Masters Classic Results 

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Northern Illinois University gymnastics team topped the 194.000 mark for the third straight meet as it took third place at the 26th Annual Masters Classic Saturday night.

The Huskies (7-8, 2-3) scored a 194.350, the highest score for NIU in a road meet this season, just under Sacramento State’s second-place score of 194.875. The host Nebraska Cornhuskers claimed first with 196.400, while Bridgeport finished fourth with a 193.225.

“We had a miss on vault, a miss on bar and a couple misses on beam,” said NIU head coach Sam Morreale. “Still, we posted another 194.000. It’s our highest road score of the year. It doesn’t hurt us, but we missed an opportunity to score and that’s where it’s a little sour in our mouth.”

NIU posted respectable scores in all four events for the evening with all scores above 48.000. The floor and uneven parallel bars squads posted the highest scores for the Huskies with a 48.975 and 48.775, respectively. The floor squad’s 48.975 was well above NIU’s season average of 48.588 and was the second-highest score of the season for the Huskies.

“We started on floor and tumbled really well,” Morreale said. “We probably got hurt being the first group up there. The kids there did a really good job. Greeny went 9.825 and honestly, in my mind, they really had to look to find where they took deductions from her. Everybody did a good job, from Ally Ferber, who was the first person up, all the way through the event.”

Jamyra Carter (Ypsilanti, Mich./Huron) continues her stellar season as she won the uneven parallel bars with a 9.850. It was the junior’s fifth first-place finish this season.

“It’s another good score for her,” Morreale said. “On top of that, we followed Nebraska, so she was obviously better than Nebraska in the judges’ minds. She did a really nice routine.”

Katherine Prentice (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli), who made her debut on the balance beam starting lineup Saturday, also placed for NIU. Prentice took third with a 9.850. The Huskie sophomore led the way for the Huskies’ beam team that scored a 48.150.

“On beam, we had an up and down energy level,” he said. “We did a lot of good things on beam, we just didn’t get enough hits. We still stayed at the 48 realm, which is good, but we know we’re a better team than that.”

Courtney Dowdell (Lynwood, Ill./Thornton Fractional South) led the way for the NIU floor squad with a team-high 9.850. Dowdell was also solid on vault, posting a 9.700. Megan Greenfield also had a solid night for NIU. The Huskie junior scored a 9.825 on both floor and beam and added a 9.650 on vault. NIU’s vault team scored a 48.450.

NIU returns to action Saturday when the Huskies travel to Champaign for the State of Illinois Meet. The competition starts at 4 p.m. CT.

-NIU-