Tigers find luck in Las Vegas
The Missouri gymnastics team’s season is off to a solid start after a convincing victory in Las Vegas last Friday.
The now 13th-ranked Tigers defeated No. 12 Kentucky, No. 16 LSU and Arizona State in the Lady Luck Invitational, improving to a perfect 4-0.
Led by senior Sarah Shire’s career high score of 9.950 on uneven bars (tying the school’s record in the event), Missouri made a surge in the fourth rotation to push past LSU for the win.
Furthermore, Shire won her second beam title of the season and finished second in the all-around with a score of 39.400.
For her efforts, the Big 12 named Shire Gymnast of the Week, the seventh such title of her career and the second time in as many weeks a Missouri gymnast has received the honor.
Another strong performance came from sophomore Mary Burke, who aided Shire by tying for second on bars. Senior Brooke Boehmer and junior Alex Gold also contributed to the Tigers’ victory with both tying for third on beam.
Coach Rob Drass’ squad returns home to the Hearnes Center this Friday to battle cancer as well as No. 17 Iowa State in the sixth annual Pink Out meet. The Tigers will wear pink and funds raised from ticket admissions will go to the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center for breast cancer research.
The Cyclones (1-1) suffered a narrow loss at the hands of No. 6 Utah last week and will look to rebound against the Tigers in order to gain a foothold in their quest to compete for a Big 12 title.