Gymnastics keeps goal in mind
Missouri has chased down six wins on the season but has not yet caught up with the elusive team score of 196.000. Missouri coach Rob Drass and the Tigers have made it clear that they won’t be totally satisfied with just piling up wins. They want to reach that 196.000 score (and beyond) as well.
So just what does scoring 196.000 mean for No.13 Missouri? Obtaining a score like that would put the Tigers among the nation’s elite teams and allow them to edge closer to a top-ten ranking.
The top eleven teams in GymInfo’s national rankings have put up 196.000 at least once. If Missouri gets to that level, it would leave little doubt that they belong among the country’s top-tier squads.
As the season progresses, the Tigers are making strides towards their goal. Missouri has increased its team high score the last two meets, reaching 195.750 last Friday night against Southeast Missouri State.
The team’s lightning-fast start against SEMO definitely seemed to put Missouri on the path to 196.000. Sparked by junior Sarah Shire’s 9.950 score (the second-best on vault in school history), the Tigers put up a season-best 49.250 after the first rotation. Missouri failed to duplicate that kind of season-best performance on the uneven parallel bars or floor exercise, though, and their attempt was derailed. Overall, the Tigers say they are just a few adjustments away from making the next step.
Missouri’s next crack at 196.000 comes Friday night at the Hearnes Center against Illinois in the “Beauty and the Beast” meet. The meeting will mark the second time in three meets the teams have faced off. Missouri took first in the quad meet on Jan. 31 against the Fighting Illini as well as Michigan State and Ohio State.