March 2, 2008
Final Stats
DeKALB, Ill. - Competing for the second time in five days, the Northern Illinois gymnastics team showed no signs of fatigue as the Huskies defeated Central Michigan and Illinois-Chicago while compiling a season-best team score of 194.525 Sunday at the NIU Convocation Center.
Northern Illinois improved to 5-1 overall, 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference, with the win while Central Michigan is 3-10, 2-5 and UIC is 1-8.
The Huskies' team total tied as the ninth-highest in school history and marks the first time since the 2006 season that NIU has topped the 194 mark. Northern Illinois once again got a fantastic performance from its "beam team" as five gymnasts combined for a team score of 49.025 on that event, only the fifth time in school history that NIU has topped the 49-point mark on the balance beam.
"The strength of this team right now is we have a lot of really good people pushing each other and contributing," said NIU Head Coach Mark Sontag. "If I had to name a group that was really stepping it up I'd have to list most of the team. But I would like to recognize the beam team, that's twice this week that they have more than gotten the job done. They were so solid today."
Indeed NIU dominated the beam competition as Huskie gymnasts placed first (Jennifer Naughton, 9.875), second (Holly Reichard, 9.825), third (Jessica Watanabe, 9.800) and tied for fourth (Rachel Adams, 9.775) on the event.
Individually, Northern Illinois all-arounders Holly Reichard (Palatine, Ill./Fremd HS) and Leah Johnson (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS) led the way for the Huskies with Reichard scoring a career-best 39.075 in the all-around competition to tie for the title while Johnson took third with a 38.925 to tie her season high.
"It's critical that your all arounders are strong because that is eight routines you're counting," Sontag said. If one of them has an off day it makes quite an impact on the team. The hope is for [Leah and Holly] is to keep pushing their individual all-around scores toward a [NCAA Regional] qualifying score."
Reichard took second place on vault and on beam, while Johnson captured the floor exercise title with a 9.825 and was second on the uneven parallel bars with a score of 9.750.
"I was very pleased on a number of levels with today," Sontag said. "We got a nice MAC win. We stepped it up in our second meet of the week which is a tough proposition in this sport. And we are stepping up the ladder. After going 193-plus on Wednesday, we kicked it up a notch today."
NIU also celebrated its annual Senior Day on Sunday with special tributes to seniors Jennifer Rice (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor HS), Amber Whitecotton (West Dundee, Ill./South HS), Amanda Johnson (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) and Allison Holysz (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Palatine Fremd).
"It's a great senior class," Sontag said. "Every one of them has contributed greatly to the success and where this team is right now. Everyone of them has made this program step up. Their success has helped attract more people to the program which has continued us moving forward."
Northern Illinois will be on the road for the remainder of the season, beginning with a quad meet next Saturday at Eastern Michigan where they will take on the defending MAC champion Eagles as well as Air Force and Brown.
-- NIU --
