2019 MIC Championships
Meet Information
Date: Friday, March 22, 2019
Time: 6 p.m., CT
Location: Shreveport, La.
Venue: Gold Dome
Series: Lindenwood leads All-Time Series with SEMO 13-4, 0-3 in 2019;
Southeast leads All-Time Series with TWU 52-21, 0-2 in 2019;
Southeast leads All-Time Series with Illinois-Chicago 38-30, 0-1 in 2019;
Southeast leads the All-Time Series with Illinois State 61-33, 0-2 in 2019; 
Southeast leads the All-Time Series with Centenary 46-6 
Coaches: Ashley Lawson (First Season at SEMO);
Jen Llewellyn (Sixth Season at Lindenwood);
Lisa Bowerman (Eighth Season at Texas Woman's)
Peter Jansson and Mary Jansson (30th Seasons at Illinois-Chicago);
Bob Conkling (14th Season at Illinois State);
Jackie Fain (Eighth Season at Centenary)
 
Media Coverage
Video: College TV Ticket

Live Stats
 
Follow the Redhawks on Twitter @SEMOGymnastics for in-meet updates.
 
Meet Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
 
Redhawks Head to Shreveport, Louisiana, for 2019 MIC Championships Friday
Southeast Missouri women's gymnastics travels to Shreveport, Louisiana, for the 2019 Midwest Independent Conference Championships Friday at 6 p.m., CT at the Gold Dome hosted at Centenary.
 
SEMO at MIC Championships History
Southeast has won the conference title four times with their most recent crown in 2014.
 
SEMO notched season highs on vault (48.675) and all-around score (193.875) to finish fourth at the 2018 MIC Championships at the Robert F. Hyland Arena on the campus of Lindenwood. Alexis Brawner tied for first on vault with a score of 9.850 to capture the MIC vault title for the third straight season. Gabrielle Adams tied for third on vault (9.800) to also earn First Team All-MIC honors with Brawner on the discipline. McKinzie Jones placed fourth on beam with a score of 9.850 to garner second team all-conference honors. Brawner also earned first team laurels on floor with a second place finish on a 9.875.
 
The Redhawks hosted the conference championship in 2016 and finished second with a 194.375. Brawner placed third in the all-around competition with a score of 38.650, good for first-team all-conference. McKinzie Jones (38.625) and McKenna Stanley (38.550) each earned second team honors. Brawner won a share of the vault title (9.825). Alyssa Tucker (9.850) and Brawner (9.825) also finished first and second on bars. Tucker (9.825) and Jones (9.800) recorded second-team all-conference honors on beam. Jones won floor with a 9.925, which tied for the seventh highest score in SEMO history. Brawner added a 9.875, also earning first-team all-conference. Thomas earned second-team all-conference on the event, with a 9.825. Brawner earned MIC Gymnast of the Year laurels in 2016.
 
Kaziska Named MIC Newcomer of the Week for Sixth Time in 2019
Anna Kaziska was named Midwest Independent Conference Newcomer of the Week for the sixth time this season, the league announced Wednesday after her performance at the Arkansas Quad Meet on March 16. 
 
Arkansas Quad Meet Recap
Anna Kaziska registered her second career 9.900 floor score to earn third overall on the event as Southeast totaled 188.250 at a quad meet with #20 Arkansas, Lindenwood and Texas Woman's last Saturday at Barnhill Arena. Kaziska also finished fourth in the all-around competition with 38.900. Alana Fischer (seventh) and Michael Sanders (eighth) also both competed in the all-around competition and finished with 37.775 and 37.000, respectively.
 
SEMO opened the quad with a 48.100 on floor in the first rotation. Kaziska registered her second career-high score of 9.900 in the SEMO anchor position. Mackenzie Slee added a personal best 9.825. Allyson Bell chipped in a 9.650 and Alana Fischer had a 9.550. 
 
In the second rotation, the Redhawks had a vault team score of 47.475. Kaziska paced Southeast with 9.725 followed by Slee's 9.700. Fischer notched a 9.675 and Michael Sanders posted a 9.375. 
 
SEMO then tallied a 45.250 on bars in the third rotation. Kaziska had a team high 9.675 and Fischer achieved a 9.650.
 
