SEATTLE, Wash. – Northern Illinois University gymnasts Tara Kofmehl and Natalie Hamp closed out the Huskies' 2022 gymnastics season Thursday night at the NCAA Seattle Regional. 
 
The Huskies, who both qualified as individual event specialist – Kofmehl on floor exercise and Hamp on uneven parallel bars – competed in the evening session and rotated with the team from Oregon State as four teams vied for spots in Saturday's regional final.  
 
Hamp, a junior from Ionia, Michigan, scored a 9.875 on her specialty of uneven parallel bars to finish tied for 11th in the evening session in American Airlines Arena. A two-time NCAA Regional qualifier and two-time MAC Champion on the event (in 2021 and 2022), Hamp scored 9.850 or higher in 10 of 11 meets on the season and that consistency was once again on display Thursday night.
 
After qualifying as a specialist on floor exercise, Kofmehl took the floor as the last competitor in the meet, and in fact in this round of all the NCAA Regionals. The senior from Mesa, Arizona closed out her four-year career as a Huskie with a score of 9.825 on floor to tie for 20th in the evening session.
 
Both Hamp and Kofmehl earned first team All Mid-American Conference honors and were named to the MAC All-Tournament Team in 2022 after winning MAC titles on their specialties before qualifying for NCAA Regionals for the second consecutive season.
 
The Huskies claimed their fourth straight first or second place finish at the MAC Championships in 2022 as their score of 196.125 was just .150 out of first place. NIU finished the season 15-11 overall and earned four of the top seven team scores in school history, including a school record 196.350, during the year.   
 
-- NIU --