Women's Gymnastics | January 19

KENT, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University Gymnastics team earned the ninth highest team score in school history on Friday in its 195.925-195.200 loss to Kent State.
 
"We're very happy with our performance and results," said NIU head coach Sam Morreale. "We had a really good day. We did well everywhere, and that's what we were stressing and hoping, that we would keep having fun the whole day. They did a really good job of attacking everything and not taking anything for granted. It was fun to watch."
 
The team successfully topped its previous scores of the season in every event: vault (48.825), uneven parallel bars (48.950), balance beam (48.525), floor (48.900) as well as all-around.
 
The Huskies' first event of the evening was their best as four gymnasts including seniors Katherine Prentice (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) and Ashley Potts (Oakwood Hills, Ill./Prairie Ridge) as well as sophomores Allison Richardson (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) and Amanda Bartemio (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) put up scores of 9.800 or better.
 
"We just competed. It was nice to see them compete the way we practice," said Morreale. "That's what we've been trying to do and get after for a while."
 
As the sole all-around competitor of the day, Potts' 9.825 on bars was just the beginning as she followed it up with a 9.850 on vault. She then went on to earn a 9.700 on floor and finish on beam with a 9.650 to round out one of her top all-around scores with a 39.025.
 
"She's just a very even-keel, steady competitor that doesn't get too high or low," said Morreale of Potts' performances. "It was great to get to see her get that going."  
 
Potts' 9.850 was joined by two 9.800 vault passes by sophomore Cinny Lamberti (Grayslake, Ill./Grayslake) and senior Andie Van Voorhis (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard) who returned to the vault competition for the first time this season.
 
The Huskies moved on to floor, where junior Anna Martucci (Clarkston, Mich./Our Lady of the Lakes) tied her second-best career score of 9.900 to add her name to the top-10 floor list for the fourth time. Bartemio added a 9.825 to help boost the team's floor score.
 
NIU finished the competition on beam as Van Voorhis led the Huskies with a 9.775 to keep the momentum going, while Prentice finished the lineup as the anchor with her best score this season of 9.800.
 
Next Sunday, January 28, the Huskies return home to compete in Beauty & the Beast, gymnastics' mashup event with the wrestling program. The gymnasts will take on Central Michigan at 2 p.m. As always, admission is free to all spectators.
 
-NIU-