MU gymnasts win at Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Missouri's No. 13 gymnastics team scored a season-high 195.375 and won Saturday night at Ohio State.

Junior Sarah Shire won her third all-around title of the season with a 39.225, helping the Tigers beat No. 14 Ohio State, No. 15 Illinois and No. 26 Michigan State. Missouri took three of the top four individual all-around titles.

“Sarah, through the first three events, was on fire," said coach Rob Drass in a phone interview. "She was as good as I’ve seen her."

Shire scored a 9.9 on the floor and uneven bars, both being season-highs.

Freshman Mary Burke finished third with a 39.150, and senior Adrianne Perry took fourth with a 38.950.

Missouri (5-1) won three of four events. The Tigers had a lead of almost .8 heading into their last event, the balance beam, but scored a season-low 48.275.

“When we got to the beam, I knew we were ahead and I let that creep in a little bit," said Shire, who scored a 9.550 on the beam.

Drass said the team normally has a few issues during warm-ups, but didn't Saturday night, setting the tone for the meet.

“From the very beginning, everything was smooth and easy and it was a lot easier the whole way through the meet," Drass said.

Competing in its first quad-meet of the season, Missouri scored a 39 on two events for the first time this season and had a season-high 49.150 on the uneven bars. Sophomore Alex Gold scored a season-high 9.9 on vault.

Although the Tigers won the meet, it would have been nice to finish strong.

“We had a complete meet through the first three events," Drass said. "We haven’t really put that complete one together.”