ROBERTS SHINES FOR SEMO GYMNASTS

Though she hails from Hawaii and likely isn't so concerned with the rivalries state schools outside Boone County harbor with the University of Missouri, something about competing against the Tigers brings out the best in Malia Roberts.

After capturing the Juliet Award for posting the best all-around score in the Shakespeare's Festival on Jan. 17 in Columbia, Roberts broke new ground Sunday in Southeast Missouri State University's meet against Mizzou and Illinois.

Roberts, a junior from Maui, established a team record with her uneven bars score of 9.925 and won the all-around with a personal-best 39.125 in the Showcase of the Arts meet at Houck Field House.

Southeast, with a season-high score of 194.125, placed second behind 28th-ranked Illinois (194.3) and ahead of 23rd-ranked Mizzou (193.375). All three teams are battling for spots in the NCAA Regional 3 Championships.

While Southeast senior Erin Chenier, the holder of the top four team all-around scores, nurses her injured left ankle back to health, Roberts has established herself as the team's top performer.

Roberts' bars mark eclipsed the previous team standard of 9.9 owned by Chenier and Kristin Frohlich. In addition, Roberts' all-around score ties for the ninth best Southeast total.

"Last weekend (at Ball State) I thought I had a pretty good meet except for vault," Roberts said. "It's just the little things that I can work on, and when it all comes together, I'm just amazed at what can happen."

Roberts' first-place floor score of 9.9, which tied freshman teammate Michelle Walker's score, was good, Roberts said. "But I was really excited about my bars, more than my floor," she said. "That was a big improvement. That's my highlight of the meet."

It appears that battling Mizzou also helps lift Southeast to new heights. The Otahkians, who set a new Shakespeare's Festival record with a 192.750, defeated Southeast coach Kris Buchheister's alma mater for the second time in as many tries Sunday.

"It's going to be a memorable year, having those wins both away and home," Buchheister said. "I'll remember this for a long time.

"Malia had an outstanding day; she just hit all around. When you're over 39 on all-around, you're helping the team make their way to regionals and helping yourself get there. And Erin Chenier is slowly progressing, and I'm just happy she's able to perform."

Southeast scored a 49.25 on floor, the third best total in team history. A fall on beam made a slight dent in the Otahkians' 48.175 on the apparatus, and their 47.850 on vault may have been the product of ungenerous judging, Buchheister said.

"I'm not one to complain about scores, but I thought with us starting out on vault, it took the judges a while to get warmed up," Buchheister said. "So in the big picture that might have changed the outcome.

"And I knew it would come down to counting a fall, and we counted a fall on beam, and that was where we lost the meet."

On vault, Chenier and Cristie Logan tied for third with a 9.6, and Chenier also tied for fifth on bars with a 9.8.

Southeast's Erica Smith placed third on beam with a 9.825 and Roberts was seventh (9.775). Chenier and Stephanie Furman tied for eighth on floor with a 9.825.

Illinois was bolstered by the all-around scores of Gina Wiechmann and Becky Ashton. Weichmann placed second with a 39.075 and Ashton took third with a 39.05. Missouri's Jessica Haag won the vault with a 9.8, and Illinois' Kim Berres placed first on beam with a 9.9.