OTAHK GYMNASTS TO CAP SEASON IN REGIONAL

For Malia Roberts, Saturday's NCAA Regional will mark the end of a brilliant gymnastics career at Southeast Missouri State University.

For another Southeast gymnast, Stephanie Furman, the regional meet at the University of Arizona will mark the unofficial beginning of what she hopes will be an outstanding collegiate career.

And regardless of how it turns out, both athletes are excited about what awaits them in Tucson, Ariz., as well as beyond Saturday.

"I'm looking forward to the meet. I just want to go, have fun and see what happens," said Roberts.

Added Furman, "It's really exciting. It's pretty cool. I'm really looking forward to it."

Roberts, a senior from Maui, Hawaii, qualified for the regional meet on the uneven bars. She has been a regional qualifier all four years of her college career, which is quite an accomplishment. And, although she realizes her final season could have been so much better, she's not one to complain.

But if anybody has a right to feel disappointed, it would be Roberts. She was on the verge of putting together one of the top individual careers in Southeast history until suffering an Achilles tendon injury last year.

At the time of the serious injury, Roberts was a dominant gymnast in the all-around, setting team highs in the first seven meets. And all that after a sophomore season in which she won the all-around title at the Midwest Independent Championships to earn a regional berth.

But the injury forced Roberts to have offseason surgery and has prevented her from competing in the all-around during her final season at Southeast. Still, Roberts is not one to sit around and feel sorry for herself.

"Making it to regionals is a great way to finish up my career," she said with a smile early this week prior to a workout at Parker Gym. "It sure made accepting my injury a lot easier. Even though I didn't have a chance to make regionals in the all-around because of my injury, I think I've accepted it because you never know how the season would have gone anyway."

Based on Roberts' past success, however, it no doubt would have went well. The sports medicine major, who is a Southeast Scholar Athlete, owns the school uneven bars record of 9.925, set early last season. She is also third all-time on the balance beam (9.900), sixth in the floor exercise (9.900) and ninth in the all-around (39.125).

"Malia has had a tremendous career at Southeast," said the Otahkians' first-year head coach, Patty Stotzheim. "It's a shame she got hurt, but it's a credit to her that she's been able to come back like she has. She was really diligent in her rehab. She never missed a workout. Her dedication was an inspiration to the whole team."

While qualifying for regionals a fourth straight year is a nice reward for her hard work in bouncing back from the injury, Roberts said all the rehabilitation she put in became particularly worthwhile during the Otahkians' final meet this year.

"I was able to do the same trick on the floor as the one I got injured in," she said. "That's when all my rehab paid off."

Roberts said she has no specific goals for Saturday's meet, other than to enjoy what will be her final competition in a sport she started when she was seven years old.

"I'm not putting any pressure on myself. I just want to have fun," she said, and then added with a grin, "It's going to be my last routine ever for gymnastics. I just want to enjoy it."

Furman, who earned her first regional qualification in vaulting, also wants to enjoy herself while feeling no self-imposed pressure. The sophomore is hoping to use the meet as a springboard to what she hopes will be stellar junior and senior seasons.

"I just want to go and get a feel for what it's like, to go up against some of the best (gymnasts) in the country, to see what they're like," she said. "This is something I can hopefully use for competition in the future."

Although Furman, from Knoxville, Tenn., believed all along that she had a chance to make the regional field, she said, "It was still a major surprise. I was really excited when I found out."

Said Stotzheim, "Stephanie has a bright future. She's really talented and it's a nice accomplishment for her as well as a sign of good things to come for the program."

Furman agrees with her coach. While she is pleased to qualify for regionals individually, Furman is hopeful of getting there next year with the entire team. The Otahkians had a rough season, going just 5-15, but Furman looks for that record to turn around quickly.

"For the next two, three years, things with the team will be a lot better," she said. "We have a good chance to make it (to regionals) as a team next year, which would be a lot nicer."