Redhawks gymnasts will host Missouri tonight

The Southeast Missouri State women's gymnastics team will shoot for an upset of one of the nation's top 15 squads tonight.

Southeast welcomes the University of Missouri to Houck Field House for a 7 p.m. meet.

The Tigers (4-1) are ranked 14th nationally, while the Redhawks (3-2) are No. 27.

"To have an in-state rival, and such a highly ranked program like Missouri come in, is tremendous," Southeast coach Tom Farden said. "Our student-athletes are really looking forward to it, and it should be a lot of fun for our fans.

"We've had tremendous fan support for our first few competitions, and hopefully that will continue."

MU has an average score of 194.955, with a high score of 195.800.

Southeast has an average of 193.725, with a high of 194.925 set during Sunday's home victory over Centenary.

Sunday's performance was the eighth-best score in program history and was highlighted by sophomore Jacqueline Heath scoring 9.900 on bars to equal the third-best mark in program history.

"We had a great meet against Centenary, and hopefully we'll carry that momentum into this meet," Farden said. "Missouri is a tremendous team, to be ranked in the top 15 in the nation. It will be a big challenge for us."

Unlike some other sports, whether the Redhawks upset MU is not as important as them continuing to turn in solid scores.

The national rankings are based solely on average scores. At the end of the regular season, the top 36 teams earn NCAA regional berths.

Southeast just missed out on making regionals last year, after qualifying in 2006.

"Winning is always nice," Farden said. "We really want to win, but the big thing is to keep scoring well."

Soccers signings

Southeast soccer coach Heather Nelson has announced the signing of four players, two from the St. Louis area and two from Canada.

Katie Snelson, a senior midfielder at Oakville High School, and Taylor Thomas, a senior forward at Rockwood Summit High School, both play for the J.B. Marine club team in St. Louis.

Defenders Shona Goodwin and Nikki Edwards are both high school seniors in Calgary, Alberta. who have played at a high level for their Canadian youth teams.

Previously signing with the Redhawks was Jackson High School senior all-state forward Chelsea Dale.

"They are all quality recruits, and we are excited about them joining our program," said Nelson, who plans to sign one more player to round out her recruiting class for the 2008 season.

Track star honored

Southeast senior Miles Smith has been named the OVC track athlete of the week.

Smith ran the second-fastest 400-meter time in the nation this season (46.61 seconds) to win the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York City.

Smith, an All-American, also anchored Southeast's winning 1,600-meter relay team that clocked 3:10.99 and edged out Big 12 power Texas.

Southeast's men's and women's squads return to action today and Saturday at the Iowa State Cyclone Classic.