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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Southeast Missouri gymnastics team competes in its first multi-team competition of the season when it heads to Kent, Ohio for a quad meet against No. 22 Kent State, New Hampshire and Cornell on Friday. The first rotation begins at 6 p.m. CT.

Last Week – Southeast cracked 194 as a team for the second-straight meet with a comeback 194.225-193.875 win over Texas Woman's last Friday. Taylor Westrick won both bars and beam, Megan Fosnow claimed all-around and shared the vault title while Taryn Vanderpool won on floor to give the Redhawks gold in each event. Southeast's score was its second highest team total of the season.

About Kent State – The Golden Flashes sit 22nd nationally with a Regional Qualifying Score of 195.755 and won the Mid-American Conference regular season championship. KSU has finished first in seven-consecutive meets and has scored 194 or higher in eight of its nine competitions, including seven outings with at least a 195 team score. Two KSU gymnasts rank in the top 40 nationally in individual events with Rachel Guida sitting 15th on bars (9.890 RQS) and Marie Case ranking 34th on beam (9.850) and 25th on floor (9.885).

About New Hampshire – The Wildcats are on the outside looking in as far as a team berth at the regional championships is concerned. UNH is 40th with an RQS of 194.535, a little over three-tenths of a point behind No. 36 Iowa State. The Wildcats have scored 194 or higher in three-consecutive meets.

About Cornell – The Big Red have finished first or second in five-straight quad meets, though have not scored higher than their season-best 193.025 in any of those competitions. Cornell ranks 62nd nationally with its RQS of 191.610.

First Touch

Where They Stand – Southeast Missouri has been gradually raising its Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) with its last few solid outings. With two meets left, the Redhawks sit 51st nationally with an RQS of 193.395, the second-best score in the MIC and only one tenth of a point behind Illinois State. The top 36 teams in the final rankings, arranged by RQS, qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships. Iowa State holds the final qualifying spot, entering this week with a team RQS of 194.855.

Record Performances – Southeast has etched itself into the school record book in recent meets. The Redhawks notched a floor score of 49.125, the ninth best in school history, during its Feb. 24 dual at Illinois State. On March 3, the Redhawks cracked the school's top-10 list a few times, tying the school record with a bars score of 49.175 and putting up the ninth-best vault score in Southeast history with a 48.800. Some individuals also cracked the school's record book with Taryn Vanderpool's 9.900 bars score ranking third among all Redhawks gymnasts, Emma Garrett's 9.925 placing sixth in school annals and Megan Fosnow's 9.875 vault also sitting sixth in Southeast history.

Vanderpool's Breakout Season – Junior Taryn Vanderpool has emerged as a top gymnast for the Redhawks this season. After battling injuries for her first two campaigns, Vanderpool has stayed in the lineup to compete in the all-around in all nine meets this year. She has either won the all-around or finished second in the competition seven times and leads the Redhawks with 23 scores of 9.700 or higher, something she did 13 total times in her first two seasons. Twelve of Vanderpool's scores this year have been 9.800 or higher and she has set or tied career-highs on vault (9.775), bars (9.900), beam (9.850), floor (9.850)  and all-around (39.150) this season. She currently ranks 14th in the South Central Region in all-around RQS (38.865).

Trying to Return to Regionals – While Vanderpool has led the way in the early going, fellow junior Megan Fosnow is not far behind. Fosnow, who qualified for the NCAA regional championships as an individual in the all-around last year, has also competed in the all-around during all nine meets. This year, she has scored 38.525 or higher in the all-around seven times and boasts the team's highest score on vault (9.875). Entering this week, Fosnow is 17th in the region in all-around RQS (38.690).

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. Westrick finished in the top three on beam in five of eight meets, winning the event three times this season. Westrick has come on the last two meets, winning beam twice and scoring 9.825 or higher in five of her six routines in that span.