Southeast Missouri State gymnastics team prepares for confernce meet

The Southeast Missouri State gymnastics team will enter its final meet of the season thinking the same thing it has before any other meet: Shine like a diamond.

"Because you can either crack under the pressure or shine under the pressure," Southeast senior Megan Fosnow said. "And so it kind of helps to know like to shine under the pressure and don't let it affect you in a way that will make you crack."

The Redhawks have embraced the theme of "diamonds" this season when it comes to handling pressure, and that will continue when they compete Saturday in the Midwest Independent Conference Championship.

"We spent last week, really we got rid of doing a lot of routines and focused on perfecting little pieces, so our goal this weekend is put those perfected pieces together and to those routines," Southeast coach Kristi Ewasko said. "We've had a theme this year of being diamonds, and every single meet has chiseled away at that diamond of really trying to find its true value and the purity of it, and so we really want to put that wholeness together here this weekend and be our brightest, shiniest diamonds."

Ewasko said the Redhawks already know they cannot qualify for the South Central Regional, but it's not stopping them from focusing on ending the season positively. The top six teams in the region qualify based on their regional qualifying score.

"I think it pushes us more to want to win conference because this is what we've got left in the season," Fosnow said. "We want to go out with a good meet."

Southeast will compete against the University of Illinois-Chicago, Centenary College, Texas Woman's University, Lindenwood and Illinois State starting at 4 p.m. Saturday in Normal, Ill.

The Redhawks are 7-0 against conference opponents this season, and will look to win their first MIC Championship since 2011.

"This is still our conference championship and we have the chance to go in there and win conference, and that would be huge for us to kind of end on that note," Ewasko said. "We do have two individuals that will be looking to potentially qualify to regionals. We'll go in there, really support them, and just like I said, end this meet having fun, putting our best out there and letting them get a good taste of what college gymnastics is about."

Senior Taryn Vanderpool and freshman Alyssa Tucker each can qualify for the NCAA regional in the all-around. The top five individuals who are not on a regional qualifying team earn a spot in the competition.

Vanderpool, who hyperextended her knee warming up on the vault before Southeast's meet March 7, is trying not to focus on potentially making it back to the regional meet for a second straight year but has her sights set on Saturday's competition.

"Right now I'm ultimately thinking about conference because that's the last team event, but if I were to make it to regionals that would be a great opportunity again," Vanderpool said. "It was really fun last year, and I'd love to have the opportunity. I don't know. I'm just trying to enjoy these next couple weeks and I'm doing all my treatment and all that stuff to stay healthy."

She said "good things are going to happen" Saturday and that she's more confident in this team than some in the past.

"I'm confident because if somebody goes down I know there's somebody else coming in," Vanderpool said. "In previous years we didn't have someone to go in if someone went down. Last weekend when I was out I was originally doing all-around, and they put someone in every spot and it was great. Because of that, that really made me realize how strong the team is and how [many] people we have and that they can step in and fill a spot no matter what event, no matter what the circumstance, so that's why I have good confidence in them."

One of those teammates she's got faith in is Tucker.

Tucker, along with Vanderpool, sits in the top five and isn't changing her approach to the conference meet just because she's trying to maintain her spot in the standings.

"No pressure," Tucker said. "I just want to do what I've been working on for conference, so I'm just going to take it one step at a time."

Tucker is one of six freshman who are competing, and the MIC Championships will be a test for the young Southeast team on its largest stage yet.

"This is going to be the biggest meet they've really ever competed in, especially for college, so it'll be exciting," Ewasko said. "We'll have to work on holding the nerves and adrenaline a little bit, but I think that'll show what this team's potential is for the future. To have that many freshmen ... for them really just to see this atmosphere, they're going to get a good taste of what college gymnastics is about."

Although the Redhawks failed to qualify for regionals, the MIC Championship also will serve as momentum for the team for next year.

"Gymnastics-wise we've come a long way," Ewasko said. "Unfortunately we've had the falls on beam, but the other three events, I think, speak for themselves. We've learned new skills from when they arrived in August and that's always been our goal, to go out there with harder gymnastics than a lot of the teams we compete against, and we've done that and that's been huge for us and that will help us in the years to come."