DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University gymnastics team starts the 2018 season at home as they host the University of Illinois-Chicago and North Carolina State on Sunday at 1 p.m. CDT in the NIU Convocation Center main arena.
 
The Huskies will see the UIC Flames three times on the season as they make two short trips to Chicago for a duel (Feb. 11) as well as the State of Illinois Championship meet (Mar. 10). This will be the first time they meet with the Wolfpack in NIU head coach Sam Morreale's 17 years on staff.
 
"We're super excited to get out there and not only see what we have, but show what we can do," said Morreale. "These ladies have been training super hard, pretty much from last year, on. They've had the end goal of not only staying undefeated at home, but being Mid-American Conference Champions and then getting the team to regionals."
 
NIU is looking to seniors Ashley Potts (Oakwood Hills, Ill./Prairie Ridge) and Katherine Prentice (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) as they ring in their last season on the Huskies' lineup and serve as team captains along with junior Anna Martucci (Clarkston, Mich./Our Lady of the Lakes) who will make her career debut on the uneven parallel bars.
 
Sophomores Amanda Bartemio (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) and Allison Richardson (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) each will show off their skills on all four events. Richardson will compete as an all-arounder, while Bartemio will compete in the lineup on vault, bars  and  floor and as an exhibition performer on balance beam.
 
"It's been a long preseason, and they're ready to go," said Morreale. "We've been doing the countdown and  been  ready for this upcoming meet. We're super competitive in our own gym and that's a good problem to have."
 
"We've got the belief and knowledge that we can continue to improve. There is definitely a belief that we can get where we want to go. Now, it is just continuing to do the work every day and putting it out there on the floor."
 
The Huskies are looking to build off of the 2017 season as Coach Morreale was named MAC Coach of the Year and Potts was a MAC Champion with her bars score of 9.900. The team set 14 school records, while individuals marked their names 13 times in the record book. NIU's MAC Championship score was also the highest in team history with a 195.727 final score to improve on the previous season's 194.975.
 
Home gymnastics' meets have free general admissions, but for fans who cannot make the competition can follow by watching the live stream or by following live stats on NIUHuskies.com. Fans can also follow along via Twitter (@NIUScores) and Instagram (@niugymnastics).
 
-NIU-