DeKALB — The gymnastics team crushed the University of Illinois-Chicago Flames 195.025-193.625, marking NIU’s fourth of the season and third consecutive win.

“We’ve been knocking on the door of putting a meet together for a month now,” said Head Coach Sam Morreale. “We don’t necessarily go into a meet looking to win; we go in looking to better our score, and the scores take care of that win.”

UIC had three gymnasts with scores under 9.500 on bars, including a crippling 8.825 from senior Riley Cholod. Bars were UIC’s second event, as they fell into a hole they were unable to dig themselves out of.

Senior Ashley Potts had another outstanding performance, posting a 39.175 all-around score, which was enough for second best in the match. Senior Katherine Prentice posted a 39.275 all-around score to lead the match.

Morreale said he was impressed with Prentice’s performance, especially her all-around progress.

“She had a great Friday and Sunday. She put in a really solid performance to top the 39.000 mark again. She’s really starting to settle into being an all-arounder now. It’s fun to watch.”

NIU had the leading scorer for all four events. Prentice owned both bars and beam with 9.875 scores on each. Potts led vault with a 9.850, and junior Anna Martucci topped the floor, yet again, with a 9.850. Morreale said he was excited to see the team have some deserved success.

“It’s nice to see our quality of gymnastics is holding through the meet,” Morreale said. We’ve got some really talented kids on the team, and they’re really starting to hit their stride.”

The Huskies’ next meet will be the Gymquarters Invitational 2 p.m. Friday in St. Charles, Missouri. The event features six schools in addition to NIU: Louisiana State University, Lindenwood University, University of Arkansas, George Washington University, University of Minnesota and the University of Missouri.

“We’re looking to keep this momentum going and build on what we’re doing,” Morreale said. “Whoever we’re in the meet against, we’re going to go after and better our score. If we hit out, we can beat and compete with a majority of the teams there. There’s going to be two teams in the top 10 there, so it’s fun to watch them and compare yourself to them.”