Final Stats

NIU-CMU Final Results 

MT. PLEASANT, Mich. - The Northern Illinois University women's gymnastics team posted a season-high 194.025 to defeat defending Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan, 194.025-193.925, at McQuirk Arena Friday night.

It was NIU's (4-1, 2-1) first victory over Central Michigan (6-3, 2-1) since 2008 in DeKalb. The Huskies put forth some great performances and took advantage of some missteps by the Chippewas.

"I love this team's fight," said NIU head coach Sam Morreale. "For them it didn't matter that we were short handed. They don't look at it that way. They look at the opportunity to get after it. A lot of the time it takes the belief of knowing you could do it as opposed to thinking you can do it."

Central Michigan opened up a .025 lead after the first rotation, scoring a 48.325 on the bars despite having a pair of gymnasts fall off the bars, while the Huskies scored a 48.300 on the vault. NIU trailed 97.350-96.900 after the second rotation as the Chippewas scored a 49.025 on the vault while the Huskies scored a 48.600 on the uneven parallel bars.

Meg Piepenbrink led the way for Huskies on bars as she posted a career-high 9.825, topping her previous best of 9.800 set last week. Piepenbrink's performance gave NIU momentum heading into their best event, the floor exercise.

"To start a meet with a 48.600 on bars, that was a great start for us," Morreale said. "If you can get that first event being solid, it just takes the pressure off as you move forward. That floor squad did an amazing job. There was some pretty tight scoring and they were still able to squeeze some stuff out."

Senior Kelly Nortz led NIU on the floor with a career-high 9.825. Courtney Dowdell, Brittany Wenzel and Piepenbrink also achieved career highs in the event. Dowdell and Wenzel each scored a 9.775, Wenzell tying her career best set earlier this season, while Piepenbrink posted a 9.700. NIU scored a 48.825 on the floor, its second-best score of the season.

Meanwhile, as the Huskies were setting personal bests on the floor, the Chippewas were having difficulty staying on the balance beam. Central Michigan scored a 47.450 on the event as three Chippewas fell off the beam. NIU took a 145.725-144.800 lead heading into the fourth and final rotation.

Megan Greenfield continued her strong performances on the balance beam. The sophomore from Crystal Lake, Ill. tied her career high in the event with a 9.825 to win the event for the second straight week. Taylor Crumley and Ashley Potts tied for third on the beam with a 9.675. Crumley's score was also a career high. NIU scored a 48.300 on the beam, its second-highest score of the season.

Central Michigan made a charge at the Huskies during its floor exercise. The Chippewas took the top four spots, with scores of 9.900, 9.875, 9.850 and 9.825 to post a 49.125. However, Greenfield's beam routine put the meet out of reach for the Chippewas.

"They were coming hard and scoring well," he said. "It's never really any one kid that wins or loses a meet, but it came down to Megan Greenfield putting a really solid beam routine together."

NIU returns to action Friday, Feb. 13, when NIU heads to Chicago to take on Iowa State and Yale in the IGI Chicago Style Meet. Competition begins at 7 p.m. Central Time.

-NIU-