Tennessee Collegiate Classic 
vs. Northern Illinois
Meet Information
Date: Friday, Feb. 28, 2020
Time: 7 p.m., CT
Location: Lebanon, Tenn.
Venue: Wilson County Expo Center
Series: Southeast leads All-Time Series 21-19
Coaches: Ashley Lawson (Second Season at SEMO);
Sam Morreale (Ninth Season at NIU)
 
Dual Meet at Centenary
Meet Information
Date: Sunday, March 1, 2020
Time: 2 p.m., CT
Location: Shreveport, La.
Venue: Centenary Gold Dome
Series: Southeast leads All-Time Series with Centenary 47-7, 1-0 in 2020
Coaches: Ashley Lawson (Second Season at SEMO);
Jackie Fain (Ninth Season at Centenary)
 
Follow the Redhawks on Twitter @SEMOGymnastics for in-meet updates.
 
Meet Notes: Southeast Missouri 
 
Redhawks Hit the Road for Double Weekend in Tennessee and Louisiana
Southeast Missouri women's gymnastics heads back into competition Friday and Sunday with a double weekend in Tennessee and Louisiana. Southeast competes in its second consecutive meet hosted by a private gymnastics club (Meet Authority Productions and USAInvitationalGymnastics.com) on Friday at 7 p.m. when it faces Northern Illinois in the Tennessee Collegiate Classic held at the Wilson County Expo Center in Lebanon, Tennessee. The Redhawks then continue their weekend trip by heading south to Shreveport, Louisiana, to take on Midwest Independent Conference foe, Centenary, Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Centenary Gold Dome.
 
Looking at the Opponents
Northern Illinois
The Huskies earned their second-highest team score of the season to take third at the George Washington "Sweet Meet" this past Sunday at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C. NIU totaled a score of 195.450 to finish behind N.C. State (196.025) and host George Washington (195.900) while defeating Temple (195.075) in its first multi-team outing of the season.
 
The vault squad also tied its second-best score of the year with a 48.900 with Zoie Schroeder, Tara Kofmehl and Gabby all recording scores of 9.800 to tie for third overall. NIU closed out the meet on balance beam where Mia Lord led the way with a 9.875 as she tied for second for the highest individual place by a Huskie in the meet.
 
Centenary
The Ladies finished third in a tri-meet against host North Carolina State and William & Mary this past Friday at Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina. Centenary posted a score of 189.250 while NC State scored a season-best 196.500 and William & Mary placed second with a 192.975.
 
Dorothy Mims finished in a three-way tie for fourth place on the beam with a score of 9.775. Cami Bea Austin placed fourth on floor with a score of 9.825.
 
GQ Mardi Gras Invitational Recap
Anna Kaziska and Lindsey Bates combined for three individual event titles as Southeast took first at the GymQuarters Mardi Gras Invitational tri meet on Feb. 14 at The Family Arena with a team score of 193.525. Seattle Pacific was second at the meet with 192.675 and Centenary was third (189.525). SEMO has now registered consecutive team scores of 193.000 or higher in their past two meets.
 
Kaziska won the beam with her sixth career-best score of 9.875 (fourth in 2020). She also notched her third personal-high 9.900 (first in 2020) on floor for the title. Bates captured her first title of the season and sixth of her career with a 9.700 on bars in the opening rotation. Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso was second overall in the all-around with a total of 38.500. Kaziska was fourth with a 37.675.
 
Pink Out Meet Recap
Southeast registered season-highs on bars and in the team score to propel the Redhawks past Midwest Independent Conference rival, Lindenwood, 193.925-193.600, Feb. 7 at Houck Field House on Pink Out Night. The dual win over Lindenwood, the five-time defending MIC Champions and 2019 USA Gymnastics National Champions, was the first for the Redhawks since Jan. 31, 2014 (193.900-190.600). The team total was the highest mark by SEMO since the team posted a 194.375 at the 2016 MIC Championship (3/19) in Cape Girardeau.
 
Anna Kaziska captured the beam title with her third 9.875 in 2020 and fifth career-best mark. She also won the all-around competition with her fourth career total of 39.00 or higher (39.150). Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso was the runner-up with 38.300.
 
