Jan. 24, 2007

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Freshman Rikara Turner (Hastings, Minn./Hastings H.S.) was named Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) Gymnast of the Week for her performance last week in a conference meet against Illinois State, Illinois-Chicago and Centenary. It is the first honor for both Turner and the Redhawks gymnastics team this season.

Turner won her second all-around title in a row this past Friday, scoring a season-high 38.575 to lead her team past Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State and Centenary. She was the Redhawks' top finisher on vault and beam, tying for third on vault with a 9.6 and setting a new season-high on beam with a third-place 9.7. Turner's performance has put her in the top 60 nationally for the all-around and earned her a No. 1 all-around ranking in the MIC.

The MIC is made up of five schools; Southeast Missouri State, Illinois State, Illinois-Chicago, Centenary and Texas Women's University, who's sports information directors vote on the weekly award.

Turner and the 29th-ranked Redhawks (5-0, 5-0 MIC) return to Houck Field House this weekend when they host 18th-ranked Kent State (2-0, 2-0 MAC) on Saturday, January 27. Start time for the dual meet is 1:00 p.m.