Final Results
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Megan Fosnow posted season highs in all four events and finished second in the all-around as the Southeast Missouri gymnastics team posted its top score of the season against No. 16 Auburn on Friday night.
The Redhawks (1-11) tallied a 194.425 at Houck Field House, while the 16th-ranked Tigers (6-10) finished with a 195.925 to take the dual.
“I was pleased with the team, they came out with nothing to lose against an SEC program,” Southeast head coach
Kristi Ewasko said. “The gymnasts believed in themselves, had fun and did what they were capable of.”
Emma Garrett and Fosnow closed Southeast's first rotation with a pair of strong vaults. Garrett's routine scored 9.750 while Fosnow went 9.825, a new career best, to tie for the individual title. The Redhawks scored 48.300 as a team on the event while the Tigers scored 49.000 on bars to take the lead after one full rotation.
The Redhawks put together their best effort of the season on bars in the next rotation, scoring a 48.700. The total score was nearly half a point better than its previous season best (48.250).
Taylor Westrick (9.700),
Taryn Vanderpool (9.825),
Margaret O'Neal (9.775) and Fosnow (9.800) all scored above 9.700 with Vanderpool and Fosnow's totals setting or matching season bests. Vanderpool's mark was good for a second-place tie among all gymnasts. Auburn tallied a 48.850 on vault to extend its lead in the team competition.
Southeast continued to excel in the third rotation, tallying a season-best 48.775 on beam as the last four Redhawks scored 9.725 or better. Fosnow started the rally with a career-best 9.750. Vanderpool followed with a 9.750 while
Angela Serafini scored 9.825 and Westrick tallied a 9.850, her sixth-straight beam score of 9.800 or better. Westrick finished second individually in the event. The Tigers gained a tenth of a point in the rotation by scoring a 48.875 on floor.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start on vault,” Ewasko said. “However, once we got to bars we started putting together some more consistent scores and we kept doing so on beam.”
The Redhawks finished with a 48.650 on floor, their second-best score of the season.
Erin Brady (9.700), Fosnow (9.750), Westrick (9.750) and Garrett (9.800) all scored above 9.700 and Southeast did not count a score below 9.650. Garrett's score gave her a second-place finish.
Fosnow finished with a career-best all-around score of 39.125. She went into the final rotation tied in total scoring with Auburn's Kylie Shields (No. 25 in the country on all-around), who narrowly edged Fosnow with a 39.200.
“I'm proud of the team,” Ewasko said. “Everyone stepped up for us. I couldn't be more proud of Megan. She's building confidence in every practice and competition. She is really improving. My expectation when I recruited her was for her to be a top all-arounder. She is really coming into her own now.”
Southeast concludes its regular season at home on March 16 when it hosts Midwest Independent Conference foe Texas Woman's at Houck Field House.
