DeKALB — The season ended for the gymnastics team Saturday at the NCAA South Central Regionals in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. NIU was represented by senior all-around competitors Ashley Potts and Katherine Prentice, as well as Anna Martucci, junior Mid-American Conference Specialist of the Year.

Prentice and Potts started their performances with identical scores of 9.775 on the floor exercise. Following the floor exercise, the seniors competed in the vault. Potts scored another 9.775, while Prentice scored a 9.625.

Inexplicably, the pair of seniors had a rough day on the uneven bars. Potts, who has thrived on uneven bars all season, scored 9.350. Prentice did not fare any better, scoring 8.500.

Even though the team somewhat struggled, Head Coach Sam Morreale is happy with the way the team showed.

“I thought we had a great day,” Morreale said, according to NIU Media Services. “It’s obviously not what we wanted, but it’s hard to come here unattached. You don’t get that energy from your team. It’s hard to get into your normal rhythm. I thought they did as well as expected with the exception of the mishaps on bars. From a coaching standpoint, I feel like they gave me everything they had today.”

Potts and Prentice were able to rebound for their final performance of the season. They finished the day on beam with Prentice scoring a strong 9.825 and Potts scoring 9.750.

“The great thing about these seniors is [that] they’ve turned this program into what we have become, and we did that on their backs,” Morreale said, according to NIU Media Services. “It’s bittersweet. You don’t want to see them leave, but it’s just part of the business. I can’t over-thank the seniors enough. Andie [Van Voorhis] and Aubrie [Purtell], as well as [Prentice] and Potts, have helped develop this program into what it is.”

Martucci only had one event to compete in, the floor exercise. She scored a 9.800, the fifth-highest score of the event, which tied her for No. 14 in the competition.

Her final event of the season marked the 11th time she scored 9.800 or higher on the floor exercise over the course of the season.

“Seeing the competition here, [Martucci] already told me that she knows that we belong,” Morreale said, according to NIU Media Services. “Anna has been a class act on floor all year. Her routine was better than the score she got.”

The Huskies will look to fill the big shoes left by Potts and Prentice next season, but Martucci will return for her senior season. The team finished with an overall record of 13-13 and a conference record of 3-3.