.
Meanwhile, freshman Mary Burke (Inverness, Ill.) notched her first all-around score above the 39.000 mark with a 39.075 to finish third.
Another highlight was certainly the hometown crowd of 3,459 - the largest Pink Out and opening night crowd in Missouri history. It was also the third largest non-Cat Classic crowd in program history.
"I think we had high expectations for the team tonight," Head Coach Rob Drass said. "But we came out again and dug ourselves a hole in the beginning. We just have to do a better job starting out. This team has tremendous potential."
Missouri finally got the chance to start at home for the 2009 season, and proceed in Olympic order. First up was the vault. Sophomore Lauren Stephenson (Kansas City, Mo.) notched the team's first big score with a 9.750, while freshman Mary Burke (Inverness, Ill.) followed with another high score for the Tigers with a 9.800. Sophomore Alex Gold (Plano, Texas) put up a 9.125. Not holding back punches to close out the lineup, Perry vaulted to a 9.850, while junior Sarah Shire (Columbia, Mo.) shattered another career high for the second week in a row with a 9.925. Last week, Shire posted that same score on the balance beam to set a new career mark.
Trailing by nearly half a point, the Tigers headed to the uneven bars where they looked to put up big numbers, and did, tying their season high with a 48.725 on the event. Junior Becky Scholle (Chesterfield, Mo.) led the team off with a strong 9.700. Next up was freshman Allie Heizelman (Cypress, Texas) who set a new season high with a 9.675. Shire pushed her first half totals higher with a 9.800, while Perry's 9.750 nearly equaled that. Senior specialist Alicia Hatcher (Blue Springs, Mo.) rounded out the lineup, scoring a 9.800. Hatcher has not posted a score lower than 9.750 on the event this year.
But it seemed that no matter how hard Missouri pushed, Nebraska just pushed back. The Huskers put up a 97.725 in their first two rotations to hold on to the lead.
Missouri moved along to beam. Junior specialist Brooke Boehmer (Overland Park, Kan.) took her usual leadoff spot, notching a solid 9.500. Then Burke followed with a 9.775 - her highest score of the year on the event so far. Junior Danielle Guider (Nutley, N.J.) hit a 9.475, while Hatcher and Perry tied for the Missouri's highest score on the event, both with a 9.850.
It was time for the final rotation and the crowd favorite - the floor exercise. The Tigers needed a lot of momentum to catch the Huskers, and despite an evening-best event score of 49.125, the Huskers matched the Tigers. Gold got things started with a flashy show and another solid performance for a 9.750. Hatcher kept things going with a 9.775. Burke revved up the crowd with a 9.825 to push her all-around total over 39.000, while Shire propelled Missouri upward with a stellar 9.875 - a new season high. Last up was floor superstar Perry who tied the night's highest score on the event with a 9.900.
Missouri is now 8-64 against Nebraska all-time. Their next meeting will be at the Big 12 Championships in Ames, Iowa in March.
The Tigers will go on the road next weekend to No. 15 Ohio State, where they will face their first multi-team meet - along with the host school, Missouri also faces Michigan State and No. 14 Illinois.
Stay with mutigers.com for updates and news on Missouri Gymnastics throughout the week.