Set the Bar HIGH
Trailing 48.750-48.300 after the opening rotation against Lindenwood on Feb. 7, Southeast pulled ahead of the Lions for good after a season-best 48.725 on bars. Lindsey Bates set the tone with a career-best 9.825 which was second overall at the dual. Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso was third at the meet with her second career-high 9.800. Jordan Jones and Anna Kaziska added identical scores of 9.725 in the leadoff and fifth positions. Alana Fischer chipped in a season-high 9.650.
 
Lawson Inducted into SEMO Hall of Fame
Head coach Ashley (Godwin) Lawson was inducted into Southeast Missouri's Athletics Hall of Fame Feb. 7 after the Redhawks dual meet victory over Lindenwood. Lawson holds school records in the all-around (39.550), uneven bars (9.925), balance beam (9.975) and floor exercise (10.000) and is in her second season as head gymnastics coach. Lawson was a MIC Champion four times in her career, winning the uneven bars in 2002 and the balance beam, floor exercise and all-around in 2003. She was an NCAA Regional qualifier in the all-around each of her final three seasons at SEMO (2002, 2003, 2004). Lawson's highest NCAA Regional finish was an 11th-place showing in 2002. 
 
Home Opener Recap
Southeast edged Illinois State, 192.775-192.475, behind a huge 49.025 on floor in the final rotation of SEMO's home opener at Houck Field House on Jan. 31. The team score and floor mark were season highs for the Redhawks.
 
Anna Kaziska was second in the all-around with 38.850 and Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso was fourth, totaling 38.100.
 
The home dual win was the first for head coach Ashley Lawson at SEMO and the first for the Redhawks since March 9, 2018.
 
Titles on Titles on Titles
A trio of Redhawks captured event titles in Southeast's home-opening win over Illinois State on Jan. 31. Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso captured the vault (9.700) and beam (9.700) titles, Jordan Jones earned her first career event title on bars (9.875) and Anna Kaziska won the floor exercise (9.875) in the final routine of the evening.
 
I'm Floored by that Rotation
Trailing 144.700-143.750, entering the final rotation, Southeast hit a season-high 49.025 on floor in its home opener Jan. 31 against Illinois State. The Redhawks last hit a floor score of 49.000 or higher on March 5, 2017 against Air Force (49.000).
 
SEMO's five scorers registered marks of 9.750 or higher on floor. Lindsey Moffitt (PR), Mackenzie Slee and Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso (PR) each registered identical season-best 9.800s for second overall at the dual. Slee, the 2019 Midwest Independent Conference Vault Champion, competed on the event for the first time in 2020 on Jan. 31. Solorzano-Caruso had previously notched five straight floor scores of 9.725 to start her collegiate career before her career-best mark.
  
Molly Maxwell had a career-best 9.750 in the third lineup slot. Anna Kaziska rounded out the meet with a season-high 9.875 to claim the title. Mallory Desch added a personal-best 9.650 which was dropped.
 
Yeah Vault!!
Southeast registered a season-high vault total of 48.750 in the third rotation on Jan. 26 at Ball State. The vault score was the highest for the Redhawks since the team posted a 48.825 against Oklahoma and Texas Woman's on Jan. 23, 2015 in Norman, Oklahoma (11th in SEMO program history).
 
Each of SEMO's gymnasts during Jan. 26's vault rotation matched or surpassed their season high. Gabrielle Adams led off with a season-best 9.750. Molly Maxwell followed with a career-high 9.650. Mackenzie Slee, the 2019 MIC Vault Champion, hit a 9.725 in her season debut. 
 
Anna Kaziska finished as the runner-up at the quad with a career-high 9.825. In the anchor position, Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso tallied her second career-best 9.800 for fifth overall at the meet. Makenzie Marciniak also had a personal-best vault score of 9.575 which was dropped.
 
Solorzano-Caruso, That's Fun to Say
Freshman Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso etched her name in the Redhawks record books with a career-best 9.900 on beam on Jan. 12 in a dual meet at Alaska Anchorage. The score tied for fifth all-time in Southeast program history for the event. Solorzano-Caruso became the 10th Redhawk to post the score with Lauren Israel last earning the mark on Feb. 26, 2016. Head coach Ashley Lawson holds the SEMO beam record of 9.975.
 
We Beamin' From Ear to Ear
Trailing 142.975-142.525 after three rotations on Jan. 12, Southeast utilized a season-best beam mark of 48.700 in the fourth rotation to edge the host Seawolves, 191.225-190.825. The beam mark was the highest score for the Redhawks since SEMO hit a 48.725 at Texas Woman's with Bridgeport and Centenary on Feb. 25, 2018. 
 
Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso's record-setting beam score set the tone for SEMO. Jordan Jones was third overall at the dual with a personal-best 9.850 in her second career collegiate meet. Anna Kaziska finished fourth with 9.775. Molly Maxwell added a 9.600 and Jolie Miller had a 9.575.
 
First Dual Win Since 2018
Southeast's 191.225-190.825 dual meet victory over Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 12 at the Alaska Airlines Center was the Redhawks first dual meet win since 2018. The dual meet victory was also head coach Ashley Lawson's first at the helm of her alma mater and the first for the team since March 9, 2018 when SEMO bested Centenary, 191.950-189.125, at Houck Field House in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
 
Kaziska Grabs Three Titles
Anna Kaziska won her first three event titles in 2020 on Jan. 10 at Alaska Anchorage's Tri Meet. The sophomore from Louisville, Kentucky, matched her career-best beam routine with her third career mark of 9.875 to earn the crown. She also won the all-around with a total of 38.950 and placed first on the vault with a 9.675. Kaziska also was third on floor (9.750) and fourth on bars (9.650).
 
Anything You Can Do, Dahl Can Do Also
Freshman Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso won her first three career individual titles on Jan. 12 at Alaska Anchorage. Solorzano-Caruso registered three career-bests to capture the vault (9.800), balance beam (9.900) and all-around (39.175) titles. She also posted personal-bests on bars (9.750) and on floor (9.725) for third in both events.
 
Redhawk Debuts 
Seven Redhawks have made their debuts in 2020. Jordan Jones made her collegiate debut at Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 10 and 12. She posted a 9.500 on bars on Jan. 10 and improved on her beam set with a career-best 9.850 in her second career meet on Jan. 12. 
 
In the season opener at Missouri, sophomore Makenzie Marciniak and freshmen Jolie Miller, Lindsey Moffitt, Mallory Desch, Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso, and Molly Maxwell all made their debuts. Marciniak tallied a 9.450 on vault after missing 2019 with an injury suffered in the preseason. Miller competed on bars (9.700) and beam (9.400). Moffitt made her collegiate debut on floor (9.725), vault (9.475) and beam (8.900). Desch appeared in the floor lineup (8.800). Solorzano-Caruso (38.675, fourth) and Maxwell (37.675, sixth) both were all-arounders.
 
Missouri Tri Meet Recap
Southeast surpassed its 2019 season-high team score with 191.275 in SEMO's season opener on Jan. 4 at #16-ranked Missouri's tri meet. The Redhawks opened with a 46.600 on beam before dropping a 48.525 on floor. In the third rotation, SEMO added a 47.700 and concluded the meet with a 48.450 on bars. The #27-ranked Illini captured the team title with a score of 195.850. Missouri was second with 195.600.
 
The Redhawks notched a season-best team score of 190.275 at the 2019 Midwest Independent Conference Championships last March (3/22/19) and overcame that mark by a point in their 2020 opener. 
 
2019 Signees
Southeast signed four gymnasts during the early signing period on Nov. 14. Anna Speller (St. Louis, Missouri), Sophia Studdard (Blue Springs, Missouri), Lydia Test (Plano, Texas) and Lydia Webb (Wylie, Texas) will join the team this upcoming fall for the 2021 Redhawks season.
 
Roster Breakdown
Southeast returns 10 student-athletes from 2019. Seniors Kendra Benak and Mackenzie Slee along with juniors Gabrielle Adams, Alana Fischer and Michael Sanders were regular contributors to lineups last season. Anna Kaziska also returns for her sophomore season after competing as an all-arounder in every meet in 2019. Kaziska, Adams, Slee and junior Lindsey Bates have all won individual event titles at Southeast. 
 
The 2020 Redhawks team also features eight freshmen in Catherine Costantini (Centerton, Arkansas), Mallory Desch (Lenexa, Kansas), Taylor Fishkin (Manlius, New York), Jordan Jones (Buford, Georgia), Molly Maxwell (Milton, Wisconsin), Jolie Miller (Aurora, Colorado), Lindsey Moffitt (Ferris, Texas) and Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso (Courtice, Ontario, Canada) who will all vie for lineup spots. Junior transfer Ashley Albrecht (Everett, Washington) from Illinois-Chicago rounds out the newcomers.
 
