YPSILANTI, Mich. – With season-high scores on all four events, the Northern Illinois University women's gymnastics came within a step or two of breaking the school scoring record in its 196.125-194.375 win over Eastern Michigan Friday in Ypsilanti.
 
After setting the NIU record on balance beam with a 49.325 in the final event, the Huskies 196.125 total was just .025 off the all-time mark of 196.150 set at Central Michigan on March 11, 2017. NIU met its goal of going "24 for 24" with hits on each of its routines Friday, leading to the second-highest team score in school history with nine different gymnasts establishing either season or career highs on 15 different performances. The Huskies had 12 scores of 9.800 or higher in the meet.
 
"We have definitely hit a good stride," said NIU head coach Sam Morreale. "The team we've been talking about since week one is what we saw tonight and it's super satisfying to put it all together. We earned it, we felt like we crushed it today."   
 
Huskies won or tied for first on all four individual events with senior Allison Richardson and junior Mia Lord recording the highest scores of the night with each posting a 9.900 on balance beam.  Richardson's score was a career best and went along with her season high scores on bars (9.725) and floor exercise (9.750).
 
Lord also contributed to NIU's season high team score of 49.000 on vault - the fourth-highest mark in school history – with a career best 9.800.  Junior Gabby Welch claimed the vault title by tying her career high with a 9.825 and tied her career high score on floor exercise with a 9.775.
 
Freshman Natalie Hamp won the uneven parallel bars with a 9.850, while Tara Kofmehl scored a 9.850 to tie for first on floor exercise. 
 
The Huskies' 49.325 score on balance beam topped the previous mark set at last year's MAC Championships.  In addition to the 9.9s by Lord and Richardson, Zoie Schroeder earned her career best score of 9.875 as did Brookelyn Sears with a 9.800, while Morgan Hooper's 9.850 was her top beam score of the season.
 
"Allison's beam was rock star like, and Mia did what she does," Morreale said. "I've been touting that beam group since day one and they're not done. Then we've been finding some diamonds in the rough in a couple of places, like Mia and Zoie on vault, going up and getting it done. The first kids up [on each event] are sparking us and overall the entire group is having fun and that helps too. They were on fire today. We looked like a 196 team."
 
In addition to Lord, Schroeder and Kofmehl earned scores of 9.800 on vault to push NIU to its season best on that event.
 
With the win, NIU improves to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in the MAC.
 
NIU next heads east for a Quad Meet at George Washington University on Sunday, February 23 versus GW, N.C. State and Temple.
 
-- NIU --