Alabama Quad Meet
at #6 Alabama with Northern Illinois and Temple
Meet Information 
Date: Friday, Jan. 4, 2019
Time: 7:30 p.m., CT
Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Venue: Coleman Coliseum
Series: Alabama leads all-time series 10-0;
SEMO leads all-time series with NIU, 21-17;
SEMO and Temple are tied in the all-time series, 1-1.
Coaches: Ashley Lawson (First Season at SEMO);
Dana Duckworth (Fifth Season at Alabama);
Sam Morreale (Eighth Season at NIU);
Josh Nilson (First Season at Temple)
 
Media Coverage
Live Stats: GymScoring
Video: SEC Network + 

Follow the Redhawks on Twitter @SEMOGymnastics for in-meet updates.
 
Meet Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
 
Season-Opening Alabama Quad Meet
Southeast Missouri women's gymnastics opens its 2019 season with a quad meet at Alabama with Northern Illinois and Temple Friday at 7:30 p.m., CT at the Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Southeast will start the quad on floor. 
 
It marks the second-straight season that SEMO starts its campaign at a Southeastern Conference (SEC) institution. The Redhawks competed in a quad meet at Kentucky with George Washington and Ball State to start the 2018 season. 
 
Southeast posted a team score of 189.675 and Lindsey Bates totaled 37.650 in the all-around competition for sixth at the meet. Gabrielle Adams notched her first score of 9.700 or higher with a 9.750 on vault.
 
Looking at the Opponents
Alabama
The Crimson Tide is coming off a 2018 season that saw the team finish second at the SEC Championships before earning its NCAA-best 32nd regional title, its 36th-consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships and its 34th top-eight national finish.
 
Northern Illinois
The Huskies enter the 2019 campaign after a historic season which featured three gymnasts compete at the NCAA South Central Regionals. Anna Martucci earned five Mid-American Conference Specialist of the Week titles, the MAC Specialist of the Year, First Team All-MAC during the regular season, Second Team All-MAC at the conference championship in 2018 and will move from a two-event specialist to an all-around contributor in 2019. 
 
Temple
The Owls have new leadership this season after a strong 2018 that featured 10 gymnasts on All-ECAC teams: four First-Team honors and eight Second-Team honors. Josh Nilson starts his first campaign at the helm. The team ranked first in the ECAC Preseason Poll with 26 points, two points ahead of Yale (24) and three ahead of Penn (23).
 
New Coach, New Era
Ashley Lawson returns to Southeast after competing for the Redhawks from 2001-2004 and holds the school record in four (bars, beam, floor, all-around) of the five individual event titles. Lawson coaches beam as well as co-coaches the vault and floor teams with assistant coach Chris Licameli.
 
Lawson was previously an assistant coach at Lindenwood University in 2018. There, she was the balance beam coach, helping lead the Lions to their fourth-straight Midwest Independent Conference title. Lindenwood also finished second in the team finals of the 2018 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championships.
 
Lawson also served as a member of the Southeast Missouri women's gymnastics coaching staff for one year in 2009-10. As an assistant coach at SEMO, Lawson was the head balance beam coach that helped coach three gymnasts to qualify for the 2010 NCAA Regionals. Also while acting as the head balance beam coach, Lawson turned Southeast's weakest event into its second-best event in just six months.
 
From 2001-2004, Lawson competed on the Redhawks gymnastics squad at Southeast Missouri. She holds the school record in four of the five individual event titles. She holds the bars (9.925), beam (9.975), floor (10.000), and all-around (39.550) records. She is one of just three gymnasts in school history to record a perfect ten in an individual event.
 
Redhawks Temple Connection
Redhawks Assistant Coach Chris Licameli will coach against, Temple, his alma mater Friday. Licameli, a Lindenhurst, New York native, came to SEMO from Temple University, where he graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Sport and Recreation Management. While at Temple, he spent two seasons as a manager for the men's basketball team and one season as a Volunteer Assistant Coach, as well as the Director of Operations for the Owls' gymnastics team.
 
2018 Signees
Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso, Jordan Jones and Mallory Desch signed to compete at Southeast for the 2020 season in November during the early signing period.
 
Solorzano-Caruso, was the Level 10 National Beam Champion the past two seasons and earned silver and bronze in the all-around competition at Level 10 Nationals during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. She also placed 18th at the 2017 Elite Canada meet with an all-around score of 45.950.
 
Jones was the Georgia Level 10 Bars State Champion in 2017 and placed third on bars at regionals.
 
Desch was a JO National Qualifier in 2017 and 2018. Mallory Desch is the sister of Maddie Desch who is a World Champion gymnast who competes at the University of Alabama.
 
Roster Breakdown
Southeast returns 10 athletes from 2018 but is relatively young with eight underclassmen. Allyson Bell is the lone senior. Juniors Megan Dennis, Kenna Skepnek, Mackenzie Slee and Kendra Benak round out the upperclassmen.
 
Sophomores Gabrielle Adams, Lindsey Bates, Alana Fischer, Samantha Gallet and Michael Sanders were regular contributors to the 2018 lineup and had to grow up quickly in their inaugural collegiate season. Bates competed as an all-arounder in four meets and led the freshman class with five event titles in 2018. Adams captured one event title last season. Both Adams and Bates earned MIC Newcomer of the Week laurels.
 
Freshmen Anna Kaziska, Makenzie Marciniak and Maya Tran complete the 13-member 2019 team. Kaziska will make an impact on all four events as an all-arounder. 
 
2018 in Review
Southeast finished fourth at the MIC Championships in 2018 with a team score of 193.875. Gabrielle Adams tied for third on vault at the MIC Championships to earn First-Team All-MIC honors. SEMO posted a 7-17 overall record in 2018.
 
Adams, Megan Dennis, Alana Fischer and Samantha Gallet each qualified for the USA Gymnastics National Championships in 2018.
 
Looking Ahead
After Friday's season-opening quad meet at Alabama, Southeast will travel to Iowa for a dual meet with the Hawkeyes on Friday, Jan. 11 in Iowa City, Iowa. SEMO then returns to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, for their home opener against San Jose State on Friday, Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Houck Field House.

2019 Redhawks Gymnastics season ticket packages are on sale now. For just $20, which is a 50 percent savings, fans will receive eight tickets that can be used at any Redhawk home meet. Season ticket holders will also receive a Southeast gymnastics t-shirt if they order their package by Monday, Jan. 7.