NIU gymnastics is ready to leave a lasting impression in its 49th season and its final season in the Mid-American Conference.
LEADERSHIP
Dawnita “Nita” Teague drops the interim title, serving as head gymnastics coach for her second season. She led the Huskies to 5-13, 2-4 MAC records in 2025, and is entering her 19th year with the program.
“I feel a lot more settled this year than I did last year,” Teague said at Winter Sports Media Day. “I think everybody’s adapted to what’s going on, and we’re just hitting the ground running.”
The program also welcomed new assistant coach Michael Regula in December. Regula started at All Around Gymnastics in 2013, acting as president and head coach with 20 years of experience under his belt. He joins assistant coach Chris Weiss to make up the coaching staff.
“Mike’s experience developing high-level athletes at All Around Gymnastics will have an immediate impact on our program,” Teague said in the NIU press release. “We are excited to welcome Mike to our program.”
NEW RECRUITS
Gymnastics welcomed eight new athletes this season to make a roster of 19, including seven freshmen and one junior transfer.
Junior Ashlie Leage and freshman Deziray Boykin were named ‘2026 MAC Gymnasts to Watch’ by the MAC. Leage is the reigning 2025 National Collegiate Gymnastics Champion in the uneven bars event. Boykin is a 10-time national qualifier and two-year competitor at USA Gymnastics Nationals.
NIU’s other freshman athletes include Samantha Bartlett, Makenna Brooks, Syvanna Navarro, Elizabeth Poncin and Avery Riiff.
RETURNERS
The Huskies welcome back 12 returners this season, including three seniors, five juniors and three sophomores.
Juniors Dawsyn Sallee and Isabella ‘Bella’ Ross appeared in every beam and 12 floor lineups last season and will likely remain present. Junior Mikayla Brown was named alongside Sallee and Ross as one of the gymnasts Teague expects to make an impact this season.
“Last year, these three ladies filled 100 of our lineup spots,” Teague said at Winter Sports Media Day. “We’re really counting on them to pull a bulk of our routines.”
Although the Huskies have 12 returners this year, one of their most promising athletes, senior Kiera O’Shea, has been sidelined before her senior season even began. This blow is most devastating to NIU’s vault lineup, as O’Shea claimed seven first-place finishes and two second-place finishes on vault out of 12 regular-season meets.
The Huskies’ other two senior returners are Jocelyn Harbeck and Samantha Nickle, and both are 2025 Academic All-MAC Gymnasts. Harbeck competed in every vault lineup for NIU, and Nickle earned a season-high score of 9.725 on vault in five appearances.
SO LONG, MAC
Before saying goodbye to the MACtion, NIU has one more chance to end the season with a positive conference record for the first time since 2020.
“We’re excited to see what this group can do during this last year (in) our MAC conference,” Teague said at Winter Sports Media Day.
The Huskies will meet seven MAC opponents this season before becoming the fourth gymnastics member of the Mountain West Conference in 2027.
COMING UP
The Huskies compete in their first meet of the season against Kent State University at noon on Sunday in Kent, Ohio.
