The gymnastics team is gearing up for a new season with high expectations.

NIU will host an intra-squad meet at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Convocation Center. The Huskies will divide the roster into two teams with five gymnasts competing at each event. The scoring will be handled in-house. While the scoring may end up being handled differently than a normal meet, the Huskies hope the atmosphere will remain the same.

Head coach Sam Morreale wants to use this event as a dry run for how the gymnasts will compete throughout the season. His goal for the team is to eventually reach 195 in every meet, which he believes is a strong possibility since NIU is more talented than he’s seen.

“We want to start with a 9.7 average per routine,” Morreale said. “9.7 will put us at 194 [overall score]. If we can start there now, we can make that 195 more of a realistic goal.”

Since it’s the first public meet of the season, younger gymnasts are hoping to ease their nerves. That’s all Courtney Dowdell is worried about because she believes the Huskies are ready.

“Since this is my first year I’m nervous with everyone seeing me compete,” Dowdell said. “Everyone is really stepping up the intensity. Everyone will want to show off what they’ve been working so hard for. I feel like this is our year.”

Friday’s meet is important for the Huskies so they can establish where they are competitively. There won’t be another meet until January, so they’ll need to be able to maintain their competitive edge until then. Team captain Kim Gotlund doesn’t think that will be a problem.

“I think it’s a good starting point to see where we’re at,” Gotlund said. “We have expectations for where we want to be at this meet. That’ll just carry on through the rest of the season.”

Although this is just the first meet of the season, the Huskies have high hopes for the rest of the year. Gotlund wants this season to be the most successful the team has had.

“Our team is looking really good,” Gotlund said. “We have a lot of potential. I think we can do really great things this year.”