Gymnastics Regional preview
Missouri’s quest for the NCAA National Championships takes them to Alabama this weekend as the No. 15 Tigers compete in an NCAA Regional meet for the 22nd time in school history.
Senior Adrianne Perry is aiming to become the first four-time national championship qualifier in school history while junior Sarah Shire looks for a continuation of her all-around dominance in 2009.
Missouri’s competition, though, makes sure the path to nationals won’t be an easy one. Two major road blocks stand in the way of Missouri’s attempt to snag one of the regional’s two nationals-qualifying team spots: No. 3 Alabama and No. 9 Oklahoma.
Host Alabama comes from an SEC conference that features four teams ranked in the top ten nationally. The Crimson Tide’s average score of 196.487 is the highest of any team the Tigers have faced this season.
The SEC named Alabama junior Morgan Dennis to the first team all-conference squad and three other Alabama gymnasts to the second team.
Dennis ranks third nationally in the floor exercise and has hit as high as 9.975 this season.
Big 12 rival Oklahoma is a familiar foe to Missouri as the two teams will be meeting for the third time this season. The Sooners captured wins in both previous meets.
Fresh off its second straight Big 12 title, Oklahoma is in the top-ten nationally in every event. The Sooners average 49.525 on the balance beam and rest at No. 6 in the country in that event.
Six Sooners took home All-Big 12 honors, including junior Hollie Vise and freshman Megan Ferguson. Both placed on the uneven parallel bars and balance beam squads.
Rounding out the field of competitors is Central Michigan, Maryland and New Hampshire. Though they may not be as high profile as Alabama or Oklahoma, those teams nevertheless earned their spots in the regional and rank nationally in certain events.
Missouri hits the mats starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.