Familiarity is a plus for Southeast gymnasts

It has been said that familiarity breeds contempt.

That couldn't be further from the truth for the Southeast Missouri State women's gymnastics program.

Among the many interesting storylines for the Redhawks are two team members who are sisters and two more who hail from the same club and have been friends since their early teens.

That's not even counting one of the Redhawks whose aunt is a former Southeast All-American gymnast.

"I guess we've got some unique things about our team," said sixth-year Southeast coach Tom Farden, whose squad opens its home schedule at 2 p.m. Saturday against Illinois-Chicago. "But it all works out well."

Southeast Missourian fileSoutheast Missouri State's Christina Sundgren leaps on the balance beam during a meet last season. Sundgren attended the same Washington gymnastics club as senior Sandra Blake before coming to Southeast.

Sister act

Farden recalled how senior Jennifer Dinan came to Southeast with her parents to register for classes in 2005 after she had signed with the Redhawks.

"When she was here to register, her dad said that her sister is a pretty good gymnast, too," Farden said.

From that point on, the Dinans said it was pretty much a given that younger sister Lauren -- now a sophomore -- would follow Jennifer to Cape Girardeau.

"I definitely wanted her to," Jennifer said. "When I was even deciding what college I wanted to go to, I kept Lauren in mind. I wanted to go some place where she could, too."

Lauren nodded in agreement.

"It was always a hope I could come here," she said. "There were some others I considered, but I always had my heart on Southeast."

The Dinans, who are from Doniphan, Neb., said they have been competing in gymnastics together for most of their lives, so it was only natural they would reunite in Cape Girardeau.

"We've been doing gymnastics together for 15 years, with the exception of when I was here my first two years," Jennifer said.

The sisters are close, but they don't room together. Jennifer lives in a house with others, while Lauren lives in a dorm.

"We talked about it, but we didn't want to limit ourselves, we wanted to make other friends," Jennifer said.

Added Lauren: "But we're close. We hang out a lot."

Even though the Dinans' Nebraska home is more than a nine-hour drive from Cape Girardeau, their parents attend most of Southeast's home meets.

"They're coming Thursday [for Saturday[']s competition]," Jennifer said.

The Dinans not only have provided strong performances in the gym, they have also done their part to help Southeast win academic national championships the past two years for having the best grade-point average of any women's gymnastics team in the country.

Jennifer, majoring in communications disorders, entered this school year with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Lauren, majoring in wildlife and conservation biology, had a 3.8 GPA as a freshman.

"There's a little bit of pressure," Jennifer said of trying to keep pace with the rest of the squad. "We don't want to mess up."

They haven't in Farden's eyes, who said he never before had coached sisters.

"They're both tremendous people," Farden said. "I'm enjoying coaching them."

Club connection

Senior Sandra Blake is one of the top gymnasts in Southeast history, a star since her freshman season who has racked up numerous honors and tied for fifth in the all-around at last year's NCAA South Central Regional.

In addition, Blake carries a perfect 4.0 GPA in accounting and last season was named a third-team Academic All-American.

"We've been fortunate to have an athlete of Sandy's caliber," Farden said. "She's been phenomenal, both in the gym and in the classroom."

All of that was not lost on sophomore Christina Sundgren, who grew up in the same area of Washington state as Blake and trained at the same gymnastics club.

"I've known her since I was 12," Sundgren said. "I looked up to her. It's one of the reasons I came here."

Which was fine with Blake.

"Definitely," she said. "I was happy when she came here. A little taste of home."

Sundgren said Blake helped her transition to college life.

"It made it a lot easier for me to adjust. She told me a lot of stuff I needed to know," Sundgren said.

Farden said he learned about Sundgren while recruiting Blake, which made for a convenient connection.

"Sandy's club coach told me Christina was coming down the line," Farden said. "She has been a great addition to our gymnastics family."

Two former Southeast gymnasts also competed for that same club -- Mid-Columbia Gymnastics -- and the pipeline to the Redhawks might not be done.

"There's a lot of younger girls [at the club] who are good," Sundgren said. "We'll definitely encourage them about Southeast."

In aunt's footsteps

As a young gymnast in northwest Arkansas, Amanda Schoenbaum didn't know much about Southeast.

But she heard often from her aunt about an impressive university in Cape Girardeau.

"My aunt Laurie would tell me how she had such a good time here," said Schoenbaum, a Southeast sophomore.

Laurie Schoenbaum-Chaney was a Southeast gymnast from 1982 through 1985, earning Division II All-American honors in 1983 and 1984.

Amanda said her aunt and uncle -- Matt Chaney, a Southeast football player in the early 1980s who met Laurie while both attended the school -- never pressured her to follow in their footsteps.

"But it's definitely how I knew about the school, because of them," said Amanda, whose father is Laurie's brother. "I know they were excited when I came here."

Although Amanda, who is from Bentonville, Ark., did not grow up near her aunt, she said: "I remember doing gymnastics and stuff in the yard with her when I was little."

Farden still was years removed from Southeast when Laurie Schoenbaum-Chaney competed, and he didn't know who she was before he began recruiting Amanda.

"When I came to visit Amanda's gym, her mother told me about her aunt," Farden said. "I've gotten to know her. She and Matt have come to our alumni meets and they have contributed financially to our program. They're very good people."

Amanda said she doesn't feel the need to match her aunt's legacy.

"It's just about having a good time and getting to experience all this," she said. "It's been a lot of fun so far."