DeKALB | After losing a number of contests to begin a season, getting that elusive victory can feel like a big weight off of one’s back.

The NIU gymnastics team is enjoying that relief, after finally nabbing their first victory of the season on Sunday afternoon.

The Huskies (1-3 overall, 1-1 MAC) defeated Bowling Green (1-1, 0-1) by a score of 188.675-186.600 to earn their first win of the season.

“We made a big step forward in learning how to play as a team,” NIU head coach Mark Sontag said. “We have really come together and stepped up as a team to get our first win of the season.”

The Huskies were led by all-arounder Holly Reichard, who posted an overall score of 38. Although she missed on vault, Reichard has been the one beacon of consistency for NIU in its past two meets.

Tanya Rachan, who is coming off an injury, saw limited action as she posted a score of 9.550 on balance beam, which was good enough to tie for second alongside teammate Tanya Rachan.

Despite continued injury problems, the Huskies’ success this weekend, Sontag said, was a good week of focused practice after a loss last weekend. “We had a great week this last week and look forward to doing the same thing,” Sontag said. “We had a team meeting Monday and our captains really came out and motivated the team.”

NIU’s main goal during practice this past week was to get healthy and get its younger gymnasts ready to compete.

“You have to get [the younger girls] out there in front of the judges and build confidence,” Sontag said. “The atmosphere from the home crowd really helps us and we stayed in what we were capable of doing.”

The Huskies are still without all-arounder Kim Gotlund and freshman Megan Melendez, who are both out with ankle and knee injuries, respectively.

“We’re looking to [focus] this week and hopefully it will roll over into our next meet,” Sontag said.