University of Missouri
Iowa State
No. 13 Tigers Win with "Pink" Style
1/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Jan. 22, 2010
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The sixth annual Pink Out meet came down to the final rotation to determine the winner, but the No. 13 Missouri Tigers (5-0) stayed determined as they dazzled the home crowd of 3,227 on floor to take the win over upset minded No. 17 Iowa State (1-2), 196.400-196.000.
Senior All-American Sarah Shire (Columbia, Mo.), the reigning Big 12 Gymnast of the Week, had another record setting night winning her first all-around title of the season with a new career high 39.600. Shire won the vault, beam and floor titles and tied with sophomore Mary Burke (Inverness, Ill.) on bars. Burke also broke her all-around career high, for the second week in a row, finishing second with a 39.375.
The night started out on vault with Senior Becky Scholle (Chesterfield, Mo.) setting the standard with a new career high 9.825. Freshman Lauren Swankoski (Chadds Ford, Pa.), who continues to get better every week, kept the momentum going with a 9.850. Junior Alex Gold (Plano, Texas) followed with a 9.800, while Burke received a 9.825. Shire finished the first event out with a 9.875 that gave her the event win.
After the first rotation the Tigers held the lead over the Cyclones 49.175-48.975.
Missouri made its way to the bars looking to build on the high score they posted a week ago. Swankoski led the team off with a 9.700 followed by a steady stream of 9.775's from senior Danielle Guider (Nutley, N.J.), sophomore Allie Heizelman (Cypress, Texas) and Scholle. Burke and Shire both earned a 9.875 to tie for the event title and give the Tigers a four-tenths lead at the halfway mark, 98.250-97.850.
Burke got the Tigers going in the third rotation on beam with a 9.775. Despite a few bobbles, Swankoski and Guider received a 9.650 and 9.675, respectively, to help Gold earn a 9.750. Shire, for the second week in a row, performed an outstanding beam routine to garner a 9.900 and the event title (the third in as many weeks).
Meanwhile, Iowa State finished floor posting an impressive 49.100 to cut Missouri's lead to a half a tenth, 147.000-146.950, heading into the last rotation.
After a come from behind win themselves a week ago, the Tigers knew they had to perform the best floor set of the season so far to hold off the Cyclones. They did just that posting new career highs for five of the six competitors in the lineup. Freshman Tori Howard (Chesterfield, Mo.) started it off with a 9.825, while Swankoski and Guider held down the middle of the lineup with a 9.850 and a 9.875, respectively. Burke nailed her difficult first tumbling pass to earn her a 9.900, paving the way for Shire's crowd-pleasing 9.950 and the floor title. Those career highs gave the Tigers a 49.400 on floor, tying the fourth-highest floor score in program history.
The final score of 196.400 is now the 12th highest team score in Missouri history. Shire, who was tied for the second-highest program all-around score, now sits alone in that spot knocking on the door of former Tiger All-American Alisha Robinson's school record of 39.650. It is the 12th all-around title of her collegiate career.
The pink-wearing crowd of 3,227 is the fifth largest non-Cat Classic crowd and the second-largest Pink Out crowd in Missouri attendance history. One dollar of every admission ticket sold for the meet went to the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center of Columbia for breast cancer research.
The Tigers hit the road next weekend, Jan. 30, for another Big 12 contest against No. 9 Nebraska. Missouri will look to win its first regular season meet against the Cornhuskers since 1995.
Players Mentioned