New Coaches, Who Dis?
Head coach Ashley Lawson also added a pair of new coaches ahead of the 2020 season in Jason Collins and Andavea Alexander. Collins will coach the bars team while Alexander will serve as the beam coach and team choreographer. 
 
Collins was previously an assistant coach at Yale in 2019 and prior to that he served as the vice president, chief athletic officer and director of men's gymnastics, and was the women's elite team coach at EVO Athletics in Sarasota, Florida. Alexander was a standout gymnast at Lindenwood who was a seven-time USA Gymnastics All-American and a seven-time All-MIC performer. She also helped Lindenwood win their fifth consecutive MIC Championship and third USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championship in the last five years in 2019.
 
Fischer Competes for Team Canada
Junior Alana Fischer competed for Team Canada at the 2019 FISU Summer Universiade in Naples, Italy, this past July. Fischer, a Georgetown, Ontario, Canada native, and Team Canada earned fourth in the women's artistic gymnastics team event. Fischer along with her teammates Denelle Pedrick and Jessica Dowling totaled a team score of 97.700 for fourth in the seven-team competition. 
 
What a Freshman Season for Kaziska?!?
Anna Kaziska led the Redhawks in 2019 with 33 scores of 9.700 or higher and totaled 11 individual event titles while earning MIC Newcomer of the Year after being awarded MIC Newcomer of the Week six times during her freshman campaign. The Louisville, Kentucky native, competed as an all-arounder at every meet and finished as the runner-up on floor at the MIC Championships. She also was awarded Second-Team MIC All-Conference laurels for vault and represented SEMO at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional on floor (9.825).
 
Kaziska capped her inaugural collegiate season with second place finishes on both beam (9.875) and floor (9.875) at the 2019 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championships to earn First Team All-American honors for all-around (39.025, fifth), beam and floor and garnered Second Team All-American laurels on bars.
 
2019 MIC Vault Champion
Senior Mackenzie Slee was crowned the 2019 MIC Vault Champion at the conference Championships in Shreveport, Louisiana, with a career-best 9.825 to earn First-Team MIC All-Conference honors. The event title marked the first for Slee who hails from Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand.
 
USAG All-Americans
Three Redhawks were named USA Gymnastics All-Americans in 2019. Gabrielle Adams (vault), Mackenzie Slee (vault) and Anna Kaziska were all awarded All-America honors at the 2019 USA Gymnastics National Championships. They are the second Redhawks trio to earn the accolades after Alexis Brawner, McKinzie Jones and McKenna Stanley recorded the achievement at the 2018 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championships. Alana Fischer also represented Southeast at the 2019 USA Gymnastics National Championships.
 
2019 in Review
Southeast posted a season-best 190.275 for sixth at the 2019 MIC Championships at the Gold Dome in Shreveport, Louisiana. Mackenzie Slee tied for the vault crown with a personal-best 9.825 for her first career individual event title and Anna Kaziska, the 2019 MIC Newcomer of the Year, was second on floor with a mark of 9.875 as both earned First-Team MIC All-Conference honors. Slee and Kaziska also captured Second-Team MIC All-Conference accolades for floor and vault, respectively. Slee tied for 10thoverall on floor with a 9.800 and Kaziska had a vault score of 9.700 (17th).  
 
Redhawks Crushing it in the Classroom 
Southeast ranked 13th overall in the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) for team grade-point averages (GPAs) for the 2018-19 academic year. The Redhawks registered a 3.67 GPA during the spring and had a cumulative GPA of 3.65 for the 2018-19 academic year. The Redhawks ranked 35th in the WCGA during 2017-18.
 
Eleven members of the 2019 Redhawks team earned WCGA Scholastic All-America Awards. Lindsey Bates, Allyson Bell, Kendra Benak, Megan Dennis, Alana Fischer, Samantha Gallet, Anna Kaziska, Makenzie Marciniak, Michael Sanders, Kenna Skepnek and Mackenzie Slee each posted GPAs of 3.5 or higher during 2018-19 to garner the award.
 
Looking Ahead
Southeast closes out its three-week road swing with a return trip to St. Charles, Missouri, for a tri meet against Air Force and host Lindenwood on March 6. The Redhawks then host Centenary on Senior Day at Houck Field House on Friday, March 13 at 3 p.m.