Seventeen meets ago, on Feb. 27, 1999, against Kent State was the last time the Huskie gymnastics team prevailed over a MAC opponent.

The monkey was finally off the Huskies’ back as they scored a 194.675 to 192.525 victory over an energized Bowling Green team Sunday at Victor E. Court – a day that saw them rack up six season highs.

For Anna Gardina and the other four seniors, this day could not have come any sooner.

“I’m so excited right now because I’ve been waiting for this since my freshman year,” Gardina said. “It’s just a great feeling.”

The Huskies haven’t had the edge going into meets until a few weeks ago when they captured it and refused to let it go, coach Mark Sontag said.

It wasn’t until the meet at Ball State that the team really figured out how good it is, he said.

The Huskies (5-6, 1-2) started off by scoring 48.325 on the vault as sophomore Kristina Campos led the way with a 9.775.

The uneven bars were no problem for NIU as the Huskies nailed all their landings on their way to a season best 48.600. Senior Tiffany Nolen started the Huskies off with a 9.700.

Freshman Ashlee Williams continued to shine as she put up a 9.800 on the bars – the highest total on the bars for NIU this year.

“I have a hard routine, and I haven’t been able to hit it lately,” Williams said. “So I went out and just rocked it and I got a great score.”

After two events, the Huskies held a slight lead over the Falcons when they took their turn on the beam. As the Falcons cheered loudly for their teammates on the floor exercise, the Huskies showed great poise putting up a 48.650 – nearly 1.325 then their previous season high.

Going into the last event, the floor exercise, the Huskies held a 145.575 to 144.300 lead. Spirits were high as NIU has been at its best on the floor all year with an average of 48.675.

With the meet on the line, the Huskies did not disappoint as Kristie Woodin put up a personal-best score of 9.750. It only got better from there as Williams scored a 9.875, Gardina a 9.800 and Campos a 9.900.

Overall, both Campos and Gardina finished with an all-around score of 38.950, another season-high for the Huskies.

“The team’s really come a long way,” Sontag said. “We’re hitting, we’re healthy and we’re real deep; that’s something we haven’t had the last three years.”