SOUTHEAST GYMNASTS TO COMPETE IN NIT

Southeast Missouri State University's women's gymnastics team will attempt to finish its first season under coach Kris Buchheister with a bang tonight.

The Otahkians will join seven other squads for the National Invitational Tournament of women's gymnastics. The meet, hosted by the University of Iowa, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in Iowa City.

"Competing in a postseason event like this is nice," said Buchheister, a former assistant coach at Missouri. "At Missouri, we didn't consider the NIT. Here, it's a big deal. It's good for the girls to get to finish their season on a really high note in a meet like this."

Buchheister believes the Otahkians, even though they won't be favored to win tonight's meet, will have a chance to make plenty of noise and compete for the championship.

"I told the girls if we pace ourselves we can peak at the right time and I think we're heading toward that," she said. "Our team looks good. We've been having good practices. I think we've got a chance to do really well and even win if we really hit."

Competing along with the Otahkians and host Iowa tonight will be Central Michigan, Auburn, Illinois-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Illinois State and Eastern Michigan.

Central Michigan is the top seed based on regional qualifying scores. Iowa is seeded second, with Auburn third and Southeast fourth.

"But a lot of the scores are pretty close, so I look for a very competitive meet," said Buchheister. "Iowa is solid and they have the home advantage, so you might call them a slight favorite because of the home comfort zone. But several teams, including us, could win it."

Southeast has not competed as a team since March 21 when the Otahkians finished second in the Midwest Independent Championships.

Six of the seven Central Regional qualifiers in the all-around competition will be participating tonight, including one national qualifier. Southeast's Erin Chenier and Malia Roberts competed in last weekend's Central Regional meet.

Although the Otahkians have historically fared well in the NIT, a title has eluded them in recent years. Southeast finished second last year after placing third the previous two seasons.

"Winning the meet would be a great way for us to end the season," Buchheister said.