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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – After a strong season-opening performance on the road, the Southeast Missouri gymnastics team hosts its first meet of the season at Houck Field House on Friday night. The Redhawks welcome Midwest Independent Conference foe Centenary to their gym at 6:30 p.m. Friday's meet is one of four home duals for the Redhawks, all of which will be broadcast free of charge on the KFVS12.com WebCast.

Friday night will be "Are You Shorter than a Gymnast Night", where fans shorter than Southeast's shortest gymnast, the 5-0 Kimberly Pickerl, get free admission.

Last Week – Southeast posted a solid season debut in a win at Lindenwood last Friday. The Redhawks hit 22 of 24 routines, posted three scores of 9.725 or higher and did not count a fall to score 192.200. That score is over two points higher than its 190.100 from its 2012 opener at home against Northern Illinois. Megan Fosnow and Taryn Vanderpool shared the all-around title with matching 38.525 scores and each won an individual event. Fosnow tied teammate Emma Garrett for the vault crown at 9.675 while Vanderpool won bars with a 9.800. Taylor Westrick notched an event win on balance beam where she topped all competitors witha 9.675. Southeast's 192.200 is the highest score in the MIC in the early stages of the season.

About Centenary – The Ladies are coming off a second-place score of 183.900 at the Ozone Collegiate Classic in Knoxville, Tenn., last weekend. Meg Crowley posted Centenary's top score of the day, tallying a 9.725 to win the floor exercise.

First Touch

Sharp Opener – The Redhawks' opener at Lindenwood was miles ahead of where they were last year, when they struggled to crack 190 in a season-opening loss to Northern Illinois. An encouraging development as scores are typically lower at the beginning of the year across the country. Last year, Southeast's finished with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 192.120, just over two points ahead of their season opener. A similar performance this year would bump the Redhawks' average into the low 194 range, a score that typically has teams in the hunt for a team berth at NCAA Regionals.

Passing the Bar – Southeast started its season opener in strong fashion on uneven bars. All six competitors scored at least 9.600 and the Redhawks finished with a team total of 48.525. Southeast struggled in that event last season, scoring under 48 in that event six times. In fact, last Friday's score would've been Southeast's third-best bars mark last season. Two of the Redhawks' three scores of 9.725 or better came on bars, with Megan Fosnow posting a second-place score of 9.725 and Taryn Vanderpool winning with a 9.800 score.

Specializing in Consistency – Senior Emma Garrett was arguably Southeast's most consistent gymnast a year ago. Garrett, who competed exclusively on vault and floor, scored 9.700 or higher in 19 of her 22 routines. She did so on every routine in the floor exercise, where she anchored the Redhawks' lineup in each meet, topped by a career-best floor score of 9.900 against MIC foe Illinois State last year. She scored a 9.725 on floor in Southeast's season opener at Lindenwood and narrowly missed a 9.700 (9.675) on vault.

Working Back In – A wild card in Southeast's lineup comes in the form of junior Taryn Vanderpool. The Lenexa, Kan., native missed three meets due to injury last year, but showed glimpses of brilliance when she did compete. Vanderpool competed in the all-around in four of her eight appearances last year and posted a career-best 38.825 against Texas Woman's in the meet before the MIC Championships. Her work on uneven bars was particularly impressive as she scored 9.750 or higher in each of her final five meets, including three scores of 9.800 or better. She notched Southeast's top bars score last year, posting a 9.875 against Texas Woman's. She opened up the year with a strong 9.800 on bars while sharing the all-around title in Southeast's season opener at Lindenwood.