The primary goal for the Southeast Missouri State University gymnasts this season is to qualify for the NCAA Regionals -- as a team.

"We're tired of just individuals going to regionals," said third-year Southeast coach Kristi Ewasko. "We're tired of just missing that top 36."

Southeast failed to post a top-36 NCAA Regional qualifying score for the third consecutive season in 2011 when they finished in 39th place, just 0.27 of a point behind 36th place Michigan State. Southeast last qualified for the NCAA Regionals in 2008.

"Our theme this year is 'flipping the switch,'" Ewasko said. "If an athlete is struggling in practice I can tell them to 'flip the switch,' meaning get your brain going, get focused and get the assignment done. Let's break out of the tradition of just barely missing."

Despite falling short of qualifying for the NCAA Regionals, the team won its second Midwest Independent Conference championship and sent three individuals to compete in the Norman Regional. The lone returnee of those three gymnasts is junior Taylor Westrick, who qualified for the all-around competition at the Norman Regional.

The Redhawks lost four seniors after last season, including NCAA Regional qualifiers Brianna Gaddie and Christina Sundgren.

Juniors Emma Garrett, Margaret O'Neal, Angela Serafini and Westrick are now the upperclassmen of the 2012 team, which has no seniors.

"I think as upperclassmen, one of our main goals is to keep the team together no matter what happens," Garrett said. "Whether we have a great meet or a terrible meet we have to be able to pull the team together and to pull out a positive from that situation so that we can continue to get better."

According to Ewasko, the team has upgraded the scoring value of its routines. While this will make the routines more difficult, it has potential to yield the team higher scores than last season.

"We have added new skills, harder combinations, things that will hopefully boost our scoring potential," Ewasko said.

Sophomores Megan Fosnow and Taryn Vanderpool, along with O'Neal, Serafini and Westrick, have the potential to compete in the all-around for the team, and that those five will likely be the team's lineup for the uneven bars event.

The balance beam event will feature some new faces with sophomores Erin Brady, Tamara Gent and Fosnow battling for spots in the lineup alongside incumbents O'Neal and Westrick.

Garrett will specialize in the floor exercise and vault events. Fosnow, O'Neal, Serafini, Vanderpool and Westrick will battle to join Garrett in the vault event. Garrett and Westrick will anchor the floor exercise event while Brady, Fosnow, Gent, O'Neal and Serafini will battle for remaining spots in the lineup.

"We have really worked as a team to kind of flip the switch together," Westrick said. "We help people where they are weak so that they can become stronger and that way it's not just one person flipping the switch and doing better, it's the team. If each person steps up their game a little bit then we will be right where we need to be."