ATHLETICS

2004 Gymnastics Outlook

By Sara Hunninghake

Imagine a football game in which one team started the game down a touchdown. Or a basketball score that gave the visiting team three points before the tip-off. Or a baseball game that allowed one team a grand slam even before the first pitch was thrown out.

Sound crazy? It might to most people, but those familiar with gymnastics know that different starting values is part of the sport. Lower levels of difficulty might have been a weakness that plagued past Mizzou gymnastics teams, but not any longer. The 2004 Missouri program is poised to rewrite the record books once again, making increasingly difficult routines a key factor that will propel the Tigers into the national gymnastics scene.

Rachel Bridges, Lindsay Davis and Andrea Nervig will all lead the senior charge for Missouri. A transfer from Southern Utah in 2001, Bridges is expected to be in the mix in three events: vault, floor and beam. Head Coach Rob Drass looks for her to be a solid contributor, consistently scoring 9.800 or above.

Injuries that hampered the team in 2003 are now a thing of the past. A strong, healthy core group of returning athletes, coupled with the addition of talented newcomers, give the Tigers all of the pieces to continue building a new tradition of excellence.

“This team has the capability of getting to the National Championships, and we really expect them to,” said Drass, who is in his fourth year at the helm of the Missouri program.

“We’ve said all semester that we are one of the better teams in the country, and it’s time for us to make a statement. The sooner we make a statement, the more the team is going to believe in the things we’ve been talking about, dreaming about and hoping for.”

The Tigers spent the spring developing more technically difficult routines, and they have used the fall to further perfect them in preparation for the 2004 season. Because each team member’s routines now have a start value of 10, Mizzou will no longer give up valuable points to the competition before stepping into the arena.

By jumping out to a fast start at the beginning of this season, the Missouri program hopes to establish confidence and consistency, two factors that will determine the Tigers’ success.

“Whether it’s the best team or the worst team in the country, we’re going to go out and compete with everyone,” Drass said. “We have the same start value as every other team, we just need to be consistent. Winning is going to come down to who hits more routines, who sticks more landings, who takes less steps and who executes better.”

Mizzou started the season ranked 25th in the 2004 women’s Pre-Season Coaches Poll. Despite the mark, advancing to the NCAA Championship means finishing as one of the top-12 teams in the nation — a feat Drass believes is possible with this team. If true, it would be the Tigers’ first trip to the team championship since 1981.

The Big 12 Championship title is also within the team’s grasp. The 2003 squad made positive strides toward achieving this goal with a third-place finish last year — the highest finish by a Mizzou program since the inception of the new conference. The Tigers hope their depth will foster valuable competition within the team, giving them an edge throughout the season.

We’re already a stronger team than we were last year,” Drass said. “Our internal competition is going to make us a better team because, not only do the athletes have to compete every meet, they also have to compete every day to earn their spot in the weekend lineup. That will make us an even more seasoned team.”

At the center of this experienced Mizzou squad is the 2004 senior class that has played a vital role in bringing the Tiger program into the national spotlight. Drass has seen the program gradually improve since their first year on campus in 2001.

“For the seniors to take this program from being one of the not-very-good Division I programs to one of the best Division I programs in the country speaks volumes about this class - their leadership, consistency, dedication and their expectations of themselves and the rest of the team can only take us further,” Drass said.

Davis was one of three Tigers named to the All-Big 12 team in 2003. She also became the first Mizzou gymnast to win a Big 12 Championship title since 1999, tying for top honors on the vault with a career-high 9.900. Although she has competed in the all-around for the past three years, Drass said she should be in and out of all four events because of the team’s depth.

“Lindsay Davis really has been the all-around stud of the class,” Drass said. “She’s one of those that doesn’t wow you on any event, but she sneaks up on every single person every time. She’s going to be one of the keys for our success. If the team can do without Lindsay in the all-around, leaving her to focus on her top events, it will mean we’re doing a good job as a team.”

Nervig will once again be a force on the uneven bars while also competing intermittently on vault and floor. Last year, she scored a 9.825 or higher on 8-of-11 uneven bars routines. Drass believes Nervig’s improved routine will make her, “one of the best barswingers in the country this year.”

Not many athletes can have what most would consider a rough season, but still walk away with a number of post-season accolades. Junior Alisha Robinson is the exception. Although she was bothered by an injury during most of the 2003 season, Robinson competed through the pain and advanced to the NCAA Championships as an individual all-arounder for the second straight year. She also joined Davis on the All-Big 12 Team.

“Alisha wasn’t as prepared as we would have liked her to be, but she still went out and put out a great performance,” Drass said. “Now we have her healthy again, and she’s ready to set the gymnastics world on fire. Her consistency is much better, she’s learning to be a much better team player, and she’s really matured as an athlete.”

Lauren Schwartzman looks to be the leader within the sophomore class, competing on the vault, beam and floor. At last year’s Big 12 Championship, she tied for fourth on the floor exercise, earning her All-Big 12 first team honors. Drass believes the additions she made to her floor routine in the off-season will put her up into the 10 range.

“You’re going to see some perfect routines this year,” Drass said. “We’ve got the capability to do that, and Bunny is one of those athletes that performs and can pull that out of a judge. When you have the performance aspect as well as natural physical ability, that's when the 10s come out.”

Missouri will also be bolstered by the return of sophomore Jodie Heinicka and freshman Kelley Andersen, who were both injured in 2003. Heinicka competed for the majority of the season before suffering an ACL injury during the Arkansas meet in March. Despite the injury, Heinicka was still able to work on her bar routine, which Drass said will be her strong-point as she continues to rehabilitate and strengthen her leg.

At last year’s Black & Gold intersquad scrimmage, Andersen was having the best meet of the team until she got to the last event and suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Jumping into the 2004 season, Andersen is fully recovered, and Drass believes she’ll be another all-around threat for the Tigers.

“Kelley looks better than she did last year at this time,” Drass said. “She’s solid, she’s clean, she’s consistent. I really look for her to turn some heads because not everyone knows about her. I think she’ll be the new crowd favorite.”

The outlook is bright for the 2004 Missouri gymnastics team. With a healthy team, competitive routines and strong leadership, the Tigers are ready to establish themselves as one of the nation’s premier programs.

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Last Update: November 15, 2007