NIU gymnastics competed in the SEMO Tri-Meet Friday night, battling the Southeast Missouri State University Redhawks and Centenary College of Louisiana Ladies.
A season-high event score on floor set up the Huskies for early victory, but the Redhawks swooped in to take the lead and kept it.
The Huskies (3-9, 1-1 MAC) trampled the Ladies (0-9), but fell short against the Redhawks (7-10). SEMO came out on top with a 193.875 total score, NIU took second with a season-high of 193.550 and Centenary came in last with 186.525.
“We were leading most of the meet,” said NIU gymnastics interim head coach Dawnita “Nita” Teague. “It was a shame to come up short…We put together a good meet. We still are leaving a little bit on the table, we just came up a little short today. I’m super pleased with how the girls are competing and their mindset. We just have to keep building. ”
For her fifth consecutive meet, junior Kiera O’Shea accomplished another first-place victory on vault with a 9.850 score. Freshman Drake White placed second, scoring 9.775 in the event. Junior Jocelyn Harbeck and freshman Audrey Brenner completed the all-Huskie podium, tying for third with a 9.725 score. O’Shea credits the team’s support for keeping her in her winning ways.
“It’s definitely nice to just keep serving it up,” O’Shea said. “I think we’re still on the up. All of the energy that the team has brought has gotten me to do better and be where I am. It’s really just the energy of the team.”
Alongside her winning streak on vault, O’Shea reached a personal best all-around score of 38.825.
Senior Talia Kraus and freshman Aliyah Kelly tied for second place on the uneven bars, both scoring 9.650. Having seen ups and downs on the bars this season, Kraus was pleased with her performance in the tri-meet.
“I definitely overcame some obstacles that I’ve been trying to push through the past few meets,” Kraus said. “It felt good to hit my routine and make it through. I need to focus on some more details to get my score up where I want it to be.”
Kraus reflected on NIU’s season so far, and described her viewpoint of the team’s improvement.
“As a team, we definitely have some more pushing to do,” she said. “We’re on the climb up, just like we’ve been saying the whole season. We’ve been improving at every single meet. We have more to go, but I feel like we’re consistently pushing forward. I’m super proud of the team for continuing to stay in high spirits this season. This was a good step for us.”
The Huskies displayed their best floor performances of the season, scoring 48.900. Senior Alana Anderson placed second with a season-high score of 9.825. Sophomore Mikayla Brown drew back into NIU’s floor and balance beam lineup after being out sick. Her floor routine scored 9.800, putting her in third place with O’Shea and SEMO freshman Anna Lee Phillips.
“I’m happy to be back in the lineup,” Brown said. “It felt good to get back out there, and gain some confidence for my performances through the rest of the season.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies travel to Western Michigan University for another MAC matchup at noon Feb. 23 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
