Huskie Anna Gardina has earned a ticket to the NCAA South Central Regionals.

The sophomore gymnast qualified for the meet as the second all-arounder in the individual competition. Regionals start April 7.

Gardina probably will be joined by senior Reyna Gilbert, who was named a second alternate for the all-around.

“They’re both very evenly matched,” said coach Mark Sontag. “This is one of the few times in my coaching career that I’ve had two gymnasts tie in the all-round competition as many times as they did. When you have close competition between two gymnasts of their caliber, it’s great to sit back and watch because they really reach beyond their limits.”

Gardina was the Huskies’ top all-around gymnast. She improved her score by a point from last year, scoring a team-high 38.631, and posted the highest team vault score three times with a 9.775.

“Anna has worked very hard this year,” Sontag said. “Last year she wasn’t as consistent as she was this year. She was at the top of her game all year and that’s what it takes to make it into the meet as one of the top all-arounders.”

Gilbert was not expected to compete this season after tearing the medial collateral ligaments in both her knees. But the senior returned for the first meet of the season and had one of the top scores on the bars for NIU with a 9.825.

“We didn’t even think we would have Reyna this year,” said Sontag, a second-year coach. “Through sheer will power and perseverance, she has gotten back to the top of her game.”