Reichard named MAC gymnast of the week

By NORTHERN STAR STAFF

DeKALB | After a stellar performance in the Huskie gymnastics season-opener Sunday, NIU sophomore Holly Reichard was named the Mid-American Conference gymnast of the week Tuesday by the league office.

Reichard earned her first career MAC gymnast of the week honor after scoring a career best 39.125 to win the all-around competition in the Huskies’ 193.450 to 191.875 victory over Bowling Green.

The 39.125 is the top all-around score in the MAC this season and is one of the Top 20 totals in the nation to date.

Reichard, who qualified for NCAA Regionals in the all-around as a freshman a year ago, also picked up individual event wins on the floor exercise and uneven parallel bars versus Bowling Green.

She scored a career-best 9.800 on the floor exercise, while her 9.750 topped all gymnasts on the bars. In addition, Reichard tied her career best score of 9.850 to take second place on vault and was second on the balance beam with a 9.725.

“Holly really lit it up,” said NIU head coach Mark Sontag after Sunday’s performance. “To go 39 [points] out of the gate is huge, that’s competing with anyone in the country.”