Gymnastics put together a meet that was 12 years in the making by taking down the school record for team total score, earning it the No. 5 spot in Sports’ top five stories.

The Huskies scored a school record 195.8 in the regular season finale against the Eastern Michigan Eagles on March 15. That score was more than two-tenths higher than the previous school record, 195.525, set at the State of Illinois Classic on March 23, 2003. The Huskies also hit the second-highest floor exercise score with 49.25.

“It’s been our goal since day one of preseason to break that record,” said senior Amanda Stepp, according to a March 16 Northern Star article. “It was amazing. I don’t think anyone has ever been happier.”

Despite getting a strong outings on vault and uneven bars, the Huskies trailed the Eagles by .075 heading into the final two events. NIU scored 48.875 on beam to tie it up heading into floor, where the Huskies managed to win. All five qualifying scores for NIU were at 9.825 and higher.

“Honestly, all four of our events were strong today,” said head coach Sam Morreale, according to a March 16 Northern Star article. “Having an event you can finish a meet on like that is huge. Our kids have a lot of confidence in what they can do, and [March 15] we landed really well. When you give the judges not a lot to take away, it makes life much better.”

The record-setting performance capped off a roller coaster ride of a season with the Huskies continuously putting together high-scoring meets before finally breaking the record in the regular season finale on March 15. While the season came to a halt at the MAC Championships, their record-setting performance showed what the Huskies were capable of.