OTAHK GYMNASTS TUMBLE TO BALL STATE IN OPENER

Southeast Missouri's gymnastics squad made its 2000 debut under new head coach Patty Stotzheim Sunday and left plenty of room for improvement in a dual meet with Ball State.

Ball State bettered Southeast in three of the four events and emerged with a comfortable 193.050 to 187.750 victory.

Southeast's bright spot was the vault, where Stephanie Furman and Michelle Walker tied for first with scores of 9.725. Southeast finished no higher than third in the other events floor, uneven parallel bars and balance beam.

"I' m not worried about our low score and poor performance," said Stotzheim. "We have some room for improvement because it is only our first meet. The first meet is a process, and I got to see which gymnasts did well under pressure."

Led by 9.775s by Amy Bodus, Trina Denison and Jamie Irwin, Ball State posted the top six scores in the balance beam, an event it picked up over 2.50 points on Southeast. The event was the Cardinals' best at 48.775. Malia Roberts posted a 9.625 total in the event to place seventh as Southeast totaled 46.250.

Southeast posted a better team score in the floor exercise than Ball State despite Jenny Gantt (9.70) leading a 1-2-3-4 finish for the Cardinals. Southeast, led by 9.60s by Jessica Bagwill and Furman, occupied the 5-6-7-8-9 spots in the event and finished with a 47.80 team score. Ball State posted a 47.675 in the event as its fifth-best score was a 9.075.

Led by Furman and Walker, Southeast scored its best total in the vault at 48.20. Ball State just edged the Otahkians in the event with a 48.30 total.

Ball State had three of the top four scores in the uneven parallel bars. Courtney Vojtasek and Bodus tied for first with scores of 9.775. Bagwill placed third for Southeast at 9.70.