NIU gymnastics competed in its final meet of the regular season Sunday afternoon on the road against the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Despite strong all-around performances from a few Huskie gymnasts, the Fighting Illini successfully defended their home.
The Huskies (5-13, 2-4 MAC) came up short against the Fighting Illini (9-12, 3-6 B1G) 194.875-193.475.
“We came off a rough start, but then we finished strong,” said NIU gymnastics interim head coach Dawnita “Nita” Teague. “Super proud of our performance today. We had a lot of great, hit-solid routines.”
Sophomore Mikayla Brown executed a first-place finish on the balance beam, tying with Illinois sophomore Olivia Coppola and senior Ruthuja Nataraj at 9.800.
“I was proud to give my team a good score and contribute to the team score,” Brown said. “Our beam line definitely needed that following a fall, so I’m super happy I was able to do my job for the team.”
Brown also reached a season-high floor score of 9.850 in Urbana-Champaign. She tied for third place on floor with Illini freshman Kennedy Brown and senior Emmalise Nock.
Junior Kiera O’Shea tied for third place on vault with Illinois’ Coppola, scoring 9.800 in the event. She cited it as one of her better vault performances of the season.
“I’m super happy with it,” O’Shea said. “It’s really hard competing against a Big Ten school; there’s a little bit more pressure. I think I did really (well) on vault, and I think the rest of vault did really (well) also.”
Sophomore Dawsyn Sallee completed the three-way tie with O’Shea and Coppola on vault, also scoring 9.800.
“I felt really good about it,” Sallee said. “I was able to make some more corrections this time around. I got my chest up, which I’m excited about. It definitely showed in the score.”
O’Shea sang Sallee’s praises, as they tied on the vault podium for the first time this season.
“Dawsyn’s been sticking her vaults in practice consistently,” O’Shea said. “I’m really proud of her for being able to bring that into the competition. Sharing the podium with her is just everything.”
Sallee shared O’Shea’s sentiments, saying they proved NIU gymnastics can hang with their opponents.
“I’m really excited that we both got to be up there together,” Sallee said. “It shows that we’re in line with the competition.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies head back to Central Michigan University to compete in the MAC Championships at 1 p.m. Saturday in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.
