Southeast Opens Season with Defeat of No. 18 Kentucky :: The Redhawks won three of four team events to take the win

Jan. 18, 2008

By Matthew C. Worthington, Gymnastics Contact

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (1-0, 0-0 OVC) started the 2008 season off with a bang as they defeated the No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats (1-1, 1-0 SEC), 192.625-191.875, in front of a crowd of over 500.

"We showed a lot of resiliency in the meet tonight," said head coach Tom Farden. "We completed 20 out of 24 routines without counting a fall."

The Redhawks started the night on the vault in which they turned in their best score of the night (48.400). Three of the top four scores on the vault came from Southeast athletes with the individual title going to Kentucky's Emily Green (9.775). Southeast junior Sandra Blake (Tri-Cities, Wash/Mid-Columbia) and sophomore Amber Garlotte (Lee's Summit, Mo./Eagle Gymnastics) tied for second with 9.750 and were followed closely by sophomore Rikara Turner (Hastings, Minn./Tri City Twisters) with a 9.725.

Southeast stayed strong as they moved to the uneven bars and finished with a solid score of 48.275. Blake's 9.725 took the top spot for the Redhawks and placed third overall. Following Blake were freshman Lauren Dinan (Doniphan, Neb./Nebraska Twisters), sophomore Bryanna Wong (Parkville, Mo./Edge Gymnastics) and Turner as they all had tied with a score of 9.675.

The biggest struggle of the night for the Redhawks came on the beam.

"The team was solid on vault, bars and floor, but just a little down on beam," Farden said. "I'm confident our beam will be back by the next meet."

Wong was able to pull off a solid beam routine for the Redhawks as she placed second overall with a 9.700. Finishing in the fifth spot with a score of 9.550, were Southeast newcomers; Amanda Schoenbaum (Bentonville, Ark./The Williams Center) and Christina Sundgren. (Richland, Wash./Mid Columbia)

On the floor event, the Redhawks showed poise in edging the Wildcats 48.350-48.325.

"We came out and hit strong on vault and then ran into trouble on beam," said Turner. "We really pulled it together on the floor to finish strong and get the win."

Two Redhawks and one Wildcat tied for the individual title on the floor with a score of 9.750. Heather Hite was the lone Wildcat, and Southeast was represented by Turner and freshman Brianna Gaddie (East Grand Forks, Minn./Red River Valley). Sophomore Jena Nguyen (Sioux Falls, S.D./All-American) finished immediately behind the title winners with a score of 9.725, tying with Kentucky's Hillary Ferguson.

Blake and Turner were the only two Redhawks that finished the all-around. Turner finished in second with a 38.600 and Blake placed fourth with a 38.075.

"It was definitely awesome to pull out a win against a highly ranked opponent like Kentucky." Turner said. "We really showed our hard work and perseverance tonight."

The Redhawks will have the opportunity to build on their performance this evening as Midwest Conference foe, Illinois State, will travel to Cape Girardeau for a meet on Friday, January 25 at 7:00 p.m. The MIC match-ups are always exciting and the gymnasts look forward to another big crowd.

GO REDHAWKS !!!