A team above all, above all a team. Four-time Mid American Conference specialist of the week, captain Anna Martucci is nearing the end of her NIU gymnastics career. With a MAC specialist award already under her belt, the senior is ready to take on this season and finish with a bang.

Q: What are your thoughts on the season?

A: I feel like I’ve been able to bring a lot of passion this season since each meet is winding down to less and less time that I have with the sport. Getting to spend it with these girls and building off of their passions as well is really amazing, and truly heartwarming for what I have left of the sport.

Q: You’ve been having a great season, a lot in part to the young talent. As a captain what are your thoughts on the younger gymnasts?

A: They came into the season ready to go. [Head Coach] Sam [Morreale] brought in an amazing recruiting class and not only are these girls really talented athletically, but they’re super awesome with their personalities and egos. They’ve always been such an asset to the gym with not only their athleticism but also with their passion and energy they bring to everything.

Q: You’ve won a lot of MAC specialist awards and have broken some records, what do you think about your senior season?

A: I think I’m trying to build off my junior season as well. Just knowing what I accomplished last season and trying to build off of that has been really fun, but in the end, I just try to contribute to the team as much as I can.

Q: You were MAC specialist last year, but what’s your mentality going into this season?

A: It’s always just been putting out whatever I can for the team. Coming into this season if that meant doing four events it was something I was open minded to doing and training for. I fell into the specialist role again which has been such an honor because I’ve been able to be named MAC specialist of the week a few times now.

Q: DeKalb is hosting the MAC Championships this year, how exciting is that for you?

A: I cannot wait. I don’t know a better way to go out and I’m hoping we can bring in a really big fan base. We have been doing that with the younger generations coming and looking up to us. It’s just going to be the best way to go out especially if we bring home a win.

Q: Did you and your teammates feel pressure going into the season since you’ve been chosen to win the MAC Championships since day one?

A: I feel like a lot of us tried to discredit the pre-season first place ranking and put our heads down and do the work. It was a big start for us at Alabama, but we put out a pretty good score compared to them. We have a lot of underclassmen in big roles, so it was about them finding what they need to do for us and finding their confidence along with us being the cohesive team we’ve been in the past.

Q: What are your team goals for the rest of the season?

A: For the rest of the season we definitely have some wins to take away. We are right on track to be regular season MAC Champions and that would just be one more win against Central Michigan, which is a huge goal of ours. We are really aiming to be regional qualifiers this year, it’s been a really long time since Huskie gymnastics has represented at regionals as a team, and we’re right there with that goal as well.

Q: You’ve been extremely successful on floor, what do you hope to improve on?

A: Improving on team energy. It’s been amazing but it’s never something that can’t be taken to the next level. I also want to put up a better score than what I’ve been doing lately. If I can contribute in other events the way that I contribute on floor, that’d be the ultimate thing that I can give to the team right now.