March 17, 2007
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. - Sophomore Leah Johnson took second place in the all-around competition and the Northern Illinois Huskies got top performances from Jody Yednock on bars and Jennifer Naughton on balance beam, but it was not enough to overcome a tough Central Michigan team as the Huskies fell 193.500-192.175 Saturday at Rose Arena in Mt. Pleasant.
With the loss, NIU closed out its dual meet season with a 5-9 overall record and the Huskies went 1-5 in the Mid-American Conference. Central Michigan is second in the league with a 4-1 mark and improved its record to 11-8 overall.
"We had a golden opportunity to knock off one of the top schools in the MAC today," said NIU Head Coach Mark Sontag. "Unfortunately, we had three misses on bars, which is where we lost the meet. If we had stayed on bars like we did in warm-ups, we'd have won this meet."
Johnson scored a 38.150 to finish just .025 points behind all-around winner Katie Simon of CMU, who came in at 38.175. Johnson recorded a team-best score of 9.750 on vault to place third in that event, and earned an identical mark on the floor exercise to place third.
Northern Illinois also got a fourth-place finish from Yednock on bars with a 9.825 score while Naughton took third on the balance beam with the identical score. Huskie freshman Natalie Blum posted the team's top mark on the floor with a 9.775 score and took second place on that event. NIU also got three solid routines from junior Amber Whitecotton, who scored a 9.725 on vault and on bars, and added a 9.675 on the floor.
Despite the loss, Sontag remains upbeat about the team's chances in the Mid-American Conference Championships meet, which will be held March 31 in Ypsilanti, Mich.
"There's not anybody out of our range," Sontag said. "It's about consistency. Dealing with injuries and new people with new skills, it's been tough to tell this season if we're going to be really great or have some misses. If everything falls in line, we have the potential to do anything in the MAC."
Prior to the league meet, Northern Illinois will play host to the State of Illinois Championships on March 25, 2007 at 2 p.m.
-- NIU --
