Women's Gymnastics | February 8
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Northern Illinois University women's gymnastics team earned its highest road score, and second best overall team total, of the season with a 194.725-186.850 victory over Southeast Missouri at Houck Field House Friday night.
Huskie gymnasts took first place and NIU outpaced the RedHawks in terms of team scores, in all four events.
"It was a super-solid day," said NIU Head Coach
Sam Morreale, whose team won for the seventh time in its last eight competitions to improve to 9-3 on the season. "I was a little worried about being able to get that kind of score here. That was the hardest we ever worked to go 194.725. We didn't count any falls and were able to get our second-highest score of the season. Overall, I was pretty happy with what we did."
The Huskies opened the meet on uneven parallel bars, where
Morgan Hooper Morgan Hooper (Lincoln, Neb./St. Pius X HS),
Emily Basara Emily Basara (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township HS) and
Amanda Bartemio Amanda Bartemio (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS) finished first, second and third, respectively. Hooper scored a 9.800 and as a team, the Huskies finished with a 48.675.
Cinny Lamberti (Grayslake, Ill./Grayslake HS) paced the Huskies on vault with a winning score of 9.800.
Nina Martucci Nina Martucci (Clarkston, Mich./Our Lady of the Lakes HS) and Hooper tied for second as NIU took five of the top six places on the event and the team finished with vault score of 48.350.
The Huskies next went to floor, which has been the Huskies' highest scoring event of the season. Senior
Ally Ferber Ally Ferber (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset HS) scored a career high 9.875 to tie for first place, with
Allison Richardson Allison Richardson (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville HS) and
Anna Martucci Anna Martucci (Clarkston, Mich./Our Lady of the Lakes HS) each checking in with a 9.800 as NIU totaled a 48.950 on floor.
Mia Lord Mia Lord (McCordsville, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern HS) led the pack on balance beam, the final event of the meet for NIU, with a score of 9.850 as five Huskies finished in the top six. NIU's beam team totaled a 48.750 for one of its best scores of the season on beam.
"Beam and floor are rolling at a good clip, just hitting and scoring really well," Morreale said.
The SEMO meet was the first of three straight road outings for the Huskies, who return to MAC competition at Ball State on Sunday, Feb. 17. Morreale said the Huskies feel comfortable on the road.
"We have a routine on the road that works really well," Morreale said. I think the team enjoys competing on the road, they get away together without some of the distractions. This group does a good job of stepping up on the road and it's good practice to be able to finish on beam."
The Huskies return home Friday, March 1 when they play host to Illinois State in a dual meet. NIU will also host the Mid-American Conference Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, March 23 in the NIU Convocation Center.
-- NIU --
