Feb. 22, 2009

Final Stats

Complete Results in PDF Format

DeKALB, Ill. - Competing for the second time in three days after totaling their lowest team score of the season Friday night at Central Michigan, the Northern Illinois women's gymnastics team responded by defeating league-leader Kent State in two events and posting their second-highest score of the season Sunday on Senior Day at the NIU Convocation Center.

Overall, Kent State (10-3, 4-0 MAC) out-pointed the Huskies, 194.200-193.750. Northern Illinois (4-3, 3-2) out-scored the Golden Flashes on both the balance beam and the floor exercise, but Kent State's margin on the vault and uneven parallel bars gave KSU the meet win.

"I'm proud of the girls and the way we responded in this meet after a tough weekend," said NIU Head Coach Mark Sontag. "It's rare in gymnastics to compete twice in the same weekend and to come back off a long road trip and put together this type of performances showed a lot of heart."

The Northern Illinois "beam team" scored a season-best 48.775, led by Jennifer Naughton's (Smithville, Mo./Smithville HS) 9.850 and a 9.825 by Holly Reichard (Palatine, Ill./Palatine Fremd HS), who took first and second place, respectively, on that event. The Huskies equaled their top mark on the floor exercise with a 48.725 as Naughton, Reichard and Leah Johnson (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS) posted identical 9.775 scores to tie for second place. Reichard and NIU's Natalie Blum (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township HS) went one-two on the uneven parallel bars with Reichard placing first with a 9.775 and Blum second with a 9.700, but the Huskies' had to count a miss on bars that would eventually prove to be the difference in the meet.

"Coming in, I knew Kent had [scored] 196 last week and I was interested to see how we matched up with them," Sontag said. "After today, I think we can definitely compete with them, and the MAC is wide open. It's been a slippery slope the last few meets on beam and then bars, but today was a step in the right direction. We're still looking for that perfect meet. Today we counted only one miss, but that can be the difference."

For the fifth time in six meets this season, Reichard claimed the all-around title with a 39.175, her second-best score of the year.

"Holly helped herself today with another 39-plus score - she really stepped up as a team leader," Sontag said. "She competes like she practices and as a coach, I can actually relax when she's out there."

The Huskies honored six senior gymnasts in their last home meet, with Ashton Flora getting the biggest surprise of the day - a marriage proposal from boyfriend Saul Ibarra - to close out the senior day festivities.

Northern Illinois will spend the remainder of the season on the road with dual meets at Minnesota next Saturday (Feb. 28) and on March 9 at Western Michigan, before the Illinois State Championships in Chicago on Saturday, March 14 and the MAC Championships in Muncie, Ind. March 21.

-- NIU --