Southeast Missouri State University Athletics

The 2018 campaign marks the ninth season as head coach for Kristi Ewasko.

In eight seasons at the helm, Ewasko has led the Southeast Missouri gymnastics program to prominence and individual success in the gym and classroom.
 
In 2017, Southeast’s Alexis Brawner captured the Midwest Independent Conference Championship all-around and vault titles. Brawner also secured first team all-conference honors on vault, bars and in the all-around with a second-team honor on beam. Ashley Thomas was named the MIC Senior Athlete of the Year.
 
Brawner represented the Redhawks at the 2017 NCAA Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She finished 12^th in the all-around competition.

SEMO placed second at the 2016 Midwest Independent Conference championship, falling just behind defending MIC champion Lindenwood. Five Redhawks earned All-MIC first or second-team honors between them. Alexis Brawner was named the MIC Athlete of the Year.

Following the MICs, Brawner, McKinzie Jones and Lauren Israel each earned a spot at the Tuscaloosa Regional. Brawner finished seventh in the all-around competition.
In the classroom, Southeast posted the 15th-best team grade point average in the country with a 3.55 cumulative GPA for the 2015-16 academic year. The Redhawks had 11 of 17 (64.7 percent) student-athletes earn a 3.5 or higher GPA.

The Redhawks claimed the 2014 MIC championship where they posted a score of 195.275, the seventh-best total in program history to earn the fifth conference championship for Southeast. Eight Redhawks were named first-team All-MIC and two others earned second-team recognition. Alyssa Tucker was named MIC Freshman of the Year and Sarah Shire Brown received MIC Assistant Coach of the Year honors.

Following the conference title, Tucker and Taryn Vanderpool both advanced to the NCAA regional, where they placed seventh and 13th, respectively, in the all-around portion.

Additionally, with a 3.696 cumulative team grade point average, the 2014 Redhawks recorded the third-best grade point average in the nation. This continued a long tradition of academic success for a program that claimed academic national titles in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013 while also finishing second in the national rankings in 2010 and 2012.

In 2013, Southeast rebounded from a fifth-place conference finish in 2012 to place third at the Midwest Independent Conference Championships. The Redhawks posted their 11th-highest score in program history, scoring a 195.050 in the highly-competitive conference meet.

Two Redhawks were crowned MIC champions with Megan Fosnow claiming vault and Taryn Vanderpool winning a share of the uneven bars title. Taylor Penzien also earned postseason accolades from the conference, being voted the MIC Newcomer of the Year. Vanderpool continued her season a little longer, qualifying for the NCAA Norman Regional, the first regional appearance of her career.

Southeast once again excelled in the classroom, posting the highest team grade point average in the nation with a 3.8146 figure. All 13 gymnasts on the 2013 roster also earned All-American scholastic spots on the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W) honor roll.

In 2012, the Redhawks sent two individuals, Fosnow and Taylor Westrick, to the NCAA Regional Championships. Westrick won the balance beam at the regional meet to become the first Southeast gymnast to qualify for the NCAA Gymnastics Championships since the program joined Division I prior to the 1992 season. She finished 28th at the national meet to conclude her historic season.

The 2011 season saw Southeast capture its fourth Midwest Independent Conference title in program history. Southeast also finished 39th nationally with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 193.875.

On May 24, 2010, then-Southeast Director of Athletics John Shafer named Ewasko the head women’s gymnastics coach after she spent her first year as the interim head coach.

The Redhawks posted a 12-8 dual record while going 9-2 against MIC foes in 2011. In addition to the team success, Southeast sent three gymnasts to the NCAA Regional Championships in Norman, Oklahoma. Taylor Westrick competed in the all-around while Brianna Gaddie competed in the vault and Christina Sundgren took part in the uneven bars.

A native of Monroe, Louisiana, Ewasko spent one year as an assistant coach at Southeast before she was promoted to interim head coach. During that time, she led the Redhawks to an overall record of 18-7 and 11-4 in the Midwest Independent Conference. The 18 victories were the most for the program since 1997.

In addition, Southeast finished third at the MIC Championships and had three gymnasts – Jordan Salsberg, Brianna Gaddie and Rikara Turner – qualify for the NCAA South Central Regional. The team just missed the program’s ninth NCAA Regional berth, finishing with a final national ranking of 40th with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 193.850, which led the MIC.

Prior to arriving at Southeast, Ewasko worked as a volunteer assistant coach at Auburn from 2004-08. She was AU’s conditioning captain and academic captain from 2004-06.  She then spent the 2007 season as an assistant beam and floor coach while transitioning for the 2008 season to being an assistant on vault and bars. During this time, she also assisted with team travel, recruiting files and other day-to-day activities of the program. The Tigers finished the 2008 season ranked 17th and rated among the top-26 each of those four seasons.

In addition to her collegiate coaching duties, Ewasko was an Auburn Gymnastics Academy coach from 2004-2008. She became head coach of the AGA competitive team in May 2006.

Ewasko graduated with a degree in Exercise Science from Auburn in 2004. As a gymnast, she competed for four years as the top vault competitor for the Tigers’ perennial top-20 program. Ewasko recorded Auburn’s top three vault scores in school history, including the all-time mark of 9.950, which she set against Florida in 2003. Ewasko scored a 9.90 or better on vault, beam and floor during her four years as a collegiate gymnast. 

In pursuit of her degree, Ewasko was named an Academic All-American in 2002, named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2003 and 2004, and was also named to the SEC Good Works Team in 2004 for her community service work.

Ewasko and her husband, Matt, have a son, Alex, and a daughter, Cameron Auburn, and reside in Cape Girardeau.