GYMNASTICS COACHES EARN REGION COACHING AWARDS

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri gymnastics head coach Rob Drass and assistant coach Kira Montuori were named the 2006 South Central Region Head and Assistant Coaches of the Year by members of the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women. Both coaches also won their respective awards in 2004.

Drass, in his seventh season as head coach of the Tigers, brought the program to new heights in 2006. The Tigers entered the season with only two top-10 rankings in school history but accomplished the feat five times this season, including the program’s highest ever ranking of seventh on Jan. 30. The squad’s final ranking of 14th ties last year’s ranking as the highest Mizzou finish ever. At the recent NCAA Southeast Regional, Drass led the Tigers to a third-place finish with a 195.325, which marks the best score a Tiger team has recorded in an NCAA Regional. Drass was also named the Midwest Regional Assistant Coach of the Year in 1996 as an assistant with Nebraska.

“This is an awards voted on by my peers so it’s very humbling,” said Drass. “It means a lot to me that my peers recognize me as the regional coach of the year. It’s a tremendous honor all due to the success of our team, so I think this is really a team award.”

In her sixth season as an assistant with Missouri, Montuori serves as balance beam coach and choreographs the floor exercise routines. Under her tutelage in 2006, Missouri’s beam team ranked as one of the nation’s best all season. On Feb. 27 and March 6, the Tigers ranked first in the nation on event and ended the season as the country’s fifth-best beam squad. Additionally, Montuori mentored senior Lauren Schwartzman, who ranked as the nation’s top beam performer four times in 2006. In 2004, Montuori shared the South Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year award with Tiger assistant coach Paul Scardina.

“Kira turned what looked like a really rough year on beam into the best year ever in Missouri history,” said Drass.  “We had the No. 1 beam team in the country for a couple of weeks and we had the No. 1 kid in the country for a number of weeks. Our choreography is outstanding. For her to get this award when six teams in the South Central Region were ranked in the top-18 says a lot about what she’s done.”

South Central Region NACGC/W Division I Award Winners

Gymnast of the Year: Emily Parsons, Nebraska

Head Coach of the Year: Rob Drass, Missouri

Assistant Coach of the Year: Kira Montuori, Missouri

Administrator of the Year: Bev Lews, Arkansas