Season Opener
at Lindenwood
 
Meet Information
Date: Sun., Jan. 8
Time: 3:00 p.m., CT
Location: St. Charles, Mo. 
Venue: Robert F. Hyland Arena
Series: Lindenwood leads the series 11-4 
 
Coaches: Ashley Lawson (Fifth Season at SEMO);
Catelyn Orel (Second Season at Lindenwood) 
 
Media Coverage
Watch: ESPN+

2023 SEMO Gymnastics Media Guide
 
Follow the Redhawks
Twitter: @SEMOGymnastics
Instagram: semogymnastics
 
 
Redhawks Open 2023 Season Sunday at Lindenwood
Southeast Missouri women's gymnastics will begin the 2023 campaign when they travel north to take on regional rival, Lindenwood for the first dual meet of the season. The competition is set to begin at 3 p.m., CT at Robert F. Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo. 
 
Last Matchup
The last time the two schools matched up came in last season's Midwest Independent Conference Championship meet. The Lions narrowly captured defeat over the Redhawks by a final score of 194.875-to-193.425. 
 
The Redhawks finished fourth at the meet. 
 
Jolie Miller and Lindsay Ockler tied for the Conference's Bar championship with a near-perfect score of 9.900. Each girl was selected to the All-MIC team for the bar competition. 
 
Scouting the Opponent
Lindenwood will begin their season on Friday, Jan. 6, when they compete at Southeastern Conference (SEC) member Florida. They will compete against host Florida, BIG 12 member West Virginia, and Ball State. 
 
Last season, Lindenwood placed second in the Midwestern Independent Conference Championships with an overall team score of 194.875. 
 
Riley Daniels and Carley Scott scored a 9.825 on vault and bars, respectively, to pace the Lions in each category. Both Daniels and Scott will be back to compete for Lindenwood this season. 
 
The Lions will return 13 athletes to the roster for the 2023 season. In addition to the returners, Lindenwood added four freshman to the roster to round out the 2023 squad. 
 
At last season's USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championship, Lindenwood placed third overall with a team score of 194.600. 
 
Returner Gayla Griswold took first place in the vault competition with a 9.925. Griswold will return to the Lions roster in 2023. 
 
The Lions quad meet at Florida will begin at 6 p.m., CT. 
 
Roster Breakdown
SEMO will return 13 athletes to the team this season, including 2022 MIC bars champion Jolie Miller. Miller, a senior from Aurora, Colo., returns for her senior season after capturing first place with a 9.900 score in the event. 
 
Senior Jordan Jones will return to the Redhawks this season following a season-ending injury sustained during the 2022 season. 
 
Seniors Lindsey Moffitt, Molly Maxwell, Taylor Fishkin, and Mallory Desch will also be back in action this season. 
 
At the MIC Championships, Maxwell competed in the all-around competition for SEMO and placed sixth. She earned second team All-MIC Second-Team for floor, registering a 9.750. 
 
Lydia Webb, Sophia Studdard, Anna Speller, Lindsay Ockler, Janelle Lopez, and Madison Greene round-out the returners for the 2023 Gymhawks. 
 
The 2023 Redhawks will feature six new athletes on the roster. Chaniya Miller, Ailey Kuehn, Taylor Ingle, Kailyn Hamilton, Sydney Crouch, and Anna Chodon round out the roster for SEMO. 
 
2023 Schedule
The Redhawks will compete in 10 regular season competitions, plus the Midwest Independent Conference Championships for 11 total competitions in 2023. 
 
Following the season opener at Lindenwood (Jan. 8), SEMO will return home to host their first home tri-meet of the season with Greenville and Centenary coming to Houck Field House on January 14. 
 
SEMO will next compete in Nashville, Tenn. When they compete in the Tennessee Collegiate Classic against Kent State, Lindenwood, Ball State, and Fisk. The classic will take place on Jan. 20 (Fri) and will begin at 7 p.m., CT. 
 
The Redhawks will return home for a MIC-dual with Texas Woman's on Friday, Jan. 27, at Houck Field House beginning at 6:30 p.m., CT. 
 
A road-test for the Gymhawks will take place in Muncie, Ind. when they take on Ball State, Pittsburgh, and Fisk on the campus of Ball State. The quad will take place on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 1 p.m., CT. 
 
February 10, the Redhawks will host a tri meet with Lindenwood and Fisk. 
 
They continue the season on the road, back-to-back weekends, going to Illinois State (Feb. 17) then at Greenville (Feb. 25).
 
March 3, the Gymhawks will return to Houck Field House to host Illinois State in the final home dual of the season. 
 
SEMO will conclude the 2023 regular season with a tri-meet at Missouri (March 10) before hosting the MIC Championships in Cape Girardeau, Mo. On March 17. The meet is slated to begin at 5 p.m., CT. 
 
Success in the Classroom
Southeast Missouri ranked seventh among the nation's top Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) academic teams for GPA for the 2021-22 season, the WCGA announced Wednesday.
 
"This team set out with the goal of being a top school in the country academically at the beginning of the year," head coach Ashley Lawson said. "I think this honor [Top 10 in the country] exemplified their hard work and motivation in continuing to put our program on the map."
 
Southeast Missouri women's gymnastics posted a 3.7582 GPA with 16 of its student-athletes named Scholastic All-Americans. Over 94 percent of the 2022 Redhawks roster registered a 3.5 or higher GPA for the honor which ranked fifth overall in the country. 
 
"I'm beyond proud of this team for what they did in the classroom," Lawson said of the academic honor. "There is a lot that goes into being a student-athlete, but these ladies put their class work at the top of their priority list. It makes me extremely grateful of their dedication to not only excel in the gym, but also in the classroom. It takes a village and I'd be completely remiss if I didn't send a big thank you to our academic coordinators Brooke Hengst, and Betsy Wilcox."
 
Ashley Albrecht, Lindsey Bates, Mallory Desch, Taylor Fishkin, Madison Greene, Jordan Jones, Anna Kaziska, Janelle Lopez, Makenzie Marciniak, Molly Maxwell, Jolie Miller, Lindsay Ockler, Nyah Reader, Anna Speller, Sophia Studdard, and Lydia Webb were all named WCGA Scholastic All-Americans. Each of these student-athletes either had a 3.5 overall GPA or carried a 3.5 GPA during the 2021-22 academic year.
 
Speller, Miller, Jones, Bates, Marciniak, Maxwell, and Reader all notched a 4.0 GPA during the 2021-22 school year which was the top GPA in the country. 
Texas Woman's University, the University of Alaska-Anchorage, and Boise State posted the top three team grade-point averages (GPAs) for the 2021-22 academic year based on data submitted to the WCGA.
 
2024 Signees
On Tuesday, Nov. 15, Head Coach Ashley Lawson announced that four student-athletes will be added to the roster next season. Courtney Henry, Jordan Napolitano, Ava Johnston, and Amelia May will join the team in the Fall of 2023. 
 
 
Looking Ahead
Following the dual at Lindenwood, SEMO will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 14, when they host Greenville and Centenary at Houck Field House. The tri meet will begin at 2 p.m., CT.