SALT LAKE CITY – Northern Illinois University gymnasts Natalie Hamp and Tara Kofmehl recorded four of the top performances by a Huskie at an NCAA Regional in school history as they, along with senior balance beam specialist Zoie Schroeder, wrapped up the 2021 NIU gymnastics season at the NCAA Salt Lake City Regional Friday afternoon.
 
"All in all, it was a really great day for NIU," said NIU head coach Sam Morreale. "These three represented us really well. They are a great group of kids who deserved to be here, they earned the right to be here. There was a time [in the past] when we were just happy to be here and what we scored was secondary. Now, they want to get here, and they want to do well and all three gave it their best shot while enjoying the experience."
 
Kofmehl, the lone all-arounder competing as an individual in the first of two NCAA sessions on Friday at the Maverik Center, hit all four of her routines for a total score of 39.175, the highest score by a NIU all-arounder at NCAA Regionals in school history. She posted her second-best all-around total of the season.
 
The junior from Mesa, Arizona scored a 9.875 on floor exercise, which tied for fifth in the meet, and topped all previous NIU NCAA qualifiers, while her 9.800 on vault tied for the Huskies' top vault score at regionals and was the best score on vault in the rotation. Kofmehl added a 9.800 on uneven parallel bars and 9.700 on balance beam to reach the 39.175 mark.
 
As she has all season, Hamp excelled on uneven parallel bars.  After qualifying as a specialist on the event and scoring 9.800 or higher in all 11 meets this season, Hamp finished a near flawless routine with a stuck landing to score 9.900 and tie for second in the meet.  Her score was also the top all-time by a Huskie at NCAAs.
 
Schroeder scored a 9.075 on balance beam after falling on her series but completed the remainder of the routine and stuck her final landing as a college gymnast.
 
All in all, it was a really good day with the exception of Zoie's hiccup, which was bittersweet," Morreale said. "No one was overwhelmed. Warm-ups were great, touch [warm-ups] went great. Tara and Natalie were outstanding as they have been all year. They all realized that they belong there, and the hope is all three of them bring that experience back to their teammates and we are one of the 36 teams to get here."
 
Hamp and Kofmehl have an outside chance to advance to the NCAA Championships pending the results of meets on Friday night and Saturday, which will determine which two teams from the Salt Lake City Regional advance to the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.  The top event specialist and top all-arounder not on one of the two advancing teams will qualify for the Championships.
 
-- NIU --