Meet #4
Southeast Missouri (2-4-1) vs. 
Talladega College & Winona State
Date: Friday, January 26, 2024
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Venue: Houck Field House
Head Coach: SEMO: Ashley Lawson (Sixth Season); Winona State: Stephanie Geislinger (Third Season); Talladega College: Aja Sims-Fletcher (First Season)
 
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Watch: ESPN+
 
Redhawks Back at Home for SEMO Tri-Meet Friday Versus Winona State & Talladega
Southeast Missouri Gymnastics (2-4-1) will return to Houck Field House to continue the 2024 season with their second home meet of the season on Friday, Jan. 26. The Gymhawks will host Winona State and Talladega College with competition slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. 
 
Series History
SEMO, Winona State, and Talladega College will meet for the first time against each other in the same meet. The Redhawks and Winona State will meet for the 29^th time on Friday night with the Redhawks possessing a 26-2 series lead over the Warriors. The Talladega Tornadoes are a first-year program and marks their first trip to Cape Girardeau. 
 
Sold Out
Friday's meet will mark the first sellout of Houck Field House for a gymnastics meet. Friday's meet is sponsored by Window World, and very limited seating remains for SEMO students on a first come, first served basis. 
 
MIC Awards
Gymnasts Lydia Webb and Lindsay Ockler were selected for the Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) Gymnast of the Week and Performance of the Week, respectively, and Ava Johnston was the Coaches Choice Award winner the conference announced on Wednesday morning. 
 
Senior Lydia Webb became the all-time leader in SEMO Gymnastics history in the all-around on Friday night, registering a 39.575 at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic. Webb went back-to-back 9.925s on Beam and Floor, respectively, to conclude last Friday's meet.
 
She registered all new season-highs on all four events, including beam and floor, and registered a 9.850 and a 9.875 on Vault and Bars to wrap-up the first-place finish in the all-around with Ball State, Kent State, and Wisconsin-Whitewater. 
 
Lindsay Ockler, the 2022 & 2023 MIC Bars Champion, was selected for the Performance of the Week for the second week in a row after becoming the first SEMO Gymnast to receive a 10.000 on the Bars at last week's Tennessee Collegiate Classic. 
 
Ockler passed her own previous record, where she was tied for first with a 9.925 on the Bars set last season against Texas Woman's. 
 
So far this season, Lindsay's highest bar score was a 9.900 (1/6/24) prior to last Friday night. 
 
Ava Johnston picked up her first MIC honor as the freshman from Gainesville, Va. was selected for the Coaches Choice Award. Head Coach Ashley Lawson said this about Johsnton: "Ava has been battling back from an ankle injury she sustained in December. She's been a contributor in bars this season but has been fearful of one-legged landings on that ankle. On Tuesday last week, Ava learned a new dismount on beam as that was all her routine was missing. We added her to the exhibition spot for the weekend and just wanted her to find confidence in herself. On Thursday, our lead off rolled her ankle and was unable to compete. Without question, we threw Ava in the leadoff spot Friday, and she hit her beam routine with the new dismount. The excitement from the team and the belief in herself was magical and she set the tone for the girls to hit the rotation". 
 
At the Tennessee Collegiate Classic, Johnston registered career-highs on both the Bars and Beam. The freshman registered a 9.800 on Bars and a 9.725 on the Beam.
 
Program Night
SEMO Gymnastics made history last time out at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic last Friday night, setting a new team score record of 197.050. The Redhawks registered new program records on the Vault (49.200) and Bars (49.350) to conclude the Tennessee Collegiate Classic. 
 
The Midwest Independent Conference defending Bars champion, Lindsay Ockler registered a perfect 10.000 on her Bars routine. The defending MIC Performance of the Week winner, Ockler became just the second Gymhawk to register a perfect score Friday night. 
 
Senior Lydia Webb registered a new SEMO Gymnastics program in the all-around on Friday night, surpassing head coach Ashley Lawson's 39.550 (March 29, 2003) with a 39.575. Her highest scores came on the beam and floor with a 9.925, a season high. 
 
