DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University gymnastics team prepared for the 2016 season by competing against each other in the Red and Black Intra Squad Meet Saturday afternoon at Victor E. Court.

NIU head coach Sam Morreale liked what he saw from many of the competitors including juniors Megan Greenfield (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South) and Jamyra Carter (Ypsilanti, Mich./Huron). Freshman gymnasts Anna Martucci (Clarkston, Mich./Our Lady of the Lakes) and Ally Ferber (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) also performed promising routines for the Huskies.

“We were a little rough around the edges in certain spots, but everything we struggled in, we do really well in practice,” said Morreale. “That’s the point of this, to get into competition format where there’s people cheering, people we’re not used to watching us, and just feeling that mindset.

“Overall I’m really happy. The great thing about this squad is that they are probably one of the most prepared groups I’ve ever had, so it actually makes our job as coaches a little easier where we can just fine tune.”

With the regular season less than two months away, Morreale is confident that the Huskies will be ready to compete come January.

“We’re ready to go. We’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing,” explained Morreale. “We’re going to up our load as we go into Christmas break and then kind of coast through Christmas to get the season going.”

NIU’s 2016 season will start Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016 at the University of Iowa. The meet begins at 4 p.m.

-NIU-