March 24, 2008

Final Stats

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Northern Illinois junior Leah Johnson took second place in the all-around and the Huskie women's gymnastics team earned its best team score on the road this season en route to a third place finish at the State of Illinois Classic Saturday at Huff Hall in Champaign, Ill.

The Huskies' mark of 193.725 was its second-highest team total this season and best road mark, but left Northern Illinois third in the meet behind state champion Illinois, which scored a 194.825 and Illinois-Chicago, which totaled a season-best 194.550. Illinois State placed fourth with a score of 191.950.

"We definitely helped ourselves with the Regional Qualifying Score of over 193 on the road so this will help us in the rankings, but the frustration is that we would have like to have placed higher," said NIU Head Coach Mark Sontag. "We competed well, but we needed to be a little stronger in one more routine on each event. During these last few meets of the year, we need to be as close to perfect as possible. We need to keep working toward that and be more consistent next weekend [at the MAC Championships]."

Northern Illinois enters the MAC Championships with a record of 10-4 on the year. The Huskies' 10 victories is the most since the 2005 season and the second-highest win total during Sontag's nine-year tenure.

At the State of Illinois Classic, the Huskies were led by junior Leah Johnson (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS), who took second-place in the all-around competition with a career-best score of 39.125. Johnson placed third on the vault with a 9.800 and tied for second on the floor exercise with a 9.825. She also scored a season-high 9.775 on the balance beam to tie for seventh and was NIU's highest finisher on the uneven bars with a 9.725.

"Leah had a very nice meet," Sontag said. "It was great to see her bounce back like this after a couple of meets when she was not at her best. This score will definitely help her in the regional rankings."

NIU junior Jennifer Naughton (Smithville, Mo./Smithville HS) continues to rank among the region's best on the balance beam as she tied her season high with a 9.875 to take second place in the meet. Naughton also scored a 9.725 on vault to claim a ninth-place finish in that event.

Freshman Holly Reichard (Palatine, Ill./Fremd HS) was the other NIU gymnast to place as she tied for third on the balance beam with a 9.800. The Northern Illinois beam team continued to set the pace for the team as Northern's team score of 48.775 on that event was its highest of any event and also was the best of any team at the meet.

Northern Illinois is next in action Saturday at the Mid-American Conference Championships in Kent, Ohio.

-- NIU --