Head Coach Ashley Lawson on Friday night's performance: "I loved our energy from the start of Vault. I could tell that tonight had the potential to be a different competition compared to the first two of the season. To see us achieve three program records, it is a huge accomplishment."
 
Vault
The Redhawks started the night on the Vault where they set the new SEMO program record with a 49.200 in the first rotation of the evening. 
 
Madison Greene led the way for the Redhawks. The Crestwood, Ky.-native landed a 9.875 from spot five in the lineup.
 
Senior Lydia Webb and junior Lindsay Ockler had strong performances from the third and anchor spots, respectively, of the Vault lineup. The pair registered a 9.850. 
 
Taylor Ingle got the ball rolling with her 9.825 from the opening spot on the Vault. Ailey Kuehn and Janelle Lopez rounded out the lineup from the second and fourth spots, registering a 9.775 and 9.800, respectively. 
 
Bars
The Redhawks would transition to the Bars where they would set another program record, led by Lindsay Ockler's perfect 10.000. The Redhawks previous high score on Bars was a 49.325 set last season against Texas Woman's. 
 
Two 9.875s from Taylor Ingle and Lydia Webb in spots two and four, respectively, got the Redhawks on the right track towards breaking the previous record. 
 
A 9.800 from freshman Ava Johnston in spot one and Janelle Lopez in the sixth and final spot, gave SEMO a 49.350 and a new program record.
 
At the end of two rotations, the Redhawks had a running score of 98.550.
 
Beam
Freshman Ava Johnston got the Redhawks underway on the Beam as she started strong with a 9.725. 
 
Lydia Webb led the way with an impressive 9.925 in the final spot in the rotation, her first of two 9.925s on the evening. 
 
In spot two, Madison Greene had a strong 9.850 as the Redhawks were well on their way to finishing above a 49 for the third-straight rotation. 
 
Freshman Jordan Napolitano continued her strong start to the 2024 season as she turned in a season-high 9.800 on the Beam in spot four. Taylor Ingle followed in the fifth spot with a 9.875. 
 
The Redhawks were headed to the final rotation with a 147.725 team score. 
 
Floor
Nearly setting a new program record on the floor, the Redhawks wrapped up the night with a 49.325, just .175 off tying the previous record (49.500, 2/14/04). SEMO concluded the rotation with three straight 9.925s as Taylor Ingle, Lydia Webb, and Madison Greene all registered a 9.925. 
 
Lindsay Ockler got the Floor going with a 9.875 and was followed by back-to-back 9.675s from sophomores Sydney Crouch and Kailyn Hamilton.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Winona State
The Warriors come into Houck Field House with a 0-3 record with losses against University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
 
Against UW-Oshkosh, Winona State tallied a tem score of 183.500. The All-Around Junior Byrce Stoltz placed first with a score of 35.975. Jessica Miley took second in the All-Around with a score of 35.550.
 
Leading the way for the Warriors on the bars and the beam was Kaylee Bateman. Bateman scored a 9.525 on the beam and scored 9.375 on the bars.
 
Winona State's best score of the year so far has been 184.625.  
 
The Warriors are coached by Dr. Stephanie Geislinger. This is Geislinger's third year at the head of the program. 
 
Scouting the Opponent
Talladega College
The Tornadoes competed in their very first meet in program history on January 12 against Florida, Fisk, and George Washington University. Talladega placed fourth scoring a total of 187.75 points.
 
Talladega had 12 gymnasts compete in their inaugural meet with fifth year senior Alondra Maldonado posting their highest scores with a 9.825 on the floor and a 9.775 on the balance beam. 
 
Alexa Chuy was the only All-Around gymnast to compete for the Tornadoes. Chuy finished with an All-Around score of 36.925. 
 
The Tornadoes are coached by Aja Sims-Flecther. 
 
Looking Ahead
SEMO Gymnastics will be back in action on Wednesday, January 31, for a midweek meet with MIC-member Illinois State. Competition is slated for 6 p.m. in Normal, Ill.