Southeast gymnasts team completes season at regional

Southeast Missouri State senior gymnast Taryn Vanderpool and freshman Alyssa Tucker's seasons ended at the NCAA Regional at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday.

Tucker finished eighth in the all-around with a 38.575 and Vanderpool finished 13th with a 37.625.

"Gymnastics-wise Tucker did great," Southeast coach Kristi Ewasko said. "She kind of did her thing and she was consistent, she made all of her routines. And as a freshman not to get sidetracked with this big arena and the big atmosphere and everything, I was really proud of her."

Tucker started the meet with a 9.625 on the vault. She scored a 9.700 on the uneven bars before wrapping up with a 9.675 on the balance beam and a 9.575 on floor.

Ewasko sounded excited when she talked about the freshman and the future of Southeast gymnastics.

"I think the best thing that she'll take away from this is that she'll go back to her team and let them know we have to be there next year," Ewasko said. "You know, she talked about how much fun she had, but she really wished she had her team with her there, and that our team is good and deserves to be there. I think that's the biggest thing she'll take away is being able to express to her team next year like, 'We're able, we're capable, we have the skills. We've just got to put it together as a team.'"

Vanderpool, who competed at regionals for the second year in a row, scored a 9.050 in the floor competition and posted scores of 9.425 and 9.450 on the vault and uneven bars, respectively. She bounced back to finish off the meet with a 9.700 on the balance beam.

"Taryn, she just struggled," Ewasko said. "Her first three events she was just kind of off. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't perfect. But then for her to finish on balance beam, hitting her routine that she's been struggling with all season, I think it just kind of put an exclamation point on her career to be able to go out there, finish on beam in what could have been a really bad night for her. I'm really proud of both of them."