NIU women’s gymnastic coach Bobbie Cesarek just might be calling her squad’s 1989 season The Battle of the Injuries.

Because almost every gymnast is plagued with a minor injury, Cesarek is aggravated with the idea her team cannot compete at the level she believes her squad’s potential is at.

Cesarek said the Huskies’ season-opening loss to Missouri (178.95-174.45) on Saturday was a sure sign that injuries held NIU back.

“It’s hard to show our best with all the injuries, but we’ll have to compete with that as well. It’s a bad back, a sore shoulder, a bruise here, all the little things that keep you from really being able to compete,” the Huskie boss said. “It’s nothing major like a broken leg or wrist, but it’s even more frustrating. It’s driving me nuts.

“We only lost by four points, so I think we performed okay for our situation,” Cesarek said.

The Huskies were without Martha Unger’s performance on the floor exercise and the vault at Missouri because of a foot injury, making her unable to run. Unger’s specialty is floor, and Cesarek said without her performance, the squad lost over one point in the event. Cesarek is not sure when Unger will be able to compete in all four events.

While the Huskies were competing against injuries and the Tigers, Angie Tasetano finished as NIU’s top all-arounder in the No. 3 spot with a 35.25 tally.

The senior earned second-place on the balance beam after a 9.25 performance. Unger and NIU’s Michelle Rawlake tied at 8.95 on beam for fourth place.

Tasetano and Rawlake both finished in the third and fourth slots, respectively on floor exercise with 9.05 and 9.0 marks.

While Unger could not compete on the floor and vault exercises, she put forth a second-place performance on the uneven bars with a 9.25 score.

“Our depth is killing us. It is down right now,” Cesarek said. “I am hoping we can heal these injuries soon.”

The Huskies do not have much time to heal. The squad travels to Iowa on Saturday to take on the Hawks for a 1 p.m. dual meet.

The Hawks defeated Illinois 180.65-178.20 in its opening meet.