CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO. - (Saturday, March 31, 2007) The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (17-9, 11-3 MIC) placed third, with 193.300, in a tight heat at the Midwest Independent Conference championship meet in Chicago, Ill. Finishing in the top spot was host Illinois-Chicago (193.900) and they were followed closely by Illinois State (193.375). Wrapping up fourth and fifth were Texas Woman's University (191.250) and Centenary College (190.575).

Southeast finished the vault with a 48.275 as sophomore Sandra Blake (Tri-Cities, Wash./Mid-Columbia) led the way with a 9.775 and tied for second overall. Sharing the fourth spot were teammates Amber Garlotte (Lee's Summit, Mo./Eagles Gymnastics) and Rikara Turner (Hastings, Minn./Twin City Twisters) as they tallied a 9.7. Alison Ezell (Kansas City, Kan./Alpha Omega) scored 9.6 and Maureen Grimaldi (Kansas City, Mo./Eagles Gymnastics) recorded a 9.5 as they finished eighth and tenth respectively.

On bars, freshman Jacqueline Heath (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Tech H.S.) took the top spot for the Redhawks finishing tied for fifth with 9.750 just ahead of teammates Blake and Grimaldi (9.725) who shared sixth place. Freshmen Bryanna Wong (Parkville, Mo./Edge Gymnastics) and Garlotte held on to tenth place as they tallied 9.625. Southeast's solid 48.450 bars performance earned the team second place.

Southeast also took second on the balance beam (48.15) with gymnasts Jena Nguyen (Sioux City, S.D./All American) (9.675) and Turner (9.650) placing seventh and eighth respectively. Grimaldi and Blake also finished in the top ten as their 9.625 was good enough to tie for ninth.

The Redhawks earned their best finish of the night on the floor exercise. They shared the team title with Texas Woman's as both teams recorded 48.425. Redhawk gymnast Nguyen earned Southeast's only individual title of the evening with a mark of 9.775. Tying for fifth were Ezell, Blake and Wong with a respectable 9.675, followed by Grimaldi (9.625) in seventh.

On the all-around, Blake set a season-high 38.8 and finished third. Teammates Grimaldi and Turner shared the fifth spot with 38.475, with Wong (38.35) close behind in sixth.

The stellar performance by the Redhawks this season has earned them the most wins for Southeast in over a decade and second place, overall, in the MIC with a total RQS of 193.555. While Southeast was slightly edged out of a regional team berth, they still have a shot at sending five gymnasts to the regional. The gymnasts will learn of their postseason fate on Monday.