Ashlee Williams took a deep breath before approaching the vault, her third event in Friday’s MAC Gymnastics Championships at the Convocation Center.

She ran, jumped, and after somersaulting through the air, her landing was doubly painful.

Williams landed awkwardly on her head and hobbled into a corner, visibly upset with her 8.8 result.

Lingering longer than the soreness to her head was the hurt to her pride.

“After the fall on vault, I was disappointed in myself,” the 5-foot-5-inch junior said. “I wanted to go to bars and redeem myself.”

Twenty minutes later, she stood alone, facing the wall, mentally preparing herself for her shot at redemption through the uneven parallel bars.

“It was pretty nerve-racking,” Williams said. “I put pressure on myself not to fall again and disappoint my team.”

Her result was far from a disappointment. Williams finished her routine and was given a 9.875 – good enough for a share of first place in the MAC.

“I think she was more upset about the fact that she hadn’t done her best,” said NIU coach Mark Sontag of Williams’ miscue on the vault. “When you get her upset, she tends to take it up a notch or two.”

Despite being limited early in the season after a right ankle injury, Williams competed in all four events Friday, finishing 11th overall.

“She did wonderfully,” Sontag said. “We’ve had to rest that ankle all week, and to come up and win bars and do the things she did today was pretty special.”

Williams will be the top returning senior next season with the absence of graduating senior Kristina Campos, who finished third overall and came into the meet as a three-time NCAA regional qualifier.

“In all four events, I see room for improvement,” Sontag said. “That’s something we’ve done every year: improved, and that’ll be another goal for us next year.”