at Air Force; at Denver (w/ Iowa and Illinois-Chicago)Date: Friday, Feb. 26, 2016; Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016Time: 7 p.m., CT (both)Venue: Cadet Field House; Hamilton Gymnasium
Coaches: Kristi Ewasko (Seventh Season);AF - Doug Day (10th Season); DU - Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart (18th Season)
UI - Larissa Libby (12th Season); UIC - Mary & Peter Jansson (25th season)
Media CoverageLive Results:Â Live Video;
Live ResultsTwitter Updates:Â @SEMOgymnasticsMeet Notes: Southeast MissouriHeading to the RockiesThe Southeast Missouri gymnastics team is in Colorado this weekend for two meets. On Friday, they will take on Air Force in a dual meet before heading to Denver on Saturday. The Redhawks will end their trip with a quad meet, in front of a sold-out crowd, against Denver, Iowa and Illinois-Chicago. This meet is also slated to begin at 7 p.m., CT.
Looking at the OpponentsLast week, AF finished third in a tri meet hosted by Iowa State with Minnesota. They scored a 190.200 in the meet. DU finished in second place (196.350) in a quad meet against Alabama, Penn State and Cornell. UI hosted Towson in a dual meet, winning 194.150-191.800. UIC beat Midwest Independent Conference foe Lindenwood by a score of 192.225-191-950.
Brawner Wins Second Weekly HonorBrawner brought home her second Midwest Independent Conference Gymnast of the Week award in her young career. She was voted the winner, unanimously, after a stellar performance against Illinois State last Friday. Against ISU, Brawner posted a career-best 39.000 in the all-around. She tallied scores of 9.725 or higher in every event and claimed the vault, floor and all-around titles. Brawner set a season-high on beam (9.725) and tied a season-best on floor with a score of 9.800. Â
Brawner Nabs Top SpotSophomore
Alexis Brawner currently sits in first place in the conference with an average all-around score of 38.694 and a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 38.840 in eight meets. She sits ahead of teammate
Lauren Israel by .22 points in the RQS. In the individual events, Brawner sits in second on vault (9.755), third on bars (9.745), 13th on beam (9.615) and second on floor (9.790) in the RQS.
Jones Leading the PackFreshman
McKinzie Jones joined the team as a walk-on, prior to the 2016 season. That hasn't stopped her from putting on stellar performances on a weekly basis in two categories. On floor, Jones leads the conference with an RQS of 9.835, while placing third on beam with a 9.740. She currently has 15 event scores of 9.700 or higher to go along with seven event titles.
Israel Claims First Weekly HonorIsrael had a career night posting a career-best all-around mark (38.825) for the second consecutive week last Friday. She won the bars title to go along with the all-around. Israel also set or tied season-high marks on bars (9.825), beam (9.775) and floor (9.750). She placed in the top-five in all but one event.
Thomas Goes Back-to-BackJunior Ashley Thomas kicked off the season with a solid performance against Lindenwood earning the first Midwest Independent Conference Gymnast of the Week award of the season. Two weeks ago, she secured the all-around title at the Ozone Classic and earned her second-straight weekly award. Thomas has now earned three weekly MIC awards in her career.Southeast Drops Opener to Defending MIC ChampionsLindenwood University edged the Redhawks by a 0.7 margin in the season opener on Jan. 8, 192.675-191.975. The squad won the second and fourth rotations, but came up just short in the end. Southeast and Lindenwood will meet again when they head to Columbia, Missouri to take on the University of Missouri in a tri-meet on Feb. 5.Thomas and Jones Take Weekly HonorsThomas and Freshman McKinzie Jones polished off a solid first-week performance against defending Midwest Independent Conference champions Lindenwood University, by capturing MIC weekly honors. Thomas won Gymnast of the Week after posting the highest all-around score in the conference and posting four scores of 9.600 or better, including tying a career-best on bars with a 9.775. Jones earned a share of the Specialist of the Week award after claiming both event titles that she competed in. She posted a 9.750 on beam and 9.825 on floor. The 9.825 was the highest individual score during the meet.Senior SpotlightTaylor Penzien is the lone senior on the roster this season. The 2013 MIC Newcomer of the Year looks to finish her career on high note this season. In Penzien's time at Southeast, she has accumulated 35 scores of 9.700 or higher, including career-bests of 9.875 on bars (vs. Centenary, 3/6/15) and 9.825 on the balance beam (at Illinois-Chicago, 3/15/15) last season.Thomas Looks to Build Off 2015Earning a scholarship prior to the 2015 season after coming in as a walk-on a season prior, Ashley Thomas begins her junior campaign as the active leader in scores of 9.700 or higher (56) and event titles (10). She earned first-team conference honors on vault and second-team on the floor and in the all-around, qualifying her for the NCAA Regionals in Norman, Oklahoma where she placed ninth in the all-around with a score of 39.100.Redhawks End Preseason on High NoteSoutheast held its final intrasquad on Dec. 11, allowing the gymnasts to showcase their routines for family and friends one final time before heading into the regular season. The squad finished with a team score of 193.475. Alyssa Tucker and McKinzie Jones finished the meet with the highest individual scores of 9.900 on the balance beam and floor exercise, respectively.Probable Lineup
