Southeast Missouri (1-0) vs. Iowa State & Oregon State

Information Guide
 
Date: Sunday, Jan. 18
Start Time: 2 p.m. CT
Location: Ames, Iowa
Arena: Hilton Coliseum
Coaches: Kristi Ewasko, Southeast Missouri; Jay Ronayne, Iowa State; Tanya Chaplin, Oregon State
 
Media Coverage
Live Stats: ISUCyclones.com
Twitter Updates: @SEMOGymnastics
  
Beauty & the Beast Setup: While the Redhawks are competing against Iowa State and Oregon State at Hilton Coliseum, a wrestling meet will take place simultaneously on the other half of the arena, featuring a matchup between Iowa State and Virginia Tech.
 
Dominating Season Opener: Southeast won all four rotations of last Sunday's dual meet as the Redhawks defeated Illinois State 193.275-186.650 at Houck Field House. Ashley Thomas claimed the all-around title for Southeast by posting a 38.925 total score.
 
Thomas Voted MIC Gymnast of the Week: Ashley Thomas was named Midwest Independent Conference Gymnast of the Week on Wednesday after claiming her first career all-around title on Sunday afternoon. Thomas scored at least 9.700 on all four events and tied teammate Erin Brady for the floor exercise title with a 9.800, the highest individual scores of the meet. It was the first career weekly honor for Thomas.
 
Successful Meet & Greet: In Friday's tune-up at Houck Field House, Southeast scored a 192.050. The Redhawks scored a 48.225 on uneven bars and 48.100 on floor exercise. Chelsi Hamilton led the way in the all-around with a 38.750. She scored 9.750 on bars, 9.700 on vault and balance beam and 9.600 on the floor. Ashley Thomas finished with a 38.325 all-around score, highlighted by 9.725 showings on beam and floor. Erin Brady posted the highest individual event score on the evening with a 9.800 on vault. The practice meet was judged by Southeast coaches with assistance from honorary judges professor Dr. Jerry Westbrook, Assistant Director of Admissions for New Student Programs Katie Foshee and Jason Flohrs from the Cape Girardeau Jimmy John's, which is a sponsor of Southeast gymnastics.
 
Preseason Challenge Goes Well: The Redhawks scored a 191.650 in the annual preseason challenge on Dec. 11. Alyssa Tucker posted the evening's highest score with a 9.850 on balance beam. The challenge serves as a vital resource to the coaches as they put together lineups for the regular season.
 
Defending MIC Champs: Southeast claimed the 2014 Midwest Independent Conference Championship with a season-best 195.275 on March 22, 2014. It was the fourth MIC championship in the history of Redhawks gymnastics and third since 2009. Southeast finished with a 49.250 on bars, 49.000 on floor exercise, 48.950 on vault and 48.075 on beam to claim the title. Lauren Israel scored a season-high 9.900 on bars that day, which tied for the third-best bars score in program history.
 
Third-Best Team GPA in Division I: As a team, the Redhawks posted a 3.696 cumulative grade point average during the 2013-14 academic year, which ranked third nationally. Southeast continued its run of academic excellence, which includes eight straight years of top-three national finishes and Academic National Championships in five of those years. Chloe Marshall recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA and each member of the team was named a Southeast Scholar-Athlete.
 
Tucker Advances to NCAA Regional: Alyssa Tucker advanced to the NCAA Regional held at the University of Arkansas on April 5, 2014, where she placed seventh with a 38.575 total in the all-around.
 
All-Conference Performers: Following last year's MIC championship, eight Redhawks earned All-Midwest Independent Conference recognition, including seven first-team selections. Returnees Chelsi Hamilton, Lauren Israel, Ashley Thomas, Alyssa Tucker and Bailey Walker all were named All-MIC. Tucker earned MIC Freshman of the Year honors.
 
Shire Brown Named MIC Assistant Coach of the Year: Assistant coach Sarah Shire Brown was voted Midwest Independent Conference Assistant Coach of the Year following the MIC Championships. Shire Brown coaches balance beam and serves as the program's recruiting and social media coordinator in addition to being involved in all other facets of the program. She has implemented and maintained team-specific social media pages, which includes over 1,500 likes on Facebook and hundreds of followers on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
 
Bogantes Joins Coaching Staff: Assistant coach Chris Bogantes joined the Redhawks program in July. He previously was an assistant coach at Ball State and Texas Woman's and was the team manager and club team head coach at LSU, where he graduated in 2009. Bogantes also has extensive experience coaching club gymnastics and has worked with three USA National Team members.
 
Up Next: Southeast will compete at Oklahoma in a tri-meet that will also include Texas Woman's on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. from the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla.