Kentucky Quad Meet
at Kentucky with Ball State and George Washington
Date: Friday, Jan. 5, 2018
Time: 6 p.m. CST
Location: Lexington, Ky.
Venue: Rupp Arena
Coaches: Brittney Emmons (Second Season, First as HC);
Ball State - Joanna Saleem (Fifth Season);
Kentucky - Tim Garrison (Seventh Season);
George Washington - Margie Foster-Cunningham (35th Season, 34th as HC)
 
Media Coverage
TV: SEC Network + and the Watch ESPN App
Twitter: @SEMOgymnastics
Meet Notes: Southeast Missouri
 
Redhawks Open 2018 at Kentucky Quad
Southeast Missouri women's gymnastics will face Ball State, George Washington and host school, Kentucky, in a quad meet at Rupp Arena on Friday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. CST to commence the season. The 2018 campaign marks the 43^rd season of gymnastics at Southeast.
 
The Redhawks are 4-7 against Kentucky but lead the all-time series with both Ball State and George Washington. SEMO faces the Colonials for the second time in program history on Friday and hold a 19-9 edge on Ball State. 
 
Looking at the Opponents
The host, Kentucky Wildcats, enter the season ranked 10^th in the nation in the NAGCA/W preseason poll and return Alex Hyland and Mollie Korth who were All-Americans in 2017. Korth also garnered SEC Freshman of the Year honors last season.
 
George Washington was picked 21^st in the NAGCA/W preseason rankings and chosen to finish first in the 2018 East Atlantic Gymnastics League. The Colonials return 11 letterwinners including 2017 EAGL Vault and All-Around Champion Cami Drouin-Allaire.
 
Ball State was pegged to finish seventh in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll.
 
Ball State Connection
Redhawks Acting Head Coach Brittney Emmons will coach against, Ball State, her alma mater for the first time on Friday in Lexington, Kentucky. Emmons earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a Pre-Dental emphasis (2012) and Master of Art in Physical Education and Sport (2013) from Ball State. In her final season as a Cardinal, she was named the Mid-American Conference Senior Gymnast of the Year. Emmons also earned All-MAC accolades and was a NCAA Regional Qualifier in the all-around (2010 and 2011) and vault and floor (2009).
 
Roster Breakdown
The Redhawks are relatively young with seven freshmen and five sophomores. Top returners for Southeast include 2017 Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) All-Around and Vault Champion, Alexis Brawner, McKenna Stanley along with juniors Allyson Bell and McKinzie Jones. Brawner earned MIC Gymnast of the Year in 2016 and represented SEMO at the NCAA Regionals in the all-around competition the past two seasons. She also leads the Redhawks with 93 career scores of 9.700 or better.
 
2017 in Review
SEMO placed fifth at the MIC Championship in 2017 behind Lindenwood, Texas Woman's, Illinois State and Illinois-Chicago. The Redhawks will look to improve on their 8-16 overall record. Southeast had a team regional qualifying score of 192.330.
 
Looking Ahead
The Redhawks host Illinois State in its home opener on Friday, Jan. 12 at Houck Field House in Cape. The meet starts at 6:30 p.m.