Gymnasts host four-team meet Sunday

Missouri will be among teams competing at Show Me Center.

The Southeast Missouri State women's gymnastics team will have an attractive home meet Sunday when national powerhouse Missouri takes part in the four-team Outback Steakhouse Invitational at the Show Me Center.

Missouri is ranked ninth nationally, and the Tigers are tied for first in the balance beam rankings.

Joining Southeast and the Tigers in the 1 p.m. meet will be Ball State and Centenary. It will be senior day for the Redhawks, although they will still have one more home meet March 25 when they host the Midwest Independent Conference Championships.

"It should be a great meet," Southeast coach Tom Farden said. "It's a chance for fans to see one of the top teams in the country."

Southeast is coming off its best performance of the year, scoring a season-high 193.050 to place second behind Iowa in last Saturday's four-team meet at Texas Women's University.

In that meet, sophomore Danyelle Aber won her first all-around title with a career-high 38.875. For her performance, she was named Midwest Independent Conference gymnast of the week.

Track at Iowa State

Southeast Missouri State junior standout Miles Smith and members of the Redhawks' 1,600-meter relay team will join top athletes from around the nation at Saturday's Iowa State Last Chance Track and Field Qualifier.

This meet, in Ames, Iowa, is the last chance for athletes to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, scheduled for March 10 and 11 at the University of Arkansas.

Smith currently ranks ninth nationally in the 400-meters with a best time of 46.67 seconds. The top 16 times nationally qualify for the national meet.

"Miles is ready to run a fast time and move up in the rankings," Southeast coach Joey Haines said. "He would like to be in at least the top five going into the national finals."

The 1,600 relay team will attempt to qualify for nationals. The group of Alonzo Nelson, Chris Williams, Walter Washington and Smith has a top time of 3:10.89 this season.

"Our relay team really needs to run about 3:08 to have a chance to make it to nationals," Haines said. "We will be running against the top relay teams in the nation at Iowa State, and hopefully we can lower our time."

Softball on road again

The Southeast softball team will play its second straight tournament on the road to open the season when the Redhawks compete today and Saturday at the All Missouri Cancer Tournament in Springfield.

Southeast (2-2) will face host Missouri State at 4 p.m. today, followed by a 6:30 p.m. game against Missouri, which was nationally ranked earlier in the season.

On Saturday, the Redhawks play Missouri-Kansas City at 10 a.m. and St. Louis University at 3 p.m.

The Redhawks split four games in last weekend's Mississippi State Invitational. Freshmen Lauren Bradley and Jennifer Monaghan, along with sophomore pitcher Elaine Fisher, were named to the all-tournament team.

Tennis begins OVC

The Southeast women's tennis team, riding a three-match winning streak, begins Ohio Valley Conference play Saturday.

Southeast (3-3) faces Tennessee State at 2 p.m. in Nashville, and that evening takes on Lipscomb in a 7 p.m. nonleague match.

The Redhawks have not played at home yet this season.

--From staff reports