Gymnastics finishes regular season with big win
Missouri finished off the regular season in style on Friday as it took down then-No. 9 Oregon State 196.425 to 195.950.
The victory gave No. 14 Missouri an overall record of 16-2 (1-2 Big 12) and some definite momentum as it faces off against the rest of the Big 12 this Saturday at the conference championships.
The Tigers’ winning percentage of .888 is the highest in their history and junior Sarah Shire’s nine all-around titles this year are also a team record.
Before Missouri heads off to the conference meet, let’s look at some of the pivotal moments of the 2009 season and how the Tigers ended up where they are now.
·Road warriors: Missouri opened up the season with two away meets in an early test of road grit. After beating Iowa State and Arizona State, the Tigers proved adept at winning in hostile territory and set a trend for the rest of the season as they eventually went 10-1 away from the Hearnes Center.
·Home sweet home? The Tigers homecoming on January 23 was spoiled when Nebraska snatched a 195.750-194.750 victory. In what would be the only home loss Missouri would suffer in 2009, the Tigers couldn’t keep up with their Big 12 rivals and their conference record fell to 1-1. It would also be the lone meet that junior Sarah Shire failed to take first in the all-around as her teammate senior Adrianne Perry tied for the crown with Cornhusker junior Kylie Stone.
·Raising the bar: Five meets into the season the Tigers had yet to post a team score that reached 196.000. Then the Fighting Illini of Illinois came to town on February 13. Missouri busted out with a 196.625 and Shire scored her fifth all-around title of the season. That momentum carried down to Norman, Oklahoma the next week as Missouri once again surpassed the 196.000 mark. Though the Tigers failed to beat the Sooners, their score of 196.225 marked a positive trend in the team’s scoring.
·Beaver hunting: The timing for Missouri’s biggest upset of the year could not have been better as the team heads to the conference championship. Eclipsing 196.000 for the third time in 2009, Missouri scored a big win both for their record and momentum. Oregon State posted the third-highest team score in nation just the week before and boasted a top-ten ranking. Seniors Adrianne Perry and Alicia Hatcher led the way for the Tiger upset while Shire won her historic ninth all-around title.
The Tigers now see if their regular season wins translate into postseason success. Missouri will find out starting Saturday in Ames, Iowa as they hit the mats at 2 p.m for the Big 12 Championships.