Gymnastics falls to Iowa State

By Wes Sanderson

DeKALB — The women’s gymnastics team fell 195.750-193.625 in Ames, Iowa, Friday as the Huskies took on the Cyclones of Iowa State University. 

The Huskies’ record is now 5-9 as the team prepares for the Mid-American Championships March 20 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Though the team lost the overall dual-match, the Huskies saw strong gains in the individual events as sophomore Natalie Hamp took home a share of first in on the uneven bars with a score of 9.925, which is the second highest bars score in NIU history, according to a Friday NIU Athletics news release .

“It was nice to see [Hamp] get the score she deserved on bars,” Head Coach Sam Morreale said. “She got the stick at the end and was rewarded. She was as good as she’s been all year.”

Junior Tara Kofmehl led the Huskies again in the all-around, recording her third total of 39.000 or higher on the season. Kofmehl took home the gold on both the vault and floor exercise with scores of 9.825 and 9.875 on the day.

“Tara had another super solid day,” Morreale said. “She is in the 39 ballpark all the time and easily could have been over that today.” 

The team started off strong, recording a 48.800 mark on the floor and following that up with scores of 48 or higher on both vault and bars, providing a strong start to the evening. 

The Huskies now take the week to prepare for the MAC Championships at 1 p.m. Saturday hosted by Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The defending MAC Champions have full belief in its title defense. 

“We’ve got one more week, we’ve got to go and get it,” Morreale said. “I believe in this team and they believe in themselves.”