Redhawks top Centenary

As Rowdy the Redhawk was being introduced at the Show Me Center on Saturday, the Southeast Missouri State University gymnastics team was on its way to the first official Redhawks win over at Houck Field House.

Southeast defeated Centenary College 190.45 to 189.05 in its home opener.

The Redhawks are 2-0 this season, after having won their opener at Illinois State last weekend. Southeast will be in action again at home Saturday versus Illinois-Chicago.

Southeast senior Alexis Traylor said it was thrilling to pick up the first Redhawks' victory.

"This was our first home meet, so to open up with a win in our first home meet and with our new mascot it's very exciting," she said.

Even with the festivities at the Show Me Center, there still were an estimated 425 fans on hand. Girl Scouts were admitted free to the event.

"We were a little concerned because there's a lot of things going on around campus at this time, and for as many girls to come out is awesome," Southeast coach Tom Farden said. "This is tremendous."

Nearly half of those fans were more than willing to stay after the meet was over as Southeast's gymnasts autographed posters of the team.

Traylor said having such strong fan support really makes it fun for the gymnasts.

"I think it enhances our competition. It makes it much more fun for us as athletes, and gets us pumped up for competitions," she said.

While the fans got an added bonus after the meet, they were able to enjoy plenty of strong performances during the competition. The Redhawks had two individual event winners and finished first and second in the all-around. Southeast's team score was a full three points higher than in its first meet.

"I'm very happy with this. We went up three points," Farden said. "We counted one fall. They have to do 24 routines, from that you have to count 20 of them and we counted 19 of 20 hit."

Added Traylor: "We've moved up. We've increased our score each time and that's what we have to do. That way at the end of the season we can put up our highest score and qualify for regional as a team."

Southeast opened on the vault, an event Farden felt was much-improved last week. Senior Katie Bloom scored a 9.575 to win the event.

"Katie's really been a great anchor, a solid vaulter for us," Farden said.

Southeast's next rotation saw another win, as Tara Boldt was first on the uneven bars. Boldt finished with a 9.625, just ahead of Southeast freshman Jennifer Kaye (9.6). Boldt also finished second in the beam (9.75) and won the all-around (38.45).

Sophomore Lexie Hein tied for third in the floor (9.575), placed third in the beam (9.675) and finished second in the all-around (38.175). Bloom also finished in a tie for third on the floor, and junior Amanda Grimes finished second on the floor (9.625).

What made Southeast's home-opening performance even more impressive was its ability to overcome the absence of sophomore Brystol Powelski, who was out with an injury. Last week Powelski won the vault, finished second in the bars and tied for first in the all-around.

"This team has character. We just lost Brystol, and we stepped it up and gained three points despite losing one of our top all-arounders," Farden said.