Season Opener
SEMO vs. Texas Woman's and Lindenwood
Meet Information
Date: Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021
Time: 6 p.m., CT
Location: Denton, Texas
Venue: Kitty Magee Arena
Series: SEMO Leads All-Time Series with TWU, 52-22;
Lindenwood Leads All-Time Series with SEMO, 15-5
Coaches: Ashley Lawson (Third Season at SEMO);
Lisa Bowerman (10th Season at Texas Woman's);
Jen Llewellyn (Ninth Season at Lindenwood)
Media Coverage
Video: Lone Star Conference Network ($)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @SEMOGymnastics
Meet Notes: SEMO
Media Guide
Southeast Missouri women's gymnastics commences its 2021 season Saturday with a tri meet in Denton, Texas, against Midwest Independent Conference foes Texas Woman's and Lindenwood. First rotation is scheduled to start at 6 p.m., CT, at the Kitty Magee Arena. No spectators will be allowed inside Kitty Magee Arena.
Season Preview
The Redhawks soared to epic heights in its historic and highly successful, albeit shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After going winless in competition in 2019, SEMO registered 10 wins and went on a five-competition win streak from Jan. 31 to March 1. The 2020 Redhawks compiled a Team NQS (national qualifying score) of 193.780 for third overall in the Midwest Independent Conference. SEMO also notched a team score of 193.000 or higher in each of their final five meets to conclude the season including a 195.800, the second-highest team score in school history.
2020 may have left a bittersweet taste for the Redhawks but it also has fueled the fire to continue on the course they have blazed ahead.
"The momentum that last year's success brings to the team this year is that these ladies "are good" and can defy the odds stacked against them," head coach
Ashley Lawson said. "This year's expectations are to continue our upward trajectory and pick up where we left off. We still had a lot to prove and weren't able to do so in 2020. I believe we have the right athletes in place to take this team to new heights, and the ladies are hungry to prove to the nation who SEMO Gymnastics is. We will rely on the returners for their energy and motivation and look to the freshman to mesh right in and increase our depth and difficulty on each event."
Lawson added that one of the team's core values is agape, meaning the highest form of love.
"Our goal for the year is to continue to push each other day in and day out, by selflessly giving 110 percent in and out of the gym," she said. "Agape means to love ourselves, each other, and each moment we are in the gym as well as practicing and competing. With so much uncertainty after last year and living in a global pandemic, we have learned to not take our days together for granted."
The Redhawks return 14 gymnasts from that team including 2020 MIC Gymnast of the Year
Anna Kaziska. Besides Kaziska, the team also features seniors
Gabrielle Adams,
Lindsey Bates,
Alana Fischer and
Michael Sanders, juniors
Ashley Albrecht and
Makenzie Marciniak along with sophomores
Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso,
Jordan Jones,
Mallory Desch,
Molly Maxwell,
Jolie Miller Taylor Fishkin and
Lindsey Moffitt.
"To say we are excited about this year's team is an understatement," Lawson said of the 2021 team makeup. "Returning so many routines and adding in strong additions, is only going to help in the strength of our lineups. We will look for the consistency and experience of our returners to help calm the freshman. Add in Ashley's [Albrecht] experience with the successful UIC [Illinois-Chicago], and we have a team with heart and grit to do big things."
The 2021 roster also features four freshmen in
Lydia Test,
Lydia Webb,
Sophia Studdard and
Anna Speller.
"We are excited to see our freshman class compete this year," Lawson said of the quartet. "Since coming to SEMO, they have jumped right into practices with enthusiasm and Redhawks pride. They have been pushing themselves to fit in with the upperclassman and they help fuel our lineups. Each freshman brings in an additional piece to our puzzle and we are looking forward to seeing them in all four lineups this season."
Lineups
With the exception of vault and floor specialist
Mackenzie Slee who graduated this past fall, SEMO returns more or less every lineup from 2020.
"This year's stability and depth is going to be instrumental in our growth and success," Lawson said. "We have depth on each event, which allows for hard work every day in the gym, and in return, we get better gymnastics. We can rest athletes if their bodies need it, and we can grow in our trust and consistency with our returners."
The Redhawks will once again rely heavily on all-arounders Kaziska and Solorzano-Caruso who both earned All-MIC and USA Gymnastics First-Team All-American honors last season.
"Having Dahlia and Anna in the lineup together is a dynamic duo," Lawson said of the pair. "They both set each other up nicely in the lineups and build off each other's success. This year we will add Ashley [Albrecht] to the mix of a potential all-arounder also, and will have a very strong 1-2-3."
Lawson added that 2020 All-MIC gymnast
Jordan Jones and freshman
Lydia Webb also have the ability to compete in all four events and could be utilized in the all-around competition in 2021.
Events
The Redhawks averaged a vault mark of 48.150 during the 2020 season and set a new program-best on the event with a 49.075 at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic.
"This year we are excited that we can put up a vault lineup with all 9.95 start values," Lawson said of the opening event at home meets. "This will help increase our ability to score higher. We have many athletes that will be vying for a lineup spot each week."
Besides
Ashley Albrecht and
Mallory Desch, every Redhawk athlete completes a Yurchenko Layout Full on the event. Albrecht will compete a Yurchenko Layout Half and Desch has a half on, front tuck off for the discipline.
Bars was one of SEMO's weaker events last season, averaging a 47.982. With that said, the Redhawks registered their third highest bars mark (49.050) in school history in 2020 and return specialists
Lindsey Bates,
Jordan Jones and
Jolie Miller who each won individual bars titles during the campaign.
"This event has always been our nemesis, but this year we spent a lot of time working on parts of the routine and getting comfortable with catching big release moves," Lawson said of the event. "All of our bar workers have a major release move and a 10.0 start value. The depth on this event will help motivate our athletes toward consistency and trust on their releases. The crowd always loves Jolie's [Miller] high flying bars routine, and she has been consistently putting in the extra work to focus on the details this year."
Beam was SEMO's second-best event during the 2020 season. The Redhawks averaged a 48.160 and this lineup returns three All-MIC athletes from 2020 in Jones,
Anna Kaziska and
Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso.
"Beam has the most depth of any event for our program," Lawson said. "It's one that everyone trains and it's anyone's spot in lineup as we go through season. Last season, our lineup was carried by mostly newcomers. In 2021, we are going to see a more experienced lineup as all of last year's beam competitors returned. Overall, it will be exciting this season to see the spike in confidence right from the start of the season."
Floor, the final rotation at SEMO home events, was the team's strongest event last season. The Redhawks averaged a mark of 48.350 in 2020.
"We have some really unique and fun floor routines again this year, all choreographed by [assistant coach] Andavea [Alexander]," Lawson said. "Some are dramatic, others are fun and will have people tapping their feet. It's truly a great mix of routines and each one fits the athlete perfectly. Our lineup will include all 10.0 start values and features fun and interesting passes. Look for freshman
Lydia Webb to showcase all her twisting passes to go along with the music she chose, which was her acrobatic music when she went to Worlds!"
Schedule
SEMO will compete in nine meets in 2021 and host four regular-season competitions against MIC opponents Illinois State (twice), Texas Woman's, Centenary and Lindenwood.
After Saturday, the Redhawks next travel to Lebanon, Tennessee, to take on Northern Illinois of the Mid-American Conference, Lindenwood and Centenary at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic quad on Friday, Jan. 22.
SEMO then hosts Illinois State in their home opener on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m. at Houck Field House.
