Perfection always comes at a price.

The price the NIU gymnastics team faced this weekend was the realization it can’t always be perfect.

The Huskies (193.725) fell to the University of Illinois (194.825) and University of Illinois at Chicago (194.550) in the Illinois State Championships. However, the team placed high enough to put Illinois State University (191.950) in last.

“We didn’t have a terrible meet,” NIU head gymnastics coach Mark Sontag said. “It’s just one of those things; you can’t be perfect every day. And it was a day where we had a few struggles.”

Sontag said he was happy with the performance, even though the team posted an average score. The Huskies have become accustomed to winning, but they must remain consistent in their scoring.

“We performed well, but we had a few misses that we had to count,” Sontag said. “We had an OK meet but ended up counting a miss on two of our events. That was pretty much the key factor of the game.”

All-around gymnast Leah Johnson had a great meet, scoring a 39.1000 at the State Championships. Although Johnson was struggling lately, she hit her stride this past weekend, Sontag said.

Freshman Holly Reichard did not have her best day at State, but Sontag said he is happy to have two gymnasts like Johnson and Reichard leading the team.

The coach also said he is confident going into the MAC Championships Saturday, and said the loss to U of I and Illinois-Chicago has not lowered the gymnasts’ spirits.

“Illinois-Chicago just had the meet of their lives,” he said. “We are at a point in the season where it comes down to a tenth of a point, and you can’t fall behind.”