Women's Gymnastics | January 8

DeKALB, Ill. ­­– The Northern Illinois University gymnastics team won its first meet of the season with a final score of 194.825 against Iowa (194.200), Western Michigan (193.250) and Lindenwood (192.075) on Sunday.
 
"It was outstanding," said NIU head coach Sam Morreale. "It was a great high energy atmosphere, and we just did really well. We did like what we talked about before this and stuck with what we do each day in practice. They did a really good job of relaxing and staying in the moment and just hitting routines. We talked about the three 'Cs' today, consistency, confidence, and clean, and I think we did a pretty good job at keeping those in mind."
 
The Huskies' 194.825 team total score was better than the first six scores from last season. NIU didn't score higher than that until their seventh meet against Western Michigan with a 195.000 and started the season off with a total score of 192.825 at Iowa. NIU has shown its depth and talent coming out of the gate.
 
NIU's uneven parallel bar squad put the team on the top-ten performance list tying the sixth leading score of 48.925 and earned first on the event. The team's floor squad also outscored the three other teams with a 48.975. The Huskies earned favorable scores on vault (48.200) and beam (48.725)
 
Juniors Katherine Prentice (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) and Ashley Potts (Oakwood Hills, Ill./Prairie Ridge) competed as all-around competitors earning first (49.000) and third (38.875) respectively. Prentice took first with her balance beam (9.850) and tied for first on floor (9.875), while Potts won uneven parallel bars (9.875) and tied for third on vault (9.750).
 
"Over the years, we haven't had a lot of all-arounders," said Morreale of Prentice and Potts. 'The fact that we have two that are that talented is great. Huge props out to Katherine, who came back at the tail end of last year based on recovery from an unfortunate injury. This is the kid we expected when we recruited her. I'm nothing but pumped for her."
 
Freshman Allison Richardson (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) tied for fourth with a 9.825 uneven parallel bar score, while Amanda Bartemio (Plymouth, Minn./Waysata) put up solid scores on vault (9.625) and floor (9.675).
 
"It's a great start, but like I tell these guys, it's a long season and this means nothing if we can't build on it or maintain it," said Morreale. "This is where we wanted to be by week four or five, so we are a little bit ahead of that curve."
 
The Huskies' travel to Ball State (Muncie, Ind.) next Sunday, January 15 for their second meet of the season. The competition begins at 12 p.m. CST.
 
-NIU-