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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The 2013 season is finally upon the Southeast Missouri gymnastics program as it begins its campaign at Lindenwood on Friday night. Friday's dual against the Lions begins at 6 p.m.

About Lindenwood – The Lions are in their first season competing in gymnastics. LU already has two competitions under its belt, a tri-meet against No. 27 Penn State and No. 11 Denver followed by a dual against Midwest Independent Conference foe Illinois State. The Lions moved from a team score of 185.925 on opening night to 187.800 at Illinois State. Friday night's meet will be the first regular season dual meet at Hyland Arena.

First Touch

Experience? We've Got That – The Redhawks won't lack for collegiate experience this season. Of the 13 competitors on the roster, Southeast has four seniors and nine upper classmen. In fact, 10 of the 13 gymnasts cracked the lineup in at least three meets last season. This is a big change from last year when four juniors made up all the upper classmen on the 2012 roster.

A Small Bump in the Road – Southeast is out to prove its rough 2012 season an anomaly. The Redhawks posted a 2-15 dual record and, more importantly, finished 56th in the final national rankings. That marked the first time since 2007 that Southeast finished outside the national top 40. Southeast qualified for NCAA Regionals as a team and finished 30th nationally in 2008 before posting national rankings of 37th in 2009, 40th in 2010 and 39th in 2011 prior to last season.

National Prominence – One of the core returners for Southeast is senior Taylor Westrick, who is coming off the best individual season that the Redhawks have had since moving to Division I. Westrick qualified for NCAA Regionals for the second-straight season and starred on balance beam, winning the competition with a career-high tying 9.900 to advance to the NCAA Gymnastics Championships. That performance made Westrick the first Southeast gymnast to qualify for Division I nationals since Cheri Peterson qualified in uneven bars during the Redhawks' final Division II season in 1991.

An All-Around Breakout – Junior Megan Fosnow joined Westrick at the NCAA Regional Championships a year ago, qualifying as an individual in the all-around. After a slow start to her night, Fosnow scored 9.700 or higher in three of her four events. The Franklin, Wis., native competed in the all-around in Southeast's final nine meets and led the team with 22 scores of 9.700 or higher. Fosnow scored 38.525 or higher in the all-around three times last season, including a career-best 39.125 against Auburn.