Beauty set for beastly meet
Published Feb. 9, 2007
With high scores posted in its meet last week, the MU gymnastics team will take on the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks this weekend with more confidence than in previous meets. The gymnastics team plays Southeast Missouri State Friday night at home in the Beauty and the Beast meet. The wrestling team will take on Northern Iowa at the same time.
At the Gershon/McLellan Invitational last week, the Redhawks scored 190.850 while the Tigers scored 195.025 at Iowa State. In a sport where meets are often decided by less than a point, this is a large discrepancy, but the Tigers don't seem to be headed for a letdown.
"Nothing has really changed," senior Amanda Pezzullo said of the team's intensity this week in practice.
Coach Rob Drass said he focused again this week on team-building exercises to promote team chemistry. These involved partnering gymnasts and not allowing a routine to count unless both are successful. Despite the fact that gymnasts perform individually, he feels this is important: "You can get on a run."
Drass said he feels if the team has good chemistry, when one gymnast has a really good routine, the momentum will carry over. Sophomore Adrianne Perry said the exercises have helped.
"It makes us put more faith in each other as teammates," she said.
Drass feels the added crowd with the wrestling fans will only help make these runs.
"It's something we're excited about," he said. "These guys are performers."
Pezzullo said the extra crowd will be positive and make the team more aggressive.
"It just adds to the excitement of the meet," she said.
If she hits all of her routines, Perry could win the all-around title. She scored a 39.300 last week in Ames, Iowa, and finished just short of the title. Redhawk sophomore Sandra Blake was her team's best all-around scorer at 38.675 last week. Perry said she is shooting for a 39.5 this week, something both she and her coach feel is realistic if she hits all four routines.
"When she's really on, I think you'll see that kind of performance," Drass said.
Perry said the floor has become her most comfortable event and beam still the most questionable.
"I make myself nervous," she said.
Beam has been the team's Achilles' heel so far this season. But with a fall-free beam rotation last week, the team is ready to be more aggressive tonight.
Drass, who has said all season the beam is the event in which his team has the most potential, expressed happiness at the way the week has gone.
"We've had a great beam workout this week," he said.