The Redhawks concluded the quad with a 47.425 on beam in the fourth rotation. Sanders led SEMO with a season best 9.725. Slee was second on the Redhawks with a 9.675. Kaziska added a 9.600 and Gabrielle Adams had a 9.525.
 
MIC Top 10
Anna Kaziska is second in the MIC in RQS score for floor and beam. Kaziska has an RQS of 9.865 on floor which is tied with Illinois-Chicago's Mikailla Northern. Kaziska is also second on beam with an RQS of 9.835.
 
She also ranks seventh in the all-around competition with an RQS of 38.850. Alana Fischer is 10th in the conference with 37.740.
  
Looking at the Opponents
Lindenwood
The Lions won their fourth-straight MIC title in 2018. Lindenwood totaled a 195.375 at the Arkansas Quad Meet on Saturday in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Lions registered a season-high score of 49.300 on the floor, highlighted by a pair of 9.900 scores from Breanna Franklin and Courtney Mitchell.
 
Texas Woman's 
The Pioneers posted a score of 192.175 to finish third at the Arkansas Quad. Erin Alderman once again anchored the Pioneers, posting a team-high 9.775 on beam and a 9.875 on floor. Her 9.700 was also second-highest on the team behind Hope Parkin's 9.775. On bars, Morgan Colee paced the Pioneers as she finished third overall in the meet with a 9.825 in the all-around, Bria Northrop finished fifth with a 38.350.
 
Illinois-Chicago
The UIC Flames were dominant on vault and floor in their regular season-closing quad meet at Michigan State with Ball State and Alaska-Anchorage last Sunday. UIC turned in the highest team totals of the meet on both events and the Flames finished with 194.325. Serena Baker was the bars (9.850) champion. Kayla Baddeley took second on beam (9.825) and third on vault (9.800) with Riley Mahoney. Mikailla Northern and Alisa Sheremeta tied for second on floor (9.875).  
 
Illinois State
The Redbirds were third at the 29th Annual Masters Classic at the Bob Devaney Sports Center against No. 9 Kentucky and No. 18 Nebraska with a team score of 191.625. ISU had a strong turn on the floor with three scores of 9.800 or higher to post the team's highest individual event score of the night at 48.850. The Redbirds capped off the night on vault, with a solid score of 48.400. 
 
Centenary
The Ladies posted a 189.200 last Friday at Missouri. Minnesota won the quad meet with a 196.900, the host Tigers and Michigan finished tied for second with a 196.800. Cami Bea Austin received the highest score of the night, tying a career high of 9.800 on vault to finish tied for eighth. Tavia Smith bumped up her all-around RQS by more than a tenth, receiving a 38.150 – her fourth 38+ total in the last five meets. Elizabeth Sander led the Ladies on beam, tying a season best with a 9.700.
 
Lawson Faces Former Team
Southeast Head Coach Ashley Lawson faces Lindenwood where she served as an assistant in 2018 for the fourth time this season Friday at the 2019 MIC Championships. At Lindenwood, she was the balance beam coach, and helped 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.
 
2018-2019 Signees 
Southeast Head Coach Ashley Lawson announced Feb. 20 the addition of signee Molly Maxwell to the 2020 team. Maxwell, a Milton, Wisconsin native, will graduate from Milton High School in 2019. She won the all-around at the Wisconsin State Championships and was the first alternate for JO (Junior Olympic) Nationals in 2018.
 
Maxwell is the fourth Redhawks signee in 2019 and will join Catherine Costantini, Lindsey Moffitt and Taylor Fishkin as well as early signing period signees Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso, Jordan Jones and Mallory Desch this upcoming fall ahead of the 2020 season. 
 
Costantini, a Centerton, Arkansas native, will graduate from Seton Home Study School in 2019 and signed with SEMO on Feb. 14. Moffitt, a Ferris, Texas native, will graduate from Laurel Springs School Online in May 2019 and signed with the Redhawks on Jan. 29. Fishkin, a Manlius, New York native, will graduate from Fayetteville-Manlius High School in 2019 and signed with SEMO on Jan. 21.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Gabrielle Adams, Megan Dennis, Alana Fischer and Samantha Gallet each qualified for the USA Gymnastics National Championships in 2018.
 
Looking Ahead
After Friday's MIC Championships, Southeast will await the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Selection Show on Monday, March 25, to see where the team is pegged for NCAA Regionals April 4-6. The USAG Collegiate National Championship then follows regionals April 12-14 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.