Redhawks Fly Past The Ladies And Extinguish The Flames :: Freshman Rikara Turner captures first collegiate all-around

Jan. 13, 2007

Cape Girardeau, Mo. - (Saturday, January 13, 2007) The Redhawks started the 2007 season with a bang as they defeated Midwest Independent Conference foes, University of Illinois-Chicago and Centenary College, at Houck Fieldhouse Saturday evening. The Redhawks had a dominant first place score of 193.700. Centenary College placed second with 188.275, and Illinois-Chicago finished last with 187.900.

"This was a solid start for the season," said head coach Tom Farden. "We just have to stay focused and humble."

The solid start by Southeast has earned them a record of (2-0, 2-0 MIC).

The Redhawks took the first two places on the vault as they scored 48.050. Sandra Blake (Tri-Cities, Wash./Mid-Columbia) earned the first of her two individual titles of the night with a 9.700. Freshman Rikara Turner (Hastings, Minn./Twin City Twisters) came in second with a 9.650, followed by Amber Garlotte (Lee's Summit, Mo./Eagle Gymnastics) in fourth with 9.625. Starlyn Schwartz (Pensacola, Fl./First City) and Alison Ezell (Kansas City, Kan./Alpha Omega) finished eight and ninth respectively.

Southeast finished the uneven bars with 48.175 and the top two individual spots. Sophomore Maureen Grimaldi (Kansas City, Mo./Eagle Gymnastics) captured her first individual title for the season with a 9.725, followed closely by teammate Jacqueline Heath (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Tech) who scored a 9.700 to finish second. Ezell and Garlotte tied for fourth with 9.625, and Turner landed in sixth with a score of 9.500.

The Redhawks finished in the top four on the balance beam as Blake pulled in her second individual title of the night with a 9.850. Freshman Jena Nguyen (Sioux Falls, S.D./All-American) tied for second with a score of 9.825. Grimaldi tied for third scoring a 9.750 and Turner and Schwartz finished tied for fourth with a 9.650.

The floor exercise was the only event with an individual title going to a school other than Southeast. The Redhawks did finish the event in first as a team with a score of 48.750. Blake finished in second with a score of 9.825, followed by teammates Grimaldi and Nguyen that tied for third place with a score of 9.750. Turner's 9.725 was good enough for fourth and freshman Bryanna Wong (Parkville, Mo./Edge Gymnastics) tied for fifth place with a score of 9.700. Ezell finished tied for seventh.

Turner won her first all-around title as a collegiate athlete with a score of 38.525. Last year's Gymnast of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, Blake, finished the all-around right behind Turner with a second place score of 38.375.

"I am definitely excited to be competing with this team," said Turner. "We knew all our hard work would pay off."

Southeast will take the "show on the road" as they head to face MIC rivals at Illinois State on Friday, January 19 for a quad meet. The meet will start at 7:00 p.